Prep menu

Crohn's Disease Forum

Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:

Cat-a-Tonic

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
Joined
May 5, 2010
Messages
10,627
Well, I'm having my pill cam next week, and I was instructed to do 1/2 colonoscopy prep the evening before to clean out my small intestine. Yuck. So this afternoon I'll be heading to the grocery store to pick up my clear liquids and jell-o etc so I can "eat" and stay hydrated while doing my prep. Here's my shopping list:

Gatorade
Tea
Jell-o (green I suppose, since I'm not supposed to do red or purple, and I hate lemon jell-o)
Broth or boullion
Popsicles

I feel like I'm missing something, though. It's bugging me! What else can be consumed while doing prep? Any suggestions?
 
Thanks Kello, that jello link is fun! I see margarita and pina colada flavors - I might have to try both! :) I like Fla-vor-Ice too, hopefully I can find just a small box of those. I hate buying the giant box of like 100 of them, it takes up too much room in my small kitchen. I try to avoid sodas but maybe I'll try ginger ale. That sounds good. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
That jello finder is really cool! I saw a couple I'll have to try. They missed the kiwi and tropical fruit though - those are very light green.

What about pulp-free juice? If you get them in the oasis cartons (that type of carton, the brand itself doesn't matter) and throw them in the freezer for 2 hours you get a nice slush. You have to cut open the carton to pour it out though, just shake it every half hour to figure out what consistency you want it at.
 
With juices you have to be careful, if you can't see throught it and it isnt red or grape, you cant drink it. White grape, juice is fine, but not red. I dont even use popsicles, even tho I love them, just not worth the risk for me.
 
Oh, the juice thing reminds me that I have some white grape flavored Crystal Light things left over from my last prep - they're little packets that you mix into water and it makes flavored water. Maybe that's what I was forgetting earlier! I know those are safe, no pulp and it doesn't turn the water any funky colors, it's just clear. Thanks for the reminder! :)
 
I just got back from the grocery store, and I bought 5 different flavors of jell-o (they were so cheap, like 50 cents a box, and I'm not sure which flavor I'll be in the mood for when I'm doing the prep, so I bought a lot!). I got lime, orange, apricot, island pineapple, and melon fusion (which is green) - the store I went to didn't seem to carry the pina colada or margarita flavors, which is disappointing. But I still have a week to go until I do the prep, so maybe I'll check another store for other jell-o flavors. I did find some of those fla-vor-ice things but they're made by Pedialyte, so they contain electrolytes and not so much sugar. I'm quite happy with that!
 
Just curious but what is the name of the prep you are taking and do you have to take dulcolax or fleet enema?
 
Pen: No enema, and I'm doing the gatorade & miralax prep. I did the same prep for my colonoscopy back in April, and it was easy to drink and didn't taste bad, although I did get really dehydrated later. I'm determined not to get dehydrated this time, which is why I'm buying my supplies a week in advance. I'm going to have a variety of clear liquids and jello on hand so I can pick which ones sound the most palatable. Last time I just had one type of jell-o, and it was lemon which was disgusting and I barely ate any of it, and I didn't drink enough liquids either. This time, I will do better. :)
 
Great stuff! I loved the orange jello, and I bought so I thought the peach but after the orange the smell of it made me ill... but I ran out of the Campbells chicken broth in the pourable box.. it was good on my tummy and no nausea, good for soups if you dont drink it all, it was warm and good yummy. My prep said to drink water after the prep , my scope was clear as a bell.
 
They didn't have peach at my grocery store but it sounds yummy. I'm going to see what other jello flavors I can find at other stores. If I don't eat it, my hubby or my brother will. My hubby ate most of the lemon jello last time I did prep. I didn't get a box of chicken broth, but I did get some chicken boullion, so I can make chicken broth from that during my prep. I think I have a can of chicken broth at home too.

I only have to drink half the usual amount of prep, since it's for the pill cam and not a scope. I asked my GI's office to be sure, and they said I only have to drink half the prep to make sure that my small intestine is mostly clear - they said I don't even have to be pooing totally clear when I go in to swallow the pill cam! And they said if I start to get nauseous, I don't even have to drink all of the prep either. So hopefully the prep will be pretty easy, although I'm taking the day off work just to be sure. So I will be at home relaxing while the pill cam does its thing, and hopefully it finds something.
 
Yes! An answer would be finally help you one way or the other. Good luck and of course let us know how it goes.:goodluck:
 
Thanks Pen! I'll definitely post updates, and I'm sure I'll be posting on here during the prep and while the pill cam is working, since I won't be able to do much of anything else. Good thing I have a laptop so I can bring it into the bathroom with me, ha ha. I'll post a review of which jell-o flavors are the best out of all the ones that aren't red or purple. :)
 
I went for Bovril instead of jelly. Great beefy taste and fills you up as well :)
 
Rygon, I don't think we have Bovril here in the US. I've talked with another forum member in the past about Bovril, it sounds yummy. I think the closest thing we have here is broth or boullion. And I don't do beef, it causes me lots of nausea, so I got chicken boullion to make chicken broth. I'll have some of that and some jello when I prep.
 
Still watching and waiting with you Cat!! Good luck with the prep and the pill cam!!
 
Thanks Mark! In exactly one week I will have just swallowed the pill cam. Hopefully all will go smoothly. I'll keep everyone posted. Am going to another grocery store this afternoon in search of more jell-o flavors to add to my stockpile. :)
 
I have never had a pill cam, but after my first colonoscopy the Dr told me what color jello I had been eating. Seems like a crohnie could have some fun with that.
Good Luck with your test!!! I hope you get some answers that have options for relief.
Joni O
 
Thanks Joni. I finally got my prep instructions today - they told me twice that they mailed them, but I never got 'em, so they faxed them to me. And while it says I can eat jell-o, there is nothing in the instructions about avoiding red and purple! I know in my colonoscopy instructions it said to avoid red & purple, so I will anyway, but I just thought that was interesting. Your comment about your doc telling you the color jell-o you ate was what made me think of that. Too funny!

I know I'll get some options for relief, not so sure about answers though. My GI said that after the pill cam, I can either go back on pred or I can go on Endocort (if my insurance company will agree to pay for it - they don't normally cover Endocort and it's something like $1000 a month). So I will be feeling some medication-induced relief after the pill cam, and I am very much looking forward to that. :)
 
I'm jealous of all the jello flavors you found! I opted for orange (I don't like green), which the thought of now makes me nauseaus as I had to prep for the pillcam and colonoscopy fairly close to one another. I mainly "ate" the chicken broth in the carton and then the jello. And white grape juice. I made my husband take the kids out for dinner as I couldn't stand to see anyone eating around me by that time. I think the knawing hunger is terrible. I don't love the explosive diarrhea part, but at least you're not dwelling on how hungry you are...:ylol:

I hope it goes well and your jello is delicious! And I hope you don't get dehydrated again.
 
Cat...It seem so wrong that an insurance company should be able to tell you what drug you can and cannot take. I would be contacting the drug company for assistance. My insurance co. irks me on a regular basis by putting a hold on a refill if they think I am filling it a day before I should. I often end up without, or have to fork out the whole amount to get my hands on it. My drug store actually went to bat for me this last time...and won!!! I kinda understand the hold if it is a narcotic....but Allegra? Come on!
K.... I am done now...
bring on the yellow jello!
 
May: Yeah, I'm quite pleased with the jell-o selection I've found so far. I'm still looking for the peach, margarita, and pina colada flavors. The grocery store I tried yesterday didn't have a good selection so no luck there. I'm going to go to a different grocery store today and see what jello flavors they have. There's one really fancy grocery store in my city where the rich people shop - I'd be willing to bet they have some good jell-o flavors there, so I'm going to check it out. And I like your idea of sending the family out to eat - my hubby's got a "man cave" in the basement so I'll make hubby and brother eat down there so I can't see or smell their food while I'm prepping.

Joni: You're so right about insurance companies being stupid about this type of thing. My GI had written me a prescription for Zofran (anti-nausea med). He wanted me to have a refill of 30 pills, but for some stupid reason my insurance company said they will only pay for 12 pills at a time. Since I have frequent nausea, I take Zofran often and I have to get that prescription refilled constantly! I'd be willing to pay a higher co-pay if they'd just give me the 30 pills at once, but they still say no. So now I'm at the pharmacy about every other week, just to refill my measley little 12 Zofran pills. The worst part is that my GI only wrote the prescription for 4 mg pills, and the "full" dose is considered 8 mg, so on bad nausea days I have to automatically take 2 pills. Ugh.

As far as the Endocort thing, my GI said he'd have his office make some calls to my insurance company and to the drug manufacturer to see what can be worked out. I haven't heard anything back yet, but I'll ask my GI about it in a few weeks - I have a follow-up consultation scheduled a couple of weeks after the pill cam. I would love love love to be on either pred or Endocort during Halloween, as that's my favorite holiday and I do not want to be ill during Halloween. Hopefully it works out that way.
 
since you still have some time Cat....it may be worth it to make you own chicken stock/broth!

i am too terrible at doing things ahead of time to make some for myself, but always during the prep later i wish i had some. to me, the canned and boxed broths are...barftastic. at best...


when i make chicken noodle soup i use thighs, carrots, onions, parsely, a bit of lemon zest, and maybe some scallion and garlic. water to cover everything by about an inch, then simmer for like 4-5 hours. then i guess just strain it out! oh and season it with salt and pepper and whatever you want.
mm drooling, it tastes SO much better than the premade crap and you actually want to eat it rather than eating it because its all there is lol.
 
Ha ha, "barftastic". Yeah, I am not too big a fan of canned/boxed broths either. I bought some bouillon so that I can make my own broth. I'm not going to make the effort of making a broth from actual chicken & veggies, sounds like too much work for me. Although that does sound good - maybe I can talk my husband into making me that broth you described - he's a better cook than I am anyway. :)
 
Nah...not too much work - just throw the stuff all together into a pot (no real measuring needed either) - let it simmer for a few hours then strain.....

Home made IS soooooooo much better than boxed or bullion - plus you get to salt to taste.....

hmmm....we are having chicken tonight - might make myself some broth for next week for my 'prep menu!'
 
Hm, maybe I could make that soup broth after all. It'd probably work okay if I made it in a crock pot, right? I'm going to work Wednesday morning and coming home early that afternoon to start my prep - I could just throw everything together in a crock pot Wed morning or even Tues night so it'd be ready by Wed afternoon/evening. I think I'll have chicken for dinner tonight too, so that I can use the leftovers in my crock pot broth for Wednesday. Thanks for the idea Kello and Paso! :)
 
I concur, it's way better than anything you buy in the store, and not hard to do at all. Whenever we eat one of those cooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store (translation: i am too lazy to cook anything), that always makes super flavorful broth. You can also freeze extra you have to use for a later date. Not for preps necessarily, but you know, to really eat, like in a recipe. Chicken broth is lovely to just have around.
 
May, I love those grocery store rotisserie chickens. We get those all the time, so tasty and cheap too! I'm also pretty lazy about cooking and I never really learned how to cook anything more complicated than mac & cheese - my husband is a really good cook, but not me. Fortunately, my hubby said we've got a whole chicken in the freezer, so he'll thaw that and he'll cook it for dinner tomorrow night, and then we'll use the leftovers to make broth for my prep on Wednesday. So I do get to have homemade broth. :)
 
Well, today's the big prep day, oh joy. I got my prep mixture chilling in the fridge, my homemade chicken broth is in the crock pot, my jello is... jelling? (Is that a word?) My brother even made me flat ginger ale because I can't do carbonation, so he shook up a bottle of ginger ale and then released the bubbles until there weren't any more. I've also got crystal lite (apparently that stuff comes with electrolytes now, which is awesome) and pedialyte popsicles and ginger tea as well, so I think I'm all ready to go! Now I just have to get through today's prep and tomorrow's pill cam. Wish me luck!
 
Thanks Sam & Joni! I'm just about to eat my light lunch and then it'll be all liquids until tomorrow at lunch time. Apparently I'm not supposed to eat until at least 4 hours after I've swallowed the capsule, and I can only drink 2 glasses of water tomorrow before lunch - one when I swallow the pill cam, and another 2 hours later. It's not going to be fun. Oh well, I'll get through it somehow.
 
Awesome, Cat! I LOVE homemade chicken soup. My mom made it when we were kids any time we were sick and now I've learned how to do it. It's super easy. Hope your prep goes well and you get results from the pill cam!
 
All the very best to you Cat. I hope more than anything that you get some firm answers from this.

:goodluck::goodluck::goodluck:

Thinking about you, :)
Dusty
 
Thanks Marisa & Dusty! I took my Dulcolax 2 hours ago and just started drinking my Gatorade & Miralax prep mixture. Nothing's happening yet, but I'm sure it'll kick in soon! I think I'm already sick of jell-o, ha ha. :)
 
Today's the day!! Good luck Cat!! I'll be looking forward to the results!! Have everything crossed for you!!!
 
Thanks Nicci and Mark. The prep went horribly. In spite of the fact that it was only 1/2 the usual amount of prep, plus the fact that I was determined to drink, drink, drink clear fluids to not dehydrate, I got dehydrated anyway just like the last time I did prep. So I wound up in urgent care last night and got 2 bags of IV fluids. I did sleep okay last night (thanks to my old friend Mr. sleeping pill) but I've now got a massive headache. Ugh! I hate prep so much! I really, really tried not to dehydrate but I still wound up on an IV. So, for now I'm just hanging in there until it's time to swallow the pill cam.
 

Similar threads

Anna's Bandit
Hospital
Replies
5
Views
679
Crohn2357
Crohn2357
Papantoine
Neglect?
Replies
0
Views
287
Papantoine
Papantoine
A
Help for my dad
Replies
3
Views
858
Am1025
A
L
Confused about upper GI & colonoscopy prep
Replies
1
Views
1K
Jabee
Jabee
lorikeet
New Semi-Diagnosed + First Steps Qs
Replies
3
Views
996
lorikeet
lorikeet

Latest posts

Back
Top