I did the dulcolax/miralax double as well. I mixed it with Crystal Lite. It was very easy to get down.
As soon as I got my prep instructions showing the one gallon size, I emailed my doctor requesting the smaller, alternative. He prescribed the Miralax, which is also OTC.
After my experience with the Dulcolax/Miralax prep, my brother opted on his own to do that combo, ignoring his doctorās Suprep instructions. His procedure went fine and doc was none the wiser. If it does the trick, what does it matter which prep you use?
Plenvu was gross - 16 oz in water, plus 16 oz of clear liquidā¦ super sweet, salty, gluey and mango flavored. (Though way better than the 64 oz of prep I had to do for previous colonoscopy.) I gulped it down, but felt very queasy. first dose at 4:00pm. Second dose at 4:00am, up in and out of bathroom until 7:00am. I would preferred the Miralax prep, assuming amounts are similar. My hubby was surprised at how quick the procedure wasā¦ he figured I was only gone 15 minutes (though he might be incorrect on that; he doesnāt always pay attention to time.) I sure hope the doctor did a thorough job; he had a whole team with him, one assistant, one nurse anesthesiologist, one person monitoring the camera feed or other techy equipment. I got a full document with photos, and two polyps were removed. I had a painful reaction with Propofol the previous time, so this time they put a tourniquet on my arm and used lidocaine for a few minutes before the Propofol. I could still feel it moving up my arm, and it ached a bit, but then I was out and it didnāt seem as painful this time. Now just to wait for the polyps biopsiesā¦ I hope they suggest I wait at least 5 years until the next colonoscopy!!
I did the Cologuard screening. It couldnāt have been easier. No prep. No day of fasting. No sitting on the toilet all evening. The testing came back in a few days - negative. Itās so easy a person can do it more frequently than a colonoscopy, which likely means earlier detection of any positive results.
There are physicians on this thread who will respond but Cologuard is not a substitute for a colonoscopy.
If anyone is still interested about my friend and her urologist husband who have never had a colonoscopy ā
I asked her if they had ever done any of the other tests and this is what she emailed me:
I told her not to bother with virtual since the prep is the same, but to at least do ColoGard or fecal occult blood testing. I also told her family history doesnāt matter; you can still get it.
I just donāt understand people.
In reply to:
@ucbalumnus posted a link to the stats above (post #1693). Iām reposting here:
https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/RecommendationStatementFinal/colorectal-cancer-screening2
Cologuard = āFIT-DNAā
If done once every three years, Cologuard is roughly 83% as effective as colonoscopy in terms of lives saved from routine screening. If done on an annual basis, it is about 95% as effective.
Itās not entirely clear to me whether insurance/medicare would pay for Cologuard annually (vs. every 3 years) ā and it is a somewhat pricey test (~$700).
Standard FIT testing done annually is 92% as effective ā and much less costly. ($10 or so).
These stats assume, of course, that a colonoscopy is done in the event of a positive result from either screening.
The most effective test is the one you get.
There is a reason there is a very long thread on āhow hardā a colonoscopy is, but no threads from CCāers seeking advice on how to manage the somewhat icky task of collecting their home stool sample. Bottom line ā the stool tests are very easy and can be done in the privacy of oneās home ā colonoscopy is complicated. Requires more planning, time taken off of work, a second person to provide transportation to/from the facility ā and, as noted by many posters, ingestion of large amounts of an unpalatable beverage in order to cleanse the bowel.
Not to mention the fact that the colonoscopy-getters are 66% more likely to suffer an adverse complication from colonoscopy than the every-3-year cologuard-getters (and 25% more likely than those who choose annual cologuard testing).
I donāt know what ānot a substituteā means but the point is that FIT and Cologuard provide less invasive, less expensive, and less complicated ways to screen for colon cancer, that are also marginally less effective - but along with the slightly reduced effectiveness, is a reduced risk of adverse side effects.
Iām not advocating one way or anotherā but from an economic & societal standpoint, I do think that money & lives would be saved if there was more attention paid to the FIT test ā because 30 people can get annually FIT testing for 10 years for the cost of one person getting a single routine colonoscopy. And I have no clue how many people arenāt getting any screening at all because they donāt know about their alternatives, and they are afraid of the colonoscopy or canāt afford it or donāt have anyone to go with them to the appointment or just keep putting it off because they canāt find the time and donāt like to think about it.
Sure, there will always be those 2 out of 1000 people who will be the ones whose lives would have been saved if they had chosen colonoscopy over FIT or FIT-DNA ā¦ but the other 998 are probably fine to choose the poop testing instead.
I want my polyps removed before they turn cancerous! I will do the FIT test every year, but continue with colonoscopies as directed by doc (likely every 5th year)
@VeryHappy ā I agree with you that your friend is just being stupid (unfortunately). That rationale could be applied to any preventive health procedure. Why get a mammogram if no one in your family ever had breast cancer? Why bother with a shingles shot if no one in the family had shingles? Heck ā why get any preventive health services at all?
I understand all of the real reasons NOT to get a colonoscopyā but I canāt think of any reason at all not to do the simple, at-home FIT test ā¦ other than just plain ignorance.
FYI - written by a gastroenterologist:
https://www.statnews.com/2018/09/24/colorectal-cancer-screening-science-cologuard/
Good article - and it explains the stats in a clearer way!
I would also want to know how effective the FIT tests are at finding precancerous polyps as well as cancerous ones. Itās not just about the stool tests preventing deaths. If the polyp isnāt found until it is bleeding or shedding cancerous DNA, it may be that rather than having a follow up colonoscopy with polypectomy, the person will have to have colonoscopy with follow up surgery to remove the polyp or cancerous tumor, which usually involves removing a portion of the colon. There can be lifelong effects of this kind of surgery, depending on where the cancer is located and how big the tumor is or how deep into the colon the tumor invades. My husband had a portion of his colon removed after discovery of a cancerous polyp. He is grateful to be alive, but this surgery has significantly affected his quality of life. This is something that should be considered also when using screening tools that donāt necessarily tell you there is a problem until it has progressed to a polyp that requires surgery.
People assume that because our intestines are so long, that taking out a āsmallā portion of them wonāt result in any long term problems, but thatās just not the case, especially when talking about the colon.
All that said, these stool tests will probably become more and more sensitive, which would be a very very good thing. Iām interested to see how they continue to develop this kind of screening tool. It would be great if we could essentially do away with screening colonoscopies as the first line tool.
Remember, though that while a single FIT is less effective than a single colonoscopy, you would do 10 FIT screenings for the time period where you would do one colonoscopy screening. That considerably narrows that difference between FIT and colonoscopy as an initial screening method ā and some faster-growing colon cancers may be detected by FIT before the 10 year interval between screening colonoscopies.
I had to quote this, because it bears repeating.
Frankly, 99.9% of people have no real idea what people with CRC go through. Even those people who pride themselves on living life to the max with a stoma. Especially rectal cancer patients. I have stage 4 CRC, but I thank my lucky stars every single time I read one of my online support groups that it isnāt rectal. And that I donāt have a stoma.
I started on Keytruda, one of the new immunotherapy āwonder drugs,ā on New Yearās Eve. Looking forward to seeing it do its stuff. 
Good luck, @Consolation. Keep us posted.
Good luck @Consolation. I am one of the rectal cancer folks. Iāve been dealing with the after effects for 12 years.
By stating ānot a substituteā, I meant that Cologuard should not be in lieu of the occasional colonoscopy. My wife, who has a history of CRC in her family, has the Cologuard done every 1 or 2 years and is covered at n/c under her insurance. Her colonoscopies are still done at their regular intervals.
There is nothing out there that will replace a colonoscopy at the moment. Lych disease is extremely common and like 70% of people that have it donāt know about it. It can only be detected with blood tests for the gene and colonoscopy with a blue dye to look for the āflatā polopys that are usually cancerous. Just because someone has polopys doesnāt mean they are cancer or even pre cancerous. Usually they will biopsy one or two to make sure. So please donāt fool yourself that other tests are screens. They are not. If you are older and canāt have a colonoscopy then the other tests are better then nothing but not a direct substitute.
@Knowsstuff I couldnāt agree more. I had this discussion way back a few pages ago on this thread.