Outpatient Bowel Prep

Getting Ready for the Test

For this test to be accurate, you must have an empty bowel. To do this, you will follow a clear liquid diet and take laxatives. A few days before the test, go to your local drugstore and buy these over-the-counter bowel preps.

1 bottle of magnesium citrate 10 ounces (it is easier to drink chilled)
4 (5 mg.) bisacodyl tablets for a total of 20 milligrams (mg.)

Day before the Test

You will eat and drink ONLY clear liquids the day before the test.

Clear broth or consomme Clear Jell-O®, with nothing in it Juice without pulp: apple, grape, cranbberry Popsicles Boost Breeze®	Clear hard candy Coffee or tea, no creamer Gatorade® Water Sparkling water or soda
NO juices with pulp (orange, tomato, prune juice, lemonade) or dairy products of any kind.

Bowel Prep

Clear Liquids only

Be sure to drink 8 glasses (8-ounces each) of water, between noon and 11:00 pm, unless your fluid intake is restricted.

You may want to take these bowel preps earlier in the day than the schedule below. Do not take either of these at work and expect to travel home, without needing a bathroom.

5:30 pm: Drink magnesium citrate 10 ounces.

8:00 pm: Take 4 (5 mg.) bisacodyl tablets for a total of 20 milligrams (mg.). Do not chew or crush.

These will cause you to have loose bowel movements.

Nothing to eat or drink after midnight, unless your doctor has told you to take pills with a sip of water.

If the procedure is scheduled in the afternoon, a liquid breakfast is permitted.