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Fiber leaves a residue in the colon, so cutting back on beans, nuts or high-fiber foods can help make prep a little easier. When it's time for a liquid diet, change it up a little. You probably won't feel full drinking just water. You can have coffee, tea, clear broth, popsicles and gelatin.

2. 64 oz bottle of Gatorade, Powerade or Propel that are light in color. Lemon-lime is preferred. AVOID red, purple, blue or green varieties.

At 6 p.m., take 3 tablets of Dulcolax® laxative pill with water by mouth. At 8 p.m. the evening before your colonoscopy start drinking the Gatorade®/MiraLAX® solution. Drink one 8-ounce glass every 10 minutes until completed. You can continue to drink clear liquids until midnight.

What should I do? Bowel movements usually start within two to three hours after taking the prep, but can take longer. If you have not had a bowel movement within three hours of drinking your prep, you may need an extra laxative.

Avoid red, orange and purple colored Jell-O and Gatorade. This discolors your stool and interferes with the colonoscopy. We suggest that you put the Gatorade in the refrigerator in the morning. It tends to taste better when it is cold.

The latest answer to the palatability problem is and oral sodium phosphate in tablet form. The tablets are taken four at a time, every 15 minutes, with eight ounces of a clear liquid 20 tablets the night before the colonoscopy, and 12 to 20 tablets a few hours before the procedure.

A sports drink like Gatorade® or Powerade® is a good choice. Sports drinks will help replace electrolytes that you will lose during the bowel preparation. If you have diabetes, be sure to get sugar-free clear liquids.

Acceptable clear liquids include: water, tea, Apple juice, Ginger ale, Sprite, 7UP, Gatorade, Powerade, Vitamin Water, Crystal Light.

Bowel movements usually begin within 1 hour of drinking the first dose, but it may take longer for some people. Don't worry if you don't start having bowel movements after drinking the first half of the MiraLAX. Continue to drink liquids and start the second half of the MiraLAX as instructed.

Colonoscopy bowel preparation materials: No prescription is necessary, and these can be purchased at most pharmacies: Miralax powder 238 grams, or 8.3 ounces. Generic is okay to use.