One of my family members, who is a doctor, decided to undergo a colonoscopy at age 82 to screen for colon cancer. However, he did not want to do the standard medical test prep to clear out his colon, prior to the colonoscopy. Instead, he wanted to use natural substances both pre- and post-colonoscopy, combined with some of the recommended pharmaceutical test-prep substances.
He had read my Colonoscopy Report and so wanted to minimize the chance of damage and infection via the colonoscope. And then he also wanted to support his intestines afterwards and repopulate his microbiome with good bacteria.
My instructions from the hospital were:
Buy a box of Dulcolax tablets; of which I would need only two tablets.
And buy a box of 2 Sachets of Pico Salax.
For the first two days (of the 4-day prep) I could eat any of the following foods: eggs, fish, seafood, chicken or turkey, carrots, yams, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, soft fruit with seeds removed, and dairy.
I must not eat bread, rice, pasta, nuts, seeds, lentils, or leafy green vegetables.
On day three I could only have clear fluids: chicken broth, beef or mushroom broth, water, apple juice, ginger ale, jello.
As a diabetic I could continue to take my medications including the morning of the colonoscopy. I should also, in addition to the above clear fluids, take one Absorb Plus shake for each meal on the 3rd day, and the day of the colonoscopy.
Let’s take a look at each of the pharmaceutical drugs recommended by the hospital – Dulcolax and Pico Salax – to clear his colon of fecal matter.
Dulcolax is a stimulant laxative; it stimulates the intestinal muscles that control peristalsis, helping your intestines move the poo along to your rectum. It takes 6-12 hours to work.
Dulcolax Ingredients: Each yellow, enteric-coated tablet contains bisacodyl 5 mg. Nonmedicinal ingredients: acacia, white wax, carnauba wax, corn starch (dried/soluble), methacrylic acid and ethyl acrylate copolymer dispersion, glycerine, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, polyethylene glycol, sucrose, talc, glyceryl monostearate, triethyl citrate, polysorbate 80, D&C Yellow #10 Aluminum Lake, D&C red no. 30, povidone, sodium benzoate, methylparaben, propylparaben and titanium dioxide.
Are there any natural alternatives to Dulcolax?
Common stimulant laxatives include:
- Bisacodyl (also called by the brand name Dulcolax)
- Senna (also called by the brand name Senokot)
- Sodium picosulfate
Senna is a natural, powerful stimulant laxative herb that is available in pill form, or tea form. To clear the bowel using senna, this clinic recommends you use a 25 mg dosage of sennosides (the active ingredient in senna):
1 day prior to your colonoscopy:
At 1:00 p.m. take 6 tablets of maximum strength sennosides laxative pills (25 mg per tablet).
If you have a morning procedure then take another 6 tablets maximum strength sennosides laxative pills (25 mg/tablet) at 9:00 pm.
OR
If you have an afternoon procedure then take another 6 tablets of maximum strength sennosides laxative pills (25 mg tablet) at 8:00 am the next morning.
Make sure you drink plenty of clear liquids before, during, and after taking your prep. You may drink water throughout the night and up to 3 hours prior to your procedure to stay hydrated.
*Extra Strength Senakot contains 17.5 mg of active sennosides per pill.
Are there any natural alternatives to Pico Salax?
Each sachet of Pico Salax contains 10 mg of sodium picosulfate, 3.5 g of magnesium oxide, and 12 g of citric acid. Nonmedicinal ingredients: natural orange flavour, potassium bicarbonate, and sodium saccharin.
Magnesium oxide and citric acid combine together (chemical reaction) in water to form magnesium citrate, which works as an osmotic laxative drawing water into the bowel to help make the stool soft and more watery. Sodium picosulfate works as a stimulant laxative to increase the bowel peristalsis to move the contents along. Together they work to empty the bowel prior to medical procedures.
The easiest way to mimic the action of magnesium oxide and citric acid, along with the stimulant property of sodium picosulfate, is to take magnesium citrate + Vitamin C in ascorbic acid form.
To get a similar dosage to one sachet of Pico Salax, I would take:
3000 mg magnesium citrate
3000 mg Vitamin C in asorbic acid form
However, this will give you a very strong bowel movement! So maybe start with half the dosage and see how your body responds. If you are simultaneously eating mostly Absorb Plus shakes and bone broth for 2-3 days prior to the colonoscopy, then you won’t require such a strong clearout. I doubt you would need to use the senna tablets either.
To give you a comparison, in my book, Listen To Your Colon, for someone who is badly constipated, I recommend 1000 mg magnesium citrate + 2000 mg vitamin C in ascorbic acid form. Take that before bed, and in the morning you should have a strong clearout of stool.
You can also just use magnesium citrate as your bowel prep, if you prefer. In this article, Dr. Leo Galland recommends 3 tablespoons of Natural Calm magnesium citrate (2925 mg):
Start drinking it about 5 pm on the day before your colonoscopy is scheduled (you mix three tablespoons of the powder into eight ounces of hot water, then let it cool and drink it). It goes down best if you add ice and sip it through a straw. Repeat the dose around 10 pm.
Warning: If you have a kidney disease, Dr. Galland warns, you shouldn’t take a magnesium-based laxative, because excess magnesium can accumulate in tissues, so talk to your doctor about alternative ways to prep for a colonoscopy.
*Note: I find Natural Calm goes down easiest if I drink it while it’s still warm – but then I drink a lot of herbal tea. If you normally drink iced drinks, then you may prefer it iced.
Drink plenty of electrolytes
To help prevent the loss of sodium and other electrolytes, while emptying the bowel, you also want to drink an electrolyte blend as often as you can:
- 8 ounces filtered water
- 1 serving QuikPlus Bone Matrix
- 1 pinch (1/8 tsp) of celtic sea salt
- Optional but good: 1000 mg Emergen-C Vitamin C packet
Getting back to my family member, here’s the detailed list of everything he ate and took in the four days prior to his colonoscopy, and then in the few days following.
Doctor’s Colonoscopy Test Prep
This is the list of food and drink I consumed in the four-day preparation before the colonoscopy, and what I did afterwards to make sure any damage done by the colonoscopy would be healed quickly, and to replace my microbiome that had been decimated by the procedure.
In these four days prior to the procedure I could take no iron supplement in case it stained the bowel.
Day one:
Breakfast: Absorb Plus Chocolate shake with peaches and banana and two tbsp Udo’s Oil. Folic acid as prescribed, and 1 Omega 3 1200 mg. Fish Oil capsule, and Diabetes medications.
*Don’t take Vitamin C together with Folic Acid – they inhibit the absorption of each other.
Lunch: Kippers, carrots and onions, sugar snap peas. 1500mg Vit C tablet and Fish Oil capsule.
Supper: fried egg, fried mashed potatoes, mushrooms and ham. Dessert; diced mango and plain yoghurt with stevia. Vit. C tablet and Fish oil capsule, Diabetes meds. 1 serving of QuikPlus Bone Matrix and 2 servings of QuikPlus Magnesium*.
*Note: QuikPlus Magnesium is atom-sized so does not stimulate a bowel movement
Day two:
Breakfast: Absorb Plus Unsweetened Vanilla shake with mango. 2 Tbsp Udo’s Oil. Folic acid and Omega 3 1200 mg. Fish Oil capsule and Diabetes medications.
Lunch: Eggplant, yams, peas, ginger, garlic and onions stew. 1500 mg. Vit.C and 1 fish oil capsule.
Supper: Chicken stew with carrots and onions, mashed potatoes. Dessert; plain yoghurt with stevia and peaches. Vitamin C and 1 fish oil capsule, Diabetes meds, 1 serving of QuikPlus Bone Matrix and 2 servings of QuikPlus Magnesium.
Day three:
9 a.m. Absorb Plus Unsweetened Vanilla shake (4 scoops) 1 tiny spoon of Stevia and 2 Tbsp Udos Oil. And usual diabetes medications.
1 p.m. 8 oz. Beef broth, and Jello made with apple juice and gelatine.
3 p.m. Absorb Plus Unsweetened Vanilla shake (4 scoops) 1 tiny spoon of Stevia and 2 Tbsp Udos Oil.
4.30 p.m. 2 Dulcolax tablets. [or Senakot]6.30 p.m. 8oz. glass water.
7 p.m. Absorb Plus Unsweetened Vanilla shake (4 scoops) 1 tiny spoon of Stevia and 2 Tbsp Udos Oil.
8.30 p.m. Chicken broth
9.30 p.m. glass of water.
10.30 p.m. 2 servings of QuikPlus Magnesium, 1 serving of QuikPlus Bone Matrix and diabetes medication.
Day four:
8.30 a.m. Cup of hot water.
9 a.m. 1 sachet of Pico Salax. [or Magnesium citrate + vitamin C in ascorbic acid form]10 a.m. Absorb Plus Unsweetened Vanilla shake (4 scoops) 1 tiny spoon of Stevia and 2 Tbsp Udos Oil. Followed by an 8oz glass of water.
11 a.m. 8 oz glass of water
12 a.m. 8 oz glass of water
2.15 p.m. Colonoscopy Performed
3.30 p.m. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
4.30 p.m. Absorb Plus Chocolate Shake, stevia and half milk, half water
7.30 pm Meatball and vegetable stew with baked potato wedges. Dessert; Apple jello in leftover Absorb Plus Chocolate shake sauce.
8.30 p.m. 1 cup Ovaltine beverage. 1 Natren Healthy Trinity Capsule, and diabetes medication.
11 pm just before bed: 3 MucosaCalm capsules and 1/4 cup George’s Aloe Vera Juice.
The day after the Colonoscopy I got back to building up the Iron deficit, taken with my regular meals.
Supplements to Support Colonoscopy
Morning: 2 droppers of QuikPlus Iron, 30 drops total in 1/4 cup water.
Folic acid as prescribed, together with food, and 1 Omega-3 Fish Oil, diabetes medications and other usual supplements. 1 Natren Healthy Trinity capsule.
*Never take Vitamin C together with Folic Acid – they inhibit the absorption of each other.
Afternoon: 2 droppers of of QuikPlus Iron, 30 drops total in 1/4 cup water with 1500 mg. Vit C tablet and one Omega-3 Fish Oil capsule together with lunch.
Evening: with supper, 2 droppers of of QuikPlus Iron, 30 drops total in 1/4 cup water with 1500 mg Vit C tablet and Omega-3 Fish Oil capsule. Normal diabetes medications and night supplements together with QuikPlus Magnesium, QuikPlus Bone Matrix, and 1 Natren Healthy Trinity capsule.
Before bed, on empty stomach: 3 MucosaCalm capsules with 1/4 cup George’s Aloe Vera Juice.
I took the 3 capsules MucosaCalm + 1/4 cup George’s Aloe Vera juice, before bed on an empty stomach, for 3 days following my colonoscopy.
Since I had no trace of blood, cramping, diarrhea or pain I stopped taking it after 3 days, but continued with 1 Natren Healthy Trinity twice a day (morning and evening), in order to restore my microbiome, for the next 3 months.
***
Final Thoughts
You may notice that this person only needed to take 1 dose of Dulcolax (2 tablets) and 1 sachet of Pico Salax for the entire test prep – that’s it! Why?
Because if you look at his diet from the four days before the colonoscopy, you’ll see that on Day 1 and Day 2 he used Absorb Plus pre-digested liquid shakes instead of breakfast. Then on Day 3 and Day 4 he was on an exclusively elemental diet (everything pre-digested) comprised of bone broths, Absorb Plus shakes, and homemade jello.
He also took fish oil and Udo’s oil (healing for the gut) and used QuikPlus minerals to keep his electrolytes balanced during fecal loss.
His gastroenterologist was pleased with his colonoscopy and as you see, he suffered no ill effects from the procedure. Remember that Absorb Plus contains 43 targeted nutrients to heal the gut, plus he used MucosaCalm which directly protects/heals the mucosal lining, along with George’s Aloe Vera, lots of healthy oils and plenty of electrolyte minerals. Let’s not forget the all-important, super potent Natren probiotics he took before and after the procedure. He continues to take 1 Healthy Trinity probiotic daily for maintenance. Well done!
Continuing Protocols After Colonoscopy
For those times in life when you need to have a colonoscopy done, it’s nice to know we have protocols to help protect and repair, or minimize, any potential damage.
My mother also used this same protocol pre- and post-colonoscopy at age 79. Her father died from colon cancer, so she felt it would be a good idea to have her bowel scoped once. She felt confident she could prevent infection from the colonoscope and repair the damage afterwards, using this same procedure.
She too had a successful colonoscopy with no ill effects afterwards, and she too takes 1 Healthy Trinity probiotic daily for maintenance, ongoing.
Any questions, or stories of your own to share? Just leave them in the Comments section below… 🙂
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert on natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s Disease and has remained drug and surgery-free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcast, TV, and radio shows throughout the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, giving people hope and vision for how they can heal their Colitis, Crohn’s, Diverticulitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), using entirely natural methods. Her books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold worldwide in over 80 countries. Jini is married with 3 children, 9 sheep, 11 horses, 1 cat, and 3 dogs.
