Colonoscopy Preps - Anyone Ever Just Take Pills?

Like most people with Crohn’s Disease I’ve done more colonoscopy colon preps than I would care to remember (three for the actual colonoscopy procedure and one for my intestinal resection surgery). Most people are surprised, however, when I tell them that I don’t mind the colonoscopy itself and that all my bitching and moaning beforehand isn’t from the procedure, but the fact that I will have to once again ingest some foul tasting liquid. The reason for their surprise is because most people seem to mistakenly think you are fully awake for the procedure, and thus must endure the pain of having a pop can sized camera and gastrological Swiss army knife shoved up the butt and threaded through the nine feet of large intestine. Occasionally this camera will also peek into the small intestine in a little ‘hello anything here that I should know about’ sort of way. The fact is you aren’t awake for this test, at least not in a way where you will consciously remember anything, and without memory events don’t really exist. You may be in pain during the test given your twilight state but it never registers, so you will never know it even occurred unless they tell you. In fact going in for a colonoscopy is like going into major surgery minus all the cutting and recovery time. One moment you suddenly feel drowsy, the next you are opening your eyes several hours later while lying on a bed, the procedure over. Of course unlike a major surgery, you almost always experience an epic passing of gas after the colonoscopy procedure - if you wake up in time. The reason for this is because they puff up your bowels with air so that they can thread the tools inside. Having this gas can be painful, it was for me the second time around, so the best thing to do is just lie on your side in the fetal position and wait it out. Also, if you are self conscious about such things, it probably is a good idea to wait for this experience to be over before having the person who is driving you to and from the procedure come join you in the waiting area.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to ask if anyone has done the colonoscopy colon prep without having to ingest the foul tasting -- like drinking from a seasoned fist tank -- liquid. All over the place I hear about people being able to take pills for their cleanout, ones that apparently work just fine in flushing out the walls of the intestines and clearing the way for the camera to see everything. My doctor, however, never wants me to take them. He does let me do the Fleet Phosphsoda, however, which is a godsend since it is only two glasses of briny tasting liquid rather than a gallon, but still, if I could do away with that as well, I would. Now I just want to know if those pills really work. If they do I will stand my ground on the issue and demand I get to give those a try rather than drinking anything because to me the forced ingestion of the foul tasting liquid is the worse torture possible. I simply hate it. I won’t even use a glass I like for it because afterward I can never use the same glass again without wanting to gag from the memory. Just thinking about drinking that stuff while writing this is making me want to puke, and the last time I went through a cleanout was in 2006 two days before my surgery. Five years and it still holds power over me. Worst of all I know I’m going to have to do it again soon. People with Crohn’s Disease are frequent flyers when it comes to the colonoscopy procedure and even though I’m feeling pretty good chances are my doctor will order one next time I see him. So, if the pills do work, and if I can go in with their name and statements from others who have used them, that would be spectacular.

UPDATE: Here is a link to Jenni's Guts, the wonderful blog of a friend with Crohn's Disease that talks about using the All Pill Method I've been so interested in.