Fleet Recall: Alternatives to PhosphoSoda for Colonoscopy Prep

9 Responses to:

“Fleet Recall: Alternatives to PhosphoSoda for Colonoscopy Prep”

1. deborah Says:
   March 31st, 2009 at 12:14 pm

   I am a 53 year old female, I had a colonoscopy 2007, using a fleet prep kit. It was my first colonoscopy. I have since had urinary incontinence problems. I asked my physician if it was age related and she said it was unlikely. I NEVER had any issues with kidney/bladder control until then and really did not know what the cause was until I read about the recall.

2. Mary Says:
   June 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 pm

   I am a Crohn’s Disease patient. I have had more colonoscopies than I care to recall, and I bet a lot more than you folks. I have used both Golytely (called Colye too) and Fleet Phosphosoda. Believe me, Fleet is better.

   With Golytely, you get a gallon jug with powdered product in the bottom, and are instructedfill it with water, chill, andstarting thenight before the procedure, to drink a coffee mug full every 15 minutes until you start going to the bathroom all night. The taste is vile, worse than you think, and you quickly fill up with water and bloat, until you finally begin to “go.” I find it nearly impossible to get down, winding up gagging and having heaves. Of course, if I do barf it, it will not do the colon prep.

   With Fleet, you are also supposed to drink many glasses of water–but they are regular water and you don’t gag. The water, of course, is to do the washing out of the colon. It is also to keep you from becoming dehydrated by the prep, no matter which one you are using. Both of them suck the fluid out of your colon & make you go, go, go. You have to replace the flluid by drinking more water—duh. Or you could get dehydrated, double duh.

   If you do not take one of these products, your colon will not be clean & well washed—so the Dr. will not get a clear view of the lining of the bowel, to see how much disease there is, how bad the lesions are, etc.

   Sorry to be so graphic but there is a reason this stuff was invented. The people who really are sick need to be able to prep their guts for the necessary exam.

   As with all medications, proper use does not give problems, and improper use or abuse (such as for foolish “purging” by people who do not have any disease) can injure you, even seriously. If you take too many barbiturates, you will sleep for a long long time, too. If you gobble aspirin, you will wreck your stomach, and if you overdose on acetominophen, you will need a liver transplant.

   Let’s have some common sense and use meds only for their intended purpose, and according to directions.

   And Deborah, did you ever have any children? Did you have to push hard when delivering? Are you in menopause? Urinary incontinence is extremely common in women who have given birth and reached middle age or older. It has nothing to do with having used Fleet or having a colonoscopy. It does have to do with damage sustained “back in the day.” Welcome to the club.

3. Anne Says:
   October 4th, 2009 at 11:15 pm

   My doctor told me he does not want to use fleet anymore because of the risks of kidney damage. And he gave me a prescription for go litely. I am afraid it is not safe either and I am trying to find an alternative to go litely as a colonoscopy prep. It has propylene glycol as one of its ingredients. That’s a main ingredient in anti-freeze. And anti freeze has been used by people commiting suicide (one case is making headlines in England because a young woman used a living will to prevent a hospital from reviving her after using anti-freeze); the way anti-freeze works is by causing kidney failure at the very least and death in 95-99% of the cases according to the article I read. Anyone knows of something truly safe to use as a prep for a colonoscopy?

4. Jerry Says:
   November 5th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

   Different out-come, but worth noting. I prepared for a colonoscopy using Golytely on 6/29/09. That evening I suffered a heart attack and was totally unconscious and on life support for 3 days. They brought me back from death 4 times. No where on the label does it state that someone my age (63) could possibly have serious repercussions to this medicine if they have an unknown problem, such as a heart vessel that is 75% blocked.

5. John Says:
   November 11th, 2009 at 7:40 pm

   There is nothing wrong with the proper use of Fleet PhosphoSoda as a prep for a colonoscopy! The problem has arrisen by people repeatedly using it improperly as a cleansing agent. I have used Fleet twice and my wife once for prep for colonoscopies with no problems and at minimal cost; appx $6.00. My wife recently prepped for her second colonoscopy with a scipt for Moviprep (which costs $60.00) and came with a mail-in coupon from the Dr. for a $20.00. This seems to me to be an unreasonable cost for a prep material and further leads me to question what incentive is being given the Drs. for “pushing” Moviprep! The Moviprep is a far less user friendly substitute for the Fleet product for us. This is a prime example of what’s so wrong with our medical system, when it takes a $60.00 item to replace a $6.00 item that works fine when used properly and no ABUSED ! Let’s see how much more it costs for Fleet when the script requirment is added by the FDA.

6. Deborah J. Says:
   November 30th, 2009 at 3:31 pm

   I completely agree with John and Mary. Just because people can’t read directions I must suffer. I have ulcerative colitis and so usually do a colonoscopy every year. But my doc gave me a pass last year and so I didn’t realizie til now that phospho Soda was taken off the shelf. Had I known I would have stocked up and just kept in the refrigerator. I CANNOT drink the half gallon of gag juice, and swore I would never have another colonoscopy if that – or any other gag juice – was the only alternative. I understand you can do a Miralax prep, its still a lot of liquid but without the gag taste. But, it too is “antifreeze”. Does anyone have a hidden stock of Phospho ?? I would pay dearly for some.

7. Sam Says:
   November 30th, 2009 at 5:56 pm

   Anne:

   Polyethylene glycol, used in laxatives, is not the same as Ethylene glycol, the toxic anti-freeze that kills kids and pets. Polyethylene glycol may or may not be safe, but it is not acutely poisonous.

8. Gina Says:
   February 5th, 2010 at 6:24 pm

   Up until 2008, I had to either drink the disgusting gallon thing, or Fleet. I suffer Ulcerative Colitis. The last colonoscopy, the Dr. told me to drink Miralax. He also added correctol. Which was a great alternative to both Fleet and Golytely. I had a C-sec with my one child. So I didn’t “push,” as Mary commented. I also have had many bladder infections-all under age 40. Lately, I have incontinence from time to time. My first colonscopy was in 1996. And I had to drink Fleet for some of my colonoscopies between then and now. I drank water. I followed the instructions. To me the miralax seemed better. It doesn’t taste bad.

9. Mark Says:
   February 11th, 2010 at 11:31 am

   I had two colonoscopies while in the USAF and used this Fleet stuff prior to the procedures both times. Now five years later, my lab results indicate a 25% loss in kidney function which is abnormal for a 42 year old man. I’m told by my nephrologist that he feels the CKD is related to the anti-inflammatory meds also prescribed for my degenerative osteoarthritis in my hands and elbows. I never told him about taking Fleet as I never knew it was dangerous to healthy kidneys. I’m waiting for word from him now whether the Fleet was an attributor to the CKD or not.

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