I had the low-volume Pico-Silax prep for mine. You only have to choke down two 150mL glasses of the crap separated by 4 hours, followed up by plenty of non-vomit inducing liquids.
One benign polyp for me, so I go back for another one in 2026.
That sounds so civilized! Unfortunately, the highly specialized medical group that does colonoscopies (and only colonoscopies) in this area seems quite wedded to the full gallon treatment.
I had my first experience 10-ish years ago and the only difference in the prep concoction for my more recent one was that it is now lemon-flavored, not cherry. Also a much more restricted diet in the several days beforehand. (What? No pepper??)
Like @bobot, I fretted and fretted in advance of the first procedure. No more. My fears were entirely outsized to the reality of the experience. C’mon, @bobot, get it done! 
It is under consideration, I appreciate the encouragement. The doc only referred it because I’m in my fifties. I recently passed the poke-the-poop-with-the-stick test.
Hey, when I was 12 or 13 I would have found the prep hilariously funny. At 50, it was modestly entertaining, in the sense that I was shocked and amused to learn just how much volume there was to my digestive tract. Had I more aggressively managed the sensitivity from too much wiping, it would have been no big deal at all.
Edit: I didn’t have the gallon of crap to drink. As I recall, I was on Suprep, which was just two 16 ounce drinks a few hours apart. My tactical error was that my liquid of choice for the rest of the day was grape juice. And of course the Suprep was grape flavored, so it was too much of one thing, and I was in no position to go to the store to get anything else.
Bidet toilet seat for the win!
That’s what I have now. Really needed it back then.
At the risk of being a little graphic, a friend recommended that before the onset of production, I should grease up the rear end with Desitin or vaseline as some of the irritation is not just from wipes but from the raw digestive fluids exiting. I waited until after I felt burning and that was just too late.
Co-signed with gusto.
It’s not THAT bad.
My colonoscopy was on a Monday morning. So Sunday’s diet was all liquid- broth, popsicles, jello, etc… in the acceptable colors.
Starting at about 5 on Sunday, I took two Dulcolax, and then an hour later, drank one small bottle of Miralax (119g/4.1 oz) dissolved in a quart of Gatorade. It took a while for that to kick in- I think it was about midnight, and then again at about 2.
Then I was instructed to wake up at 4:30 and take two more Dulcolax, and at 5:30 drink another bottle of Gatorade and another 4.1 oz of Miralax.
That didn’t take long… but I was empty and done by about 8:30. Procedure at 10.
My prep was rated “excellent”, and it really wasn’t all that bad for something you do once a decade.
My appointment was first thing in the morning, and I remember doing the whole cleanse thing during the course of the day before. I’d have hated to do it so that the effects hit me all during the night. Having no food the day before plus no sleep the night before would not have been fun.
reminds me of back in 1995 - I had what had been a pea sized lump for some 10 or so years suddenly grow to pingpong ball sized lump. My OB/GYN at the submarine base hospital immediately called in a bunch of other doctors and suchlike to check it out [pelvics and rectal manual exams. The head of OB was not happy when I said that was the most action I had since my husband deployed =) ] In the week [thursday to thursday] I didn’t eat at all - there was some insane imaging or exam pre-op and blood draws - so nothing by mouth other than clear liquids.
So in I go for surgery, then done and into recovery. WHen they finally shoved me into a room to finish waking up, mrAru showed up with one of the old 44 oz McDonalds ice teas and a 20 piece Mcnugget. Nurse wandered in with one of the pony cans of ginger ale and a fruit cup, asking me if I felt like trying to eat something as I was busily shoveling nuggets and tea down my gullet. I was freaking ravenous!!!
I’ve had 2 so far. Both times I went 1/2 in on the dietary requirements a day early, both times the final purge wasn’t that bad, and the doc said it was a nice view (so to speak).