Full Bowel Prep Using GoLYTELYŽ or NuLYTELYŽ
To prepare for surgery, follow a clear liquid diet and clean your bowels one to two days before surgery. Please follow these steps closely. Your nurse will review them with you.
Your Diet One to Two Days before Surgery
- Start a clear liquid diet 2 days before surgery. You will only be drinking clear liquids. After a light breakfast, you will not eat any solid food for 2 days.
- Start clear liquids 1 day before surgery. You may eat a light breakfast then start a clear liquid diet. There is no limit to the amount you have. Do not eat any solid food after the light breakfast.
Clear liquids include:
- Water
- Clear Jello® (with nothing added) or Popsicles®
- Carbonated beverages (7-Up® or Sprite®)
- Clear broth or bouillon in water
- Apple, grape or cranberry juice (not tomato, orange, grapefruit or prune juice)
- Tea or coffee (no cream or milk); sugar or sugar substitute is OK.
- Boost Breeze®, or Resource®
- No alcoholic drinks
- Hard candy
- No dairy products of any kind
Using GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®
Cleaning your bowel with a GI lavage solution (GoLYTELY® or NULYTELY®) can take from 4-7 hours to complete. Please follow these steps closely. If you take any medicines, don’t take them during the time you are drinking the solution. Take any medicines an hour before or an hour after you finish drinking the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®. Begin by mixing the solution.
How to Mix GoLYTELY®or NuLYTELY ®
- Read the directions on the bottle. Add lukewarm water to the fill mark on the bottle you were given. Do not add any other liquid or flavors, except you may add 2 packets of Crystal Light® Lemonade powder with Nutrasweet®. If the GoLytely® you received comes with flavor packets, you may add these. Do not add ice.
- Cap the bottle tightly and shake until all the powder is dissolved.
How to Make the GoLYTELY®or NuLYTELY®Easier to Drink
- Add the Crystal Light® or the flavor packet that came with your GoLYTELY®. Some people prefer to flavor by the glass.
- Some people say it is easier to drink when it is chilled. Do not add ice. It is normal to have some body chilling when drinking a cold liquid quickly. You may want to wear warm clothing while drinking it cold, or you may prefer to drink it at room temperature.
- You may find it easier to sip the GoLYTELY® through a straw, since you need to drink so much.
One hour after your liquid noon meal (11-12:00 pm) the day before your surgery, take a 10 mg tablet of Reglan® (metoclopramide). This will help your stomach empty faster and make it easier to drink the Go LYTELY® or NuLYTELY®.
Thirty minutes after taking the Reglan® (metoclopramide), start drinking the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®. Try to drink at least one 8-ounce glass every 10 minutes. If you feel sick to your stomach, stop drinking. Wait until the nausea passes. Then, start drinking again, but at a slower rate (8 ounces every 15-20 minutes).
About one hour after you start drinking the GoLYTELY®, you will begin to have diarrhea. You will want to stay close to a bathroom. You may also feel some cramps in your lower abdomen. This is normal. Keep drinking the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY® until it is all gone. Depending on your surgery, you may also be asked to take 1-2 enemas. Your stools must be clear. Once you have finished all of the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®, you may keep drinking the clear liquids until midnight. Do not eat any solid foods. After midnight, you must not drink or eat at all or your surgery could be canceled.
When to Call Your Doctor or Clinic
If you have severe, steady stomach pain, get light-headed or dizzy, don’t expel any of the solution or are unable to drink the GoLYTELY®, call your clinic. After hours or weekends, call the paging operator at (608) 262-0486. Ask for your doctors’ surgery resident on call. Give your name and phone number with the area code. The doctor will call you back. Tell the doctor you are doing a bowel prep for surgery and explain your situation.
Taking Antibiotic Medicine
You may also need to take oral antibiotic medicine and other supplements after you finish drinking. The nurses or your doctor will tell you if this is needed.
- One hour after finishing the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®, take another 10mg metoclopramide (Reglan®) tablet. Take the first dose of antibiotics: erythromycin 1 gram and neomycin 1 gram.
- Two hours after finishing the GoLYTELY® or NuLYTELY®, take another dose of antibiotics: erythromycin 1 gram and neomycin 1 gram.
- At 10:00 pm, take last dose of antibiotics: erythromycin 1 gram and neomycin 1 gram.
Additional Instructions
The nurse has checked the instructions below that your doctor wants you to follow:
______ During the evening drink 1 liter of a sports-type drink (for example, Gatorade®. It must have electrolytes.
______ If your doctor orders a potassium supplement, take it at _________ am or _________ pm
______ If your doctor orders a Fleets® enema the morning of surgery, give it at least 1 hour before leaving home.
Do Not Eat or Drink Anything After Midnight
Call your Clinic Monday-Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm with questions:
_______________________ Clinic at (608) ___________________
Medical Record Number ___________________________
The information provided should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
Last Updated: 03/03/2008
Copyright © 08/30/2005 University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Department of Nursing. HF#5378
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