📞 (863) 824-3447 📍 201 SW 16th St, Okeechobee 📞 (561) 767 8342 📍 1447 Medical Park Blvd Ste 405, Wellington
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Colonoscopy & EGD Prep Instructions

A clean colon lets Dr. Tarugu see clearly, find and remove polyps, and complete your procedure safely. Your prep is chosen for you individually — Suprep, SuTabs tablets, or a MiraLax-based prep — and our office will tell you which one is yours. Follow only your assigned prep below.

If anything on this page differs from the instructions our office gave you, follow our office’s instructions and call us at (863) 824-3447 with any questions.

Rules for Every Colonoscopy Prep

  • Medications: Our office will review your medicines before your procedure. Blood thinners, diabetes medications, iron supplements, and weight-loss injections (GLP-1 medicines) need special instructions. Do not stop or skip any medication unless we tell you to.
  • The day before your procedure: clear liquids only, all day. You may have water, clear broth, apple or white grape juice, plain gelatin (Jell-O), popsicles, clear sports drinks, and black coffee or tea (no milk or creamer). Avoid anything red or purple, anything with pulp, milk or dairy products, and alcohol.
  • Finish on time: Complete the last of your prep at least 2 hours before your arrival time, and have nothing by mouth after that unless our office tells you otherwise.
  • You will need a driver: You will receive sedation/anesthesia, so an adult must drive you home and stay with you. You cannot drive or return to work that day.
  • What success looks like: By the end of your prep, your stool should be clear or pale-yellow liquid. If it is still brown or cloudy after you finish, call us at (863) 824-3447.

If Your Prep Is Suprep (Liquid)

Suprep is a two-dose liquid prep — one dose the evening before and one the morning of your procedure.

  1. Evening dose (at the time our office gave you, usually around 6 PM): Pour ONE 6-ounce bottle of Suprep into the mixing cup provided. Add cool drinking water up to the 16-ounce line and drink all of it.
  2. Over the next hour, drink two more 16-ounce cups of plain water.
  3. Morning dose (about 5 hours before your arrival time — our office will confirm): Repeat with the second bottle — mix to the 16-ounce line, drink it all, then drink two more 16-ounce cups of water over the next hour.
  4. Finish everything at least 2 hours before you arrive.

Tip: The solution tastes better chilled, and drinking through a straw helps.

If Your Prep Is SuTabs (Tablets)

SuTabs is a two-dose tablet prep — 24 tablets total, taken with water.

  1. Evening dose (at the time our office gave you): Swallow 12 tablets, one at a time with sips of water, drinking about 48 ounces of water in total over about an hour. About an hour later, drink another 16 ounces of water over 30 minutes.
  2. Morning dose (about 5 hours before your arrival time — our office will confirm): Repeat with the remaining 12 tablets and the same water schedule.
  3. Finish everything at least 2 hours before you arrive.

If you have trouble swallowing tablets or have kidney problems, tell our office — your prep was chosen with your health in mind, and we can adjust.

If Your Prep Is a MiraLax-Based Prep

  1. You will need: One 238-gram (8.3 oz) bottle of MiraLax (or generic polyethylene glycol 3350), 64 ounces of a clear sports drink (such as Gatorade — not red or purple), and bisacodyl (Dulcolax) tablets only if our office told you to use them.
  2. Mix the entire bottle of MiraLax into the 64 ounces of sports drink and stir until dissolved.
  3. Evening before: Drink half of the mixture (32 ounces) — one 8-ounce glass every 10 to 15 minutes. Take bisacodyl only if and when our office instructed.
  4. Morning of (about 5 hours before your arrival time — our office will confirm): Drink the remaining half the same way.
  5. Finish everything at least 2 hours before you arrive.

Preparing for an Upper Endoscopy (EGD)

  • Do not eat or drink anything for 6 to 8 hours before your procedure — for most patients this means nothing after midnight.
  • Take morning medications only if our office told you to, with a small sip of water.
  • You will receive sedation, so an adult must drive you home, and you should rest for the remainder of the day. Most patients return to work the next day.

The Day of Your Procedure

Bring your photo ID, insurance card, and an up-to-date list of your medications. If you have questions at any point, call Gastro in Florida at (863) 824-3447, Monday–Friday, 8 AM–4:30 PM.