Magnesium sulfate / potassium sulfate / sodium sulfate and Diarrhea: What Users Say

• tir...
• February 21, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "Okay, I rushed over here to assure you all that it is NOT THAT BAD!!! I took the first dose about an hour ago. It’s definitely not as bad as cough syrup or anything like that. Sweet, salty, and a bit of cherry flavor. It was a lot to get down, so I took lots of big gulps over fifteen minutes and chased each gulp with yellow Gatorade. On a more logistical note, I’ve used the bathroom five times in about 45 minutes and at this point it is clear pale yellow liquid so the stuff seems to be doing its job. I don’t even find the diarrhea that extreme - just very watery diarrhea. Yes, stay near a bathroom because when you have to go, you do have to go! But I haven’t come near having an accident or anything. Really not that bad. Don’t read the horror stories! I was sobbing and shaking before I took the first dose because I was so anxious from reading them all day!"

• SGa...
• February 28, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "Mixed with Crystal Light, down in 6 chugs through straw in 15 min. Sipped on room temp cucumber water, sucked on lemon to neutralize sweet taste. Lemon wedge is a great tip. I started shivering, had a blanket ready, got in bed, finished 32 oz of water in 15 min. 30 min later minor discomfort, went to the toilet 10 min later. Stools were almost completely watery. Sipped ginger ale. Had Vaseline, tucks, no wipe just blotting. No nausea or headache. Followed a light diet for 3 days prior, clear liquids including broth on the day of. I read to have some calories to reduce nausea. It seemed to work. I will do it again in 3.5 hours no problem, it’s nothing. The last sips are hard, I will dilute with more lemonade and have it less cold. Have everything ready beforehand. Had water, lemon, hard candy to suck on, Gatorade, ginger ale, straws, etc. Dress comfortably, have devices charged, have a blanket, etc. Take your time in between, relax. It’s doable."

• Jac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 10, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "Battery acid diarrhea every 3 minutes for 2+ hours after each dose. I wish I knew: --> Liberally apply Destin before the pooping starts --> Blotting, not wiping - and wet wipes --> Wear long sleeves & turn off the A/C and ceiling fan --> I followed the instructions to the letter."

• Fit...
• September 18, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "I read a lot of the comments regarding Suprep, and this being my first colonoscopy, the comments had me nervous, especially regarding the taste! I already knew I would be having a lot of visits to the toilet with watery stool, but you guys really overhyped how bad it tasted! It wasn’t bad at all. A little salty, but not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination. Remind me not to listen to you folks again, lol! I had my screening today, and all went perfectly. In 10 years, when I go for another screening, I’ll have not even one reservation regarding Suprep."

• Hat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "Choked down the first dose at 5 pm. Awful... like sugary earwax. Why they add carbonation is beyond me. I’m pretty sure the two glasses of water they make you drink after are to purge the foul taste from your mouth after drinking this. Worked within a half hour, and I was a human waterfall for the next 3 hours. Another 2 hours after that of intermittent explosive diarrhea. I just took my second dose and am on my second glass of water. My stomach is already gurgling. I’m praying it doesn’t take another 5 hours to clear everything out. You’re gonna need super soft toilet paper. Don’t wipe. Just blot. I recommend some cream before you even start. Eventually, you’ll see the bottom of the toilet bowl. This is my second go-around with Suprep and my preferred method so far after 3 colonoscopies. Less drinking. That's the only good thing about it, except leaving me squeaky clean. I swear, if someone found a better method of doing this, they’d be the wealthiest person on the planet."

• Blu...
• March 2, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "This stuff is definitely a lot better than having to drink a gallon jug of liquid. That's what my doctor first prescribed me, and I said 'nope, have bad memories of that stuff.' Luckily, it was changed to Suprep. I was a little late taking my first dose, which didn't end up being till 9 pm. I took the second dose at 3 am. The first dose wasn't bad, horrible taste even with lemonade mix, but it was tolerable with a chaser of water. I was prescribed Zofran just in case of nausea from this, so that helped a lot. I was on the toilet within 20 minutes, and I was pretty much shooting out clearer liquids an hour later. I made sure to be on a low-fiber diet for a couple of days before the clear liquid day, plus I'm on Linzess, and that gives me daily diarrhea. The second dose was hell, and I only drank a little over half of it. It still did the job just fine, looked like yellow pee coming out my butt from the start."

• MyE...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 2, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "So, I was nervous about this Suprep ordeal all day. 9:30 am colonoscopy appointment; started the prep at 4 pm the evening before. I had out-of-this-world anxiety. First, the taste is not that bad. I had some burping while taking it down. Sip water in between prep sips. 25 minutes after starting (before finishing the prep), I needed to use the bathroom. Big watery movement for the first one. Finished the prep and drank most of the rest of the 32 ounces. Watery movements coming every few minutes; but no pain, no cramps, no nausea. By 5 pm, my bowel movements were clear. The prep does not cause horrible diarrhea... it does cause diarrhea, but it's not horrible. It just comes out. No cramping or straining. Just a literal flush of the system. Second dose will be about 9 pm."

• Nic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2024

For Bowel Preparation "I was extremely anxious before taking this as a lot of people said it makes you barf, and I have severe emetophobia. It does taste really awful, but I mixed it with Gatorade and basically chugged it down in 4 gulps while holding my nose and swishing with apple juice in between to get rid of the taste. I drank 32 oz of water with an electrolyte drink powder mixed in, and the prep started to work within 30 minutes. I haven't had any cramps or nausea at all, just some minor muscle aches from sitting on the toilet for a couple of hours and a sore bum. Definitely apply diaper cream, AD ointment, or Vaseline BEFORE the diarrhea starts and pat instead of wiping. I'm at the 2-hour mark right now, and it seems to be slowing down. Thankfully, now I'm not as scared for the second dose at 4 am. I just wanted to share my experience for others that might be as scared as I was."

• Ret...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 2, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "My advice is to avoid this prep. First, it is ridiculously expensive. Based upon the ingredients, I say the cost should be $5-$10. I was able to get it down OK by using lemonade Crystal Light in the first 16 oz. each time. It would likely have been much more difficult just on its own. This, fortunately, was only my second colonoscopy. The first, using Moviprep, was unexpectedly easy. The diarrhea it produced was gentle, if that is not an oxymoron. I have also been with a family member who used the two bottles of magnesium citrate with no problem. The Suprep began acting within 30 minutes, and the purges were sudden and violent. With the second bottle, I realized that I needed to stay on the toilet as long as possible each time. This prep was more like I had feared my first one would be 11 years ago. If I had received this prep initially, it is not likely I would have consented to a second colonoscopy."

• Gla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 12, 2016

For Bowel Preparation "First timer here. Like a comment above, I'm 54 and doing this for the first time. My anticipation (and fear) about this was completely unfounded. I expected a most vile drink and explosive diarrhea for hours. Got my slices of lime (suggested somewhere to get the taste out of my mouth), flushable baby wipes, and charged my cell phone to have something to do. The taste was bad, but so is taking shots of tequila! Drank the other two 16 oz glasses of water within 10 minutes. In about 20 minutes, it started. I was only on the toilet for about 45 minutes and went back every 20 minutes. It was pretty much over in 2 1/2 hours. And, unlike being really sick, it wasn't that bad. Round two was less of an event!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "The taste of this is awful but manageable for the first dose, which I took around 5 pm. As soon as I finished my first cup of water after drinking the mixture, I was on the toilet. I actually had to finish drinking my second cup of water on the toilet. I couldn’t leave the bathroom for about an hour and a half. Finally, the diarrhea slowed down and would give me a bit of a warning, but if I didn’t use the toilet IMMEDIATELY, it would’ve just come right out. I woke up at 5 am for my second dose, and it was much harder to get down. I got extremely nauseous and thought I was going to throw up and could only get one glass of water down before 7 instead of the two it says. I’m definitely completely cleared out, though. Make sure you have wipes on hand, even the soft toilet paper started to hurt after only an hour of diarrhea."

• Wor...
• August 3, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "Quit worrying about these reviews! I used the Cherry Suprep at 6 pm Thursday and 7 am Friday for my colonoscopy yesterday. It was a much better experience than the Golytely. It tastes like strong children’s cough syrup to me. I mixed it with ice-cold water and drank the 16 oz in four big gulps and downed two bottles of room-temperature water in the next thirty minutes. BM started 30 minutes later. I did have some stomach bloating initially, but that went away after the first BM. The diarrhea lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Went to bed at 9 pm and actually got a full night's sleep. The second bottle at 7 am was much like the first. It’s not bad in my experience. Much better than the Golytely the Army had me drink. I had 2 precancerous polyps removed, and I was in and out of the clinic in a total of 2 hours."

• Dav...
• December 5, 2014

For Bowel Preparation "One of the nastiest things I've ever tasted! Very 'caustic' and a little salty. I drank both 'steps' in a single swig, then immediately brushed my teeth because of the awful aftertaste. The prep worked well, causing relentless diarrhea. I could not even count the bowel movements I had, lasting for about 4 hours after each dose. I'm sure I was VERY cleaned out. The worst part of the whole experience was the severe anal burning."

• con...
• January 13, 2015

For Bowel Preparation "I thought it was going to work immediately but took a good hour. Hour mild cramping and diarrhea for 45 min. Thought I was done and could go watch The Bachelor. I got 5 min into the show and almost didn't make it back to the bathroom. 15 min waiting for diarrhea to stop. Finally, I can go watch The Bachelor. 20 min into the show and it hits again. 10 more minutes of diarrhea and finally done. It was not as bad as everyone was saying. Now for my morning prep."

• kmi...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2015

For Bowel Preparation "I am a critical care nurse for over 7 years. I have given prep to hundreds of patients over the years, this is my first self-experience. At 28 years old, I have to have a colonoscopy and EGD for abdominal pain and bloody stools for over 3 weeks. I have a pretty diverse palate and eat some crazy things, but this: HORRIBLE! I choked down every swig. Smells half decent, tastes terrible. Called my doctor, and there really isn't any other prep available. So, I did what I had to do. I will say, the effects weren't terrible. No cramping. No bloating. Only nausea was the gagging to get it down. A few watery stools. I understand it's most likely because of the electrolyte mix, but O. M. G! Something needs to be done about the taste! Indescribable!"

• Mer...
• November 9, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "This was my 4th colonoscopy in the past 20 years. The first two involved Golightly as the prep. Effective, but did not like the taste or required volume of water. The last two I used Suprep. The taste was not that unpleasant, and the volume of water was much more reasonable. Took about 45 minutes for it to 'kick in'...effects lasted for about 3 hours. The second prep was at 5 am and was about the same. So much better than Golightly. I had significant diarrhea before starting the prep, so by the time I was done with everything, my bottom was pretty sore. Good advice to use soothing wipes of some type as the last wipe, and just blot vs. hard wipe. Hope this helps."

• Sug...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 11, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "If you have any GI issues, I strongly suggest not doing this prep. Embalming fluid couldn’t taste as bad. Premedicated with Zofran (to stop vomiting and nausea) and couldn’t get through half of the first bottle. Severe vomiting and diarrhea within ten minutes. Spent the next 24 hours with chills and a horrendous headache, followed by IV fluids. Absolutely no reason for a prep to be this harsh. Will never do Suprep again."

• Nev...
• February 10, 2017

For Bowel Preparation "This stuff is horrible! The first gulp and I was ready to throw it up. I didn't, thankfully, not the first bottle anyway. It's like drinking poison. Then with each bottle, you have to literally sit on the toilet for 4 hours each because it takes forever for it to clean you out. The second bottle I painfully downed but threw up shortly thereafter. Then, 6 hours after taking the last dose, I still have diarrhea! This product should be taken off the shelves or might be more effective than waterboarding. Do not take this, please ask for a gentler product. I will never take this again!"

• Bye...
• September 19, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "I would like to give this prep a negative 100 stars. This was one of the worst experiences of my life. I do not consider myself a wimp, have had 3 kids and a few surgeries, no problems. I personally feel it should not be a one size fits all... and that a 120-pound person should drink the same as a 250-pound person. The taste made me want to vomit with the first sip. After 15 hours of diarrhea, my head was about to explode, and I was so dizzy I couldn’t walk. Had to go in, in a wheelchair!!! Omg. And then they said we might have to cancel. Ummm nooo, cause this is never ever going to be in my life again. Beeeeeware."

• 50...
• December 3, 2016

For Bowel Preparation "I got prep down within 15 minutes, then I drank 32 ounces of water over the next 30 minutes - they told me I had to get this all down within one hour - all of a sudden my stomach got bloated and started making noises, and then the nausea came full force with mouthwatering and fierce chills, and I ran to the bathroom and I vomited twice. I never expected this to happen because I never read the reviews until now. 45 minutes later, I had a little bit of diarrhea, then a regular bowel movement, then about an hour later watery diarrhea, then full force liquid. Woke up at 4 AM nervous and did the 5 AM dose, this time holding my nose as I took five swigs each time, followed by water swishing around my mouth to get the taste out. Prep works faster the second time."

• Wai...
• February 4, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "Just took this stuff at 4:38. And now I wait... The stuff was not that big a deal at all. It tasted just like some others said on here... like cherry liquid medicine for kids, but salty. Like if your cherry sucker fell into the sea at the beach and you ate it anyway. LOL. No aftertaste... I wonder if some of you even took the same flavored me as me. I will post again after this takes its course. Okay, I think Round 1 is over. Drank the stuff, 50 minutes later I had easy diarrhea (no burning or anything). This is easy. I followed my doc's orders and actually ate very little. Drank water mostly even on the first two days. Easy peasy. Don't fret."

• Mom...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 3, 2015

For Bowel Preparation "So, I am still in the middle of my first round. I took it at 4 pm. Tastes like grape cough syrup. It was a little difficult for me to get down, but I drank it in about 5 min. Was immediately running to the bathroom within 5 min. I'm sure that since I already had diarrhea to begin with, it made the process happen much quicker. However, it is now 7 pm, and I have just now been able to stop going long enough after wiping to pull my underwear up. Being in the toilet for 3 hours has made my legs hurt, so I just decided to slap a pad on my underwear. With it being all liquid now, it'll absorb just like I'm on my period! That's probably TMI, but for those of you who haven't thought of that and have been affected the way I have - you should try it."

• Kjo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 15, 2019

For Bowel Preparation "To everyone afraid of the taste... If you have had other bad-tasting meds or the barium drink before a CAT scan, you will laugh at how NON bad this medicine tastes. It’s, of course, not pleasant but is not remotely in the same ballpark as the other ones. My guess is a lot of people who are healthy for the most part are the ones complaining, as they don’t have hours of diarrhea on a regular basis, because this is actually a nice clean out. Takes about an hour to kick in, about 2-3 hours of going, but with breaks in between. Just don’t stray very far."

• Tan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 17, 2020

For Bowel Preparation "Amazing that there is such a broad range of experiences concerning this bowel prep. I suppose it's just a gamble as to how it's going to affect each individual. I can tell you that for me, it has been a god-awful experience! It has been 7 days since my colonoscopy, and I still have diarrhea! Not only did this poison taste disgusting, and I had to gag it down - it has had a major effect on my system. I've had to send a sample of my poop to a lab for testing, and I suppose a blood test is next. I do not know how this stuff is allowed on the market! I am worried that this has permanently damaged my health! Beware of this product - it's not worth the gamble to see if you're going to end up rating it at a 1 or a 10 for your experience!"

• Dee...
• May 15, 2017

For Bowel Preparation "I took my first dose at 6 pm last night, and at 6:02, I was in the bathroom. The first few times I pooped, it was still a little hard, but after about half an hour, it just comes right through you. The medicine doesn't taste that bad, and by 10 pm, I was only going in occasionally. Now it's 7:21 am, I took my second dose at 6 am, and I'm wondering how anything can still be left in there, to be honest. My procedure is at 9:30, but the diarrhea is tapering off. Actually, it's not even that, it's like you're peeing out of your butt. It seems to be slowing down, though. That way, everything is flushed and clean for the doctor, and I won't have to go back in for 5 more years hopefully, but at this time, I'm still not venturing far from the bathroom."