Description Sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and potassium chloride combination is used to cleanse the colon (bowel) before a colonoscopy. This medicine is a laxative. It works by causing you to have diarrhea to clean your colon.

Understanding the Context

Cleaning your colon will help your doctor see the inside of your colon more clearly during colonoscopy. This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription. Description Sodium sulfate, potassium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate combination is used to cleanse the colon (bowel) before certain medical tests (eg, colonoscopy). This medicine is a laxative.

Key Insights

It works by causing you to have diarrhea to clean your colon. Cleaning your colon will help your doctor see the inside of your colon more clearly during colonoscopy or other procedures. This medicine ... Trying to find the best magnesium supplement? ConsumerLab tested popular forms and brands.

Final Thoughts

Find out which ones passed our review and tests, which failed, and which we selected as our Top Picks. Learn which forms of magnesium are best absorbed, correct dosage, side effects, and who is most likely to need magnesium. Information about magnesium including independent product reviews and comparisons, warnings, recalls, side effects, clinical use updates, and news. ConsumerLab purchased and tested 15 popular magnesium supplements, including softgels, capsules, tablets, liquids, and gummies, to help identify the best magnesium supplements, and selected its Top Pick. Magnesium supplement brands tested include Bluebonnet, BulkSupplements, Doctor’s Best, Garden of Life, GNC, Natural Vitality, NOW, Pure Encapsulations, and others. Answer: The most common side effects of magnesium supplements are stomach upset, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (as nearly all forms of magnesium have a laxative effect).

Magnesium hydroxide (milk of magnesia) and magnesium citrate, for example, are commonly found in over-the-counter products to treat constipation.