Colonoscopy

Maintaining the low-residue and clear liquid diets and completing the entire course of your prep solution are important steps in bowel preparation. If you don’t like the taste of the prep solution or if it causes nausea, try drinking it very cold or on ice. It might also be helpful to use a straw to bypass some of your taste buds and to drink the solution quickly rather than slowly.

Here are some things to remember as you complete the clear liquid diet portion of your prep:

• Avoid smoothies and plant-based juices. Even when these drinks don’t contain dairy, they may have seeds from fruits and vegetables.
• It’s OK to drink coffee or tea, but it must be black. No form of dairy or creamers are allowed.
• You cannot have hard candy or chew gum before your colonoscopy.
• You must not drink alcohol, even if it’s something clear, such as white wine. You already will be dehydrated during the clear liquid diet portion of your prep. Alcohol may further dehydrate you.

It’s important to do the best you can to follow your dietary recommendations. However, the most important part of your preparation is the prep solution itself. Even if your stools become clear after your first dose of the solution, try to finish the solution. As long as you get enough down to start having frequent watery or clear bowel movements, the prep should be adequate to complete your exam.

Following the medication instructions we provide is essential. Here’s more guidance on medicine:

• Generally, it isn’t a problem to take aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) before a colonoscopy. But if we remove a polyp, we’ll ask you to stop taking these medications for a week.
• If you take blood thinners and did not discuss this when making your appointment, please call our office at 617-754-8888. We can connect with your providers and determine if you should continue taking your medication ahead of your procedure.
• If you’ve been taking multivitamins with iron in the days before your exam, stop the vitamins as soon as you think about it. If your stool is quite black when taking iron, it might be best to postpone your colonoscopy. We can reschedule for a time when you have stopped the iron for a full week and your stools are brown.
• On the day of your exam, you should take all heart or blood pressure medicines at their usual times with a small amount of water.

The usual prep for a colonoscopy includes eating a short-term, low-residue diet. It limits high-fiber foods and focuses on foods that are easy to digest. Then the day before you colonoscopy, you consume only a clear liquid diet. You also drink a prep solution the night before your procedure. Several solutions are available. Read detailed instructions for your colonoscopy with each prep solution.

If you have chronic constipation or you’ve had trouble with preparing for procedures in the past, your doctor may recommend double or extended colonoscopy. These preps involve a longer low-residue diet than standard colonoscopy prep. They also include two days on the clear liquid diet and two days of prep solution. You should only complete the double prep course if your care team instructs you to.

If you’re sick, you may keep your scheduled appointment as long as you’re not vomiting and don’t have a fever or cough with sputum or phlegm.

Please call the Digestive Disease Center at 617-754-8888 first thing in the morning if you think you need to reschedule. Our office opens at 8:00 am. If you have other questions or concerns, we’re happy to answer them, as well.