INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLONOSCOPY
DAY BEFORE TEST
Have a light breakfast(but do not have any grain bread or anything with seeds in it)
12:00 Noon
Have a light lunch – (eg soup, sandwich). YOU MUST NOT EAT AFTER THIS
3:00 pm
Start taking the COLOCAPS BALANCE
Swallow down 5 capsules with a glass of clear fluids(eg water, black tea or coffee without mild, cordials, strained fruit juices without pulps, jelly, clear soup)
If morning procedure,
Continue taking 5 capsules every 15min until all 65 capsules have been taken
If afternoon procedure,
Continue doing these until there are 20 capsules left.
Leave 20 capsules to take on the morning of the test – every 15 minutely from 7am until 8am. You can continue to have clear non-alcoholic fluids up to 4 hours prior to the procedure
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COLONOSCOPY
DAY BEFORE TEST
Have a light breakfast(but do not have any grain bread or anything with seeds in it)
Dissolve GLYCOPREP in ONE litre of water and place in fridge
12:00 Noon
Have a light lunch – (eg soup, sandwich). YOU MUST NOT EAT AFTER THIS
3:00 pm
Start drinking the GLYCOPREP solution – drink 1 glass every 15 minutes. (Slow down if nauseaous)
5:00 pm
Mix 1 sachet PICOPREP with water and drink. Drink at least 1 litre of clear fluids(eg water, black tea or coffee without mild, cordials, strained fruit juices without pulps, jelly, clear soup) over the next 2 hours
7:00pm
Mix 1 sachet PICOPREP with water and drink. Drink at least 1 litre of clear fluids over the next 2 hours
DAY OF TEST
Morning examination – Do not eat or drink anything. Take usual medication with sip of wter.
Afternoon examination – Drink lots of clear fluids up to 4 hours before procedure.
It is terribly important to follow the instructions for the bowel preparation. If not properly followed, there may still be faeculent fluid or worse still, thick faeces covering some of the lining of the large intestine. This could hide a small polyp. Also the procedure becomes longer as the endoscopist has to spend time trying to wash and suck out the faeculent fluid as much as possible. (This wouldalso mean the anaesthetist giving the patient more sedation)
Also it is important to avoid food with seeds in the few days preceeding the colonoscopy. Small seeds are a nightmare to the endoscopist as they become stuck in the suction channel of the scope when the faeculent fluid is sucked out!
Other things that have been seen during a colonoscopy include: pill granules, vegetable material …and even a fruit sticker stuck on the wall of the bowel!
Also the bowel preparation work best when one drinks plenty of fluids in order to “wash” out all the faeces in the colon. So remember to take lots of drinks when taking the bowel prep! (But avoid alcohol or coffee !)