Colonoscopy

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest

colonoscopyA colonoscopy is a test to check the inside of your bowels. It usually takes about 30-45 minutes. Conditions they will be looking for include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease and bowel cancer.

Often a sedative will be given to help you relax and make the procedure less uncomfortable. You will be advised that you should not drive for at least 24 hours after taking the sedative.

Clearing the bowel beforehand

Two days before the procedure, your diet will consist of bland foods, and on the day before it you will be on a very restrictive diet indeed. On the actual day, and prior to the procedure, you will take no solid food at all, and only plain drinks, such as water and tea or coffee without milk.

You will have been given clear instructions on what you can and cannot eat, and you really must stick to the rules. In fact, you might choose to fast completely for a day or two, but that’s up to you. You’ll still be able to drink, and you’ll actually be encouraged to drink plenty (but only the things on your permitted list).

Remember, this is to get the bowel as empty as possible, otherwise the procedure won’t be able to go ahead, or if it does it may well prove to be a waste of time.

And you’ll be given a strong laxative to take in the last day or two before it. And when I say a strong laxative, I do mean strong. In fact, you will have to stay very close to a toilet once you’ve taken it – you won’t have much time to reach one if it’s not already very close to you! And you will be visiting if repeatedly.

The procedure

A long, thin, flexible tube (a colonoscope) is carefully passed into your rectum, and it has a camera at the end so the person administering the colonoscopy can see the interior of the bowels. You will have had a few days to prepare for the procedure so that your bowels will be as empty as possible. And assuming the inside of your bowel is clear enough to allow the camera to show detail, the procedure will go ahead.