Getting older means more frequent health screenings. Colonoscopies, procedures that can detect and remove early signs of colorectal cancer, are among the most important. Generally, it’s recommended that adults over 45 receive a colonoscopy every 10 years. However, if you have an inflammatory bowel disease diagnosis or family history of colon cancer, your medical provider might recommend you get tested earlier and/or more frequently.
During a colonoscopy, a doctor uses a long, flexible camera to examine your rectum and large intestine, or your colon. To prepare, providers advise patients to go on a liquid diet followed by laxatives.
“The better cleaned out you are, the easier it is for us to catch polyps early and hopefully prevent colon cancer,” says Dr. Haleh Pazwash, a gastroenterologist based in New Jersey.
While you’ll receive instructions on how to prepare for a colonoscopy from your provider, we talked to gastroenterologists about some tricks of the trade that might not be listed in the fine print.
Read preparation instructions in advance.
Even if you’re weeks away from your procedure, read the preparation instructions as soon as you can. After it’s too late, “a lot of people realize they were supposed to do something they haven’t done yet,” says Dr. Max Pitman, a gastroenterologist based in Brooklyn, NY.
For example, you may need to pick up a laxative from your pharmacy ahead of your appointment. Pitman says some patients also need to stop certain medications a week before the procedure; Blood thinners, for example, can increase the risk of bleeding during polyp removal.
Pay attention to what you eat beforehand.
While you’ll stop eating altogether right before your colonoscopy, Pitman says it’s important to pay attention to what you eat in the days before your fast. Try to follow a low-fiber diet a few days before your colonoscopy, avoiding nuts, seeds and fibrous vegetables like kale.
“If you eat something like corn too close to the colonoscopy, it can clog the instruments we use to do the procedure,” says Pitman. “There’s nothing more annoying to a doctor than having to frequently de-clog pieces of food.”
Load up on fluids (but not red ones).
You’ll have diarrhea during your colon prep, so Pazwash says it’s important to stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause nausea, headaches, or dizziness, so she recommends loading up on liquids even before you start cleaning out your colon. Just don’t drink red, purple or blue fluids, as they can stain the walls of your colon and be mistaken for blood. “You don’t want to confuse your doctor,” says Pitman.
Stay near a bathroom.
You can do a liquid diet anywhere. But once you start the laxative portion of your colon prep, usually the night before your colonoscopy, you’ll want to revolve your plans around the closest bathroom, because you’ll be having frequent and loose stools. Wear loose clothing to make toilet time easier, and keep some reading material in the bathroom (you’ll be spending a lot of time there). Bowel prep can take a good half of a day, so the day before, plan on working from home if possible. Also plan to have someone else give you a ride back from colonoscopy.