Preparing for a Colonoscopy

Prepare for your colonoscopy with these simple tips from Dr. Lynn Butterly, Director of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States -- yet it's one of the few we can prevent. Prevention and detection are the keys to beating colorectal cancer.

The colonoscopy uses a thin, flexible tube through which your doctor can detect polyps with a tiny camera, and even remove them without discomfort in a matter of seconds. Preparing as effectively as possible for a colonoscopy gives your doctor the best chance of finding even the smallest polyps.

Your doctor will prescribe you the "prep" medication that you will drink beforehand, but you will also want to have other materials on hand for the "clear liquid diet" that you'll have to be on as well.

Clear liquids include apple juice, ginger ale, Jell-O, broth or bouillon. Hard candies may even be OK as well.

You also may want to have extra toilet paper, special wipes, or magazines or books.

Drink one glass every 15 minutes or so until you feel full, then take a break to let it work through your system. Don't get discouraged as you work your way through the jug; just remember, possibly having undiscovered colorectal cancer will be harder than this preparation!

The "split prep" is another option. You would do most of your prep in the afternoon and night, then finish the prep first thing in the morning, if your endoscopy center recommends it. Remember that you have to finish the prep at least an hour and a half before your appointment.

You can flavor your prep with a colorless flavor of Crystal Light (flavor each glass, not the whole jug). We encourage you to use more than one flavor for variety's sake.

Again, your own endoscopist may have different recommendations than what we have suggested here. Check with your provider for specific instructions.

Learn more about our colorectal screening program at http://bit.ly/dh_colo.

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[northshore7x]

excellent video.......thanks for posting

[ladyandrea1985]

The prep is the worst indeed! HUNGRY & the cleansing was crazy runs for 3 hours straight. Thankfully they found nothing except a stupid hemmoroid. I did it because my mom has colon cancer and I didnt want to take a chance. Its a touchy subject but colon cancer is a silent killer!

[Thelipstickfemme Hooper]

Excellent tutorial and excellent presentation. Thank you. These are great suggestions. I would also suggest warming up the bathroom so it is not so cold. It helps the body to relax when on the toilet. I like the idea of having some hard candy on hand after each drink. I am going to split the prep into two days. Thanks for the tips on passing clear liquids when elemination

[Terri Lynn Brown]

This is an excellent video. Thanks for sharing. I have my colonscopy on Monday. I am not so nervous anymore.

[cskueny]

Nice video. I had my first colonoscopy this morning, and the entire experience was much less troublesome than I feared. Even good videos like this warn of the laxative being hard to drink, but to me it had almost zero taste and was not hard to drink (except for maybe the 17th glass). It was PEG-3350, 2 liters at night and 2 in the morning, and I had it on ice with a straw. Was not difficult. And exam turned up no major problems (yay). Much easier than expected (see Dave Barry on that).

[the430movie .]

I'm thinking.... If you were on devils island, they read the toilet paper, and use the reading literature to clean themselves... You could only imagine what a colonoscopy must be at devils island..... Perish the thought!

[veganath]

All omnivorous/carnivorous animals jaws move ONLY up & down.

All herbivorous animals jaws not only move up & down but side to side. Why do we humans feel we are soooo different.

This and numerous other attributes, make humans physiologically herbivores...

[VanKlaunch]

Our ancestors (Homo erectus) have been cooking food for over the past million years. We have clearly adapted to the intake of cooked meat, vegetables, and fruit. Generally, we eat far more meat than we should, but we are definitely omnivores.

[ladyandrea1985]

Once the solution kicks in you can't walk around. You basically sit on the toliet with cramps and wait. I brought my laptop into the washroom. I did the half and half prep.