Hi. I have a colonoscopy booked in for Monday afternoon and will be starting the prep Sunday evening. Does anyone have any tips for making that as comfortable as possible?
I’m planning on sticking to toast, soup, pasta or rice from today until I stop eating Sunday lunchtime in the hope that will reduce the effects. I’m a bit worried about how to combat the shakes and headaches from my sugars dropping sunday into Monday morning and not sure if it would be ok to drink something like lucosade sport that day.
Any other practical hints and tips would be greatly appreciated.
Written by
Mifford
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Did the hospital give you a leaflet on what you can and cant drink during the prep session. Mine came with the prep and I found it a really helpful guide.
Drink all you have been told to drink as dehydration is something you need to avoid, not easy but essential. I found drinking the prep through a straw helped me to take the prep solution to the back of my throat without tasting it which was good as the prep liquid was nasty tasting.
Stay within feet of the toilet as when it starts there is very little time to get there. It can be very explosive.
I decided on sedation for the colonoscopy and it helped as did the gas and air given. I was totally awake but calmed. I found the procedure nothing like as bad as I expected. Sailed through it. Good luck.
They’ve given me a leaflet that says water, clear juices without pulp, diluted cordial (not sure if lucosade would be in that) but not blackcurrant, clear soups, herbal tea and black tea or coffee. The prep is mango flavoured for the first one which I’m hoping won’t be too bad and berries for the second - which might be more challenging as it’s not a flavour I like. I’ll definitely try the straw so thank you for that tip.
I had a colonoscopy about 30 years ago and slept through it with sedation so I’m surprisingly relaxed about that bit with sedation - if I’m going to be up from 6am I’m hoping they let me sleep fora while! Back then I think you had to drink litres of the prep and then drink full sugar coke so this looks a lot better than that at least - the full sugar coke was horrible when you’ve only ever drunk diet
lucozade sport is fine. Easier to drink when it’s been chilled in the fridge and through a straw. Make sure you drink water in between drinking the prep. Flushable toilet wipes and a barrier cream help with soreness
when I did mine a couple months ago I didn’t read the instructions correct and ate normally until the night before. I just did the cleanse and they were still able to do my colonoscopy.
Mix it with orange or apple juice, keep it in the fridge and drink through a straw. I'm normally running clear after the first one and really struggle getting the 2nd one down
It is my second, so I know what to expect - as others have said, I’d recommend having whatever sedation is offered, simply to reduce the discomfort as the camera negotiates the bends in your colon.
In general, drinking the prep is the worst part of the procedure- you’ll be fine,
A bit of reassurance- you may (or may not!) be worrying about the need to ‘go’ on the journey to hospital - I did (worry, not go…), but you’ll find that if you’ve done the prep correctly and stopped drinking fluids two hours before your appointment, you’ll be so empty that it isn’t a problem!
brilliant thank you - it was a big worry so good to know it’ll just be nerves without there being an issue (the nerves are oar for the course no matter how calm I am unfortunately).
Yes, you can have sweet things - anything you fancy really, as long as you avoid anything with fibre. My biggest tip is to buy yourself a tube of nappy cream, apply good coating to your bum hole before you start going to the toilet, and reapply it every time you go. Also, buy a packet of soft wet toilet wipes and use those. The first time I had a colonoscopy I did not know this, had horrible burning sore backside. The second time I did - no discomfort whatsoever.
The preparation tastes vile but do as best you can. The second time I couldn’t drink all my second batch but it made no difference.
I had both mine without sedation. It feels a bit weird but shouldn’t be painful. The interest of looking at your innards on the screen is an experience not to be missed. The doc who did mine was very chatty and keen to explain everything he was looking at.
oooo not sure I’d want to watch this one. I did watch the screen having a nerve block in my neck last summer when I thought I’d be too squeamish though. Because I couldn’t feel it it was absolutely fascinating to see the discs and how small they are etc. I’ll see how brave I am once I get there but if I’m up at 6am I was looking forward to a decent sleep 😂
Best to drink colourless liquids like sports drinks or lemonade. I asked for sedation for the colonoscopy and honestly didn’t feel a thing and watched it on the screen, but you need someone to drive you home afterwards. Don’t worry about it, they look after you well.
Hi I have got a colonoscopy on Monday to remove a polip they found last week and could not remove it because I am on blood thinners. I found found the prep absolutely disgusting and could not finish it all but it made no difference .
Use Sudafed cream after every movement. But to reassure you I had sedation and I watched it on the screen and never felt a thing. It feels a bit uncomfortable but you will be fine
and I was worried about having it but trust me there is nothing to it.
I have just had a Colonoscopy on Thursday. I had to have extended prep as I suffer from chronic constipation. I started a low residue diet 5 days before. Then stuck rigidly to what I could and couldn't eat for the two days before. It said I could eat until 12 noon the day before, but I chose to just have a light breakfast around 10am.
The movieprep was vile! 😂 It took some getting down. Drinking through a straw made it worse for me so I took a huge mouthful of prep then a mouthful of squash. Just drink LOADS. The main aim is for clear yellow liquid to be coming out of you.
During the Colonoscopy, they could still see black seeds from kiwi Fruit I'd eaten one week earlier! 😂 So next time I'll not eat anything with seeds for two weeks prior.
One thing I would mention, which I don’t believe the others have, is the potential problem with residual diarrhoea on the way to the examination. I got away with it with the colonoscopy but, when I had the colonography, I felt I couldn’t make it to the hospital without taking Imodium. In the event, Imodium made no difference to the test as my bowel was essentially empty (just passing mucous), so you might consider that as an option if you’re uncertain you’ll make it - but you won’t find any advice on that in the literature!
thank you - that is something I’ve been concerned about and forgot to ask if I could take Imodium. I had planned on sticking some sanitary towels in my bag as well to put quite far back to give me some reassurance as well so will definitely do that and stick some Imodium in as well in case I need them
hello. I did mine without sedation because I couldn’t find someone to pick me up from hospital as per their regulation. I strongly suggest you get sedated.
I’m in the same boat now. I live alone and don’t have anyone to take me home after the test. How bad was it without the sedation? What did you feel? Im sorry you had to take that option. 😐
hi there I’m not going to overload you with all I’m sure you have obtained Just to say your intake should be as light as possible Keep hydrated with water Lucozade is prob not the best Whatever you eat or drink will go down the loo courtesy of the mixture they ask you to take Just wash it down Consider that for just over a day fasting isn’t as bad So no strenuous exercise on the body and no excess worry in your head if you can Treat yourself gently The process has to be got through as you know and no is not pleasant but with a positive mind as much as possible and the test will be conducted by wonderful staff who will listen to you and know in their experience every sort of person who have attended you will find you have a strength you never knew was in you Talk to them it really helps and I guarantee that the after snack toast biscuit cup of tea whatever they give you will make up for your fast the test and all the anxiety that may have built up
Well done to you It will come and go you can’t change that but you can make it easier on yourself 🧡
I don't know if you have this option, but my prep drink came unflavored but with a flavor packet. I kept it chilled and drank it unflavored and it was absolutely fine - just tasted like slightly thicker water. Towards the end I added some of the lemon flavor just to see what it would taste like and I was so glad I chose unflavored. No problem at all.
ooo thank you - I’ve not checked it fully but did see the first one is mango which I usually like. The second one is berry flavoured which I was dreading as can’t stand it. If it comes as a seperate sachet I’ll make it up plain first to try
thank you all for the brilliant answers - really helpful and has given me some really good tips. I’ve reduced what I e eaten yesterday and today and will minimise it further up until 3pm tomorrow when I have to stop so hopefully that will help keep the prep to a minimum.
You’ve all helped loads and put my mind at rest on a few areas so thank you. I know I’ll be nervous tomorrow and Monday but I’m keeping in mind 2 more days and one way or the other I should hopefully be on the way to feeling better 🤞🏻
so to update I failed at colonoscopy unfortunately 🤦♀️ I really struggled with the plenvu but managed to get the first one down. Had a couple of hours with an upset stomach but not too bad and went to bed. Woke up at 4am and started a really strong reaction - far more than I’ve seen other people mention. Managed to drink the second lot at 6am drinking it slowly through a straw etc. about 15 minutes after finishing it I was violently sick. The first lot worked well enough thankfully but by 2pm when we had to leave I was still passing unbelievable amounts of pure liquid (not wanting to be graphic but it basically looked like pee) and was very dehydrated.
I was finally seen at 5.15pm after a 3 hour wait. The guy carrying out the test commented on the notes that he had to remove quite a lot of water so I’ve no idea how it was still there.
Anyway - unfortunately despite switching to a much smaller paediatric camera every time he tried to get to the final third in the top right I was getting cramping so badly that they had to stop. They gave me extra sedative to about 4 times intended but I just couldn’t tolerate it. He thinks there may be scar tissue from my appendix and a cyst removal years ago that made it too challenging for me. The main bits he could see all looked fine with no ulcers, colitis or polyps visible and they will reschedule me for a capsule colonoscopy in the next couple of weeks just to rule out crohns. It means I have to do the prep again unfortunately but they will try me with moviprep to see if I tolerate it any better and I’ve learnt to get in some apple juice to help next time and maybe start earlier so it stops earlier.
He did pick up patchy areas of inflammation lower down - proctitis? He’s taken a load of biopsies as well to be on he safe side.
So a capsule camera is next and all the tips will come in handy again next time so thank you all. And now I’m off to google proctitis.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Colonoscopy Prep and Heart Arrhythmia 
Movicol/colonoscopy prep for IBS relief
Colonoscopy results 
Colonoscopy prep
Colonoscopy
