If you’re turning 45, you need to schedule your colonoscopy. It can be a procedure that can help prevent colon cancer. This colon cancer awareness month, Dr. Cristina Hill Jensen, a gastroenterologist with Avera Medical Group, explains how you can prepare for a colonoscopy.
Are there any foods to avoid before a colonoscopy?
Typically we will tell patients to avoid some of the higher fiber foods for a few days prior to the procedure. However, the day prior to the procedure is a clear, liquid diet, so no food at all. We prefer no red or purple drinks because that could make a person think there could be blood in the stool. The day prior, if you're hungry you can have some juice, soda, Gatorade, things like that.
What happens after a colonoscopy?
After the colonoscopy is done, you'll typically have a little snooze for about 5 to 10 minutes. We will wake you up, make sure you're alert, you'll have a small snack, something to drink, and then we will give you instructions. There's really not a lot to avoid, other than you have to be very careful with things like driving, no operating machinery, you can't go back to work and make critical decisions. But by the next morning it is back to normal.
How can I schedule my colonoscopy?
It's very straightforward. One of the things in our clinic and through Avera is what's called open access. So you don't have to go through a primary care physician, certainly your primary care physician will help you get into our clinic and to get things scheduled, but you don't even have to come to clinic first, you can just get that screening colonoscopy started. You can go to Avera.org/Colonoscopy or directly call Avera at 888-422-1410 and we will get you in line for a colonoscopy.
