Q&A for How to Prepare for a Colonoscopy

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How should I prepare for a colonoscopy?

Dale Prokupek, MD
Board Certified Internist & Gastroenterologist
Dale Prokupek, MD is a board-certified Internist and Gastroenterologist who runs a private practice based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Prokupek is also a staff physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Prokupek has over 30 years of medical experience and specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver, stomach, and colon, including chronic hepatitis C, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, anal condyloma, and digestive diseases related to chronic immune deficiency. He holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed an internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.

Dale Prokupek, MD

Board Certified Internist & Gastroenterologist

Expert Answer

The most important part of a colonoscopy is to make sure your colon is sparkling clean for the procedure. If there's still food left in your colon, the doctor is not going to be able to see the walls and they may miss something serious. The week before your procedure, cut back on the amount of fiber in your diet. Also, a week before the colonoscopy, you should also consume foods that will increase the motility of your colon so that you're not constipated. Have some berries, prune juice, or something like that to make sure your bowels are moving. This will make the actual prep much easier.

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Question

Can I drink water the night of a colonoscopy?

Jurdy Dugdale, RN
Medical Review Board
Jurdy Dugdale is a Registered Nurse in Florida. She received her Nursing License from the Florida Board of Nursing in 1989.

Jurdy Dugdale, RN

Medical Review Board

Expert Answer

Yes, you can have water the night before your colonoscopy. Any clear liquid is ok.

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Question

What is the difference between a Pap test and a colposcopy?

Carrie Noriega, MD
Board Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist
Dr. Noriega is a Board Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist and medical writer in Colorado. She specializes in women’s health, rheumatology, pulmonology, infectious disease, and gastroenterology. She received her MD from the Creighton School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and completed her residency at the University of Missouri - Kansas City in 2005.

Carrie Noriega, MD

Board Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist

Expert Answer

Pap test are screening tests which can only tell you if an abnormality might be there or not. It will not tell you exactly what is wrong. The colposcopy is a test that allows the doctor to biopsy any abnormal area, which will be able to give you a diagnosis. Thus, Paps are screening tests while colposcopies are diagnostic tests.

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Question

How do I prepare for a colonoscopy?

Dale Prokupek, MD
Board Certified Internist & Gastroenterologist
Dale Prokupek, MD is a board-certified Internist and Gastroenterologist who runs a private practice based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Prokupek is also a staff physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Prokupek has over 30 years of medical experience and specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver, stomach, and colon, including chronic hepatitis C, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, anal condyloma, and digestive diseases related to chronic immune deficiency. He holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed an internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.

Dale Prokupek, MD

Board Certified Internist & Gastroenterologist

Expert Answer

So, the most important part of a colonoscopy is to make sure your colon is completely clean. If there's still food left in your colon, the doctor is not going to be able to see the walls and therefore could miss something important. A week before the procedure, decrease the amount of fiber in your diet so that the bulk of the volume of your stool will be much less when you begin the actual preparation. Also, eat foods that will get your bowels moving, like berries or prune juice, so that when you take the actual prep, things will just go much, much easier. Then on the day of the prep, you want to eat only clear liquids. Then you begin a prep which is a prescription medication that you drink and you wash it down with lots of water. It's a very, very strong cathartic or laxative, and the purpose of it is to clear all this fecal matter out of your colon. So if you do those things before that prep, you'll be very successful in having an excellent prep and therefore a high-quality colonoscopy results

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