Colonoscopy
Diet
You may begin eating and drinking as soon as you get home from the procedure. Start with a bland liquid diet such as Gatorade, tea, coffee, water, soup and crackers, or jell-o. You can increase your diet slowly to a regular diet as tolerated.
Activity
As soon as you reach home, you may resume normal ad lib activity. You are encouraged to begin walking and resuming household activity immediately. You can increase you activity to a normal routine as tolerated. There are no major restrictions after this procedure.
Medications
You may resume all your normal medications after the procedure except for aspirin or other anticoagulants. You should wait at least 1-2 weeks after the procedure before beginning aspirin or other anticoagulants. Consult you surgeon if you have any questions.
Pain Control
Severe pain is rare after this procedure. You may have some minor cramping and a bloated feeling due to the air injected into your colon during the procedure. You should pass this gas with relief of your symptoms within a few hours after the procedure. Increased walking can help you pass the gas quicker. If you have severe abdominal pain or a rigid abdomen, contact you surgeon immediately.
Bowel Movements
You should return to your normal bowel movement pattern within 2-3 days after the procedure. If you have had a biopsy taken or polyps removed, you may notice a small amount of bleeding in your first few stools. This should be darker blood and only a very small amount. If you notice bleeding beyond the first few bowel movements, a significant amount of blood in any bowel movement, bright red blood, or a fever, please contact your surgeon immediately.
Follow-Up Visit
You will be instructed as to when you should return to the office on your discharge instructions. The exact date will either be scheduled for you before you leave the surgery center, or you will be instructed to call the office to schedule this. You will usually be seen again approximately 2 weeks after the surgery. The pathology department usually takes 3-5 days to send results of your biopsy or polyps to our office. If there is important information from the report to tell you before your follow-up appointment, you will be notified immediately.
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