Patient Information

Instructions for Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation using glycoprep

The bowel must be completely empty before your colonoscopy so that the risk of lesions being missed is minimised. This can be achieved by following the instructions below. You must drink all of the fluids in theinstructions, and consume all of the laxatives given, even if you think your bowel may be clear earlier.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact: Waitemata Endoscopy - phone 09 925 4449

10 days prior to your appointment:

If you are taking any blood thinning medication other than aspirin, and you have not already received instructions on their use prior to your appointment, please contact the nurse at Waitemata Endoscopy.
DO NOT stop taking anticoagulant medication unless instructed to by our nurses.
If you are taking diabetes tablets or insulin, please read the “Diabetes Management Advice During Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation” information sheet.
If you are taking prescribed medications for any other condition, please do not stop taking these at any time.
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, please contact the nurse at Waitemata Endoscopy for advice.

5 days prior to your appointment:

Stop taking Iron tablets (including any supplements containing iron) 3 days prior to your appointment:
Start a low fibre diet using the attached dietary instruction sheet for reference
Avoid all foods with nuts, seeds and skins
Take your regular medications

2 days prior to your appointment:

Continue the low fibre diet
Drink plenty of fluids
Take your regular medications

The day before your appointment:

You may have a low fibre breakfast then take 2 Bisacodyl laxative tablets with a large glass of water. The tablets are in a small plastic sachet stapled to the front of your instruction sheets.
Take your regular morning medications, unless instructed otherwise.
You may consume a liquid diet until midday (e.g. yoghurt, jelly, custard, clear soup).
Do not eat from 12 midday, until after your procedure, drink plenty of clear fluids only.
Drink at least 10 glasses of clear fluids during the day (see diet sheet for suggestions), in addition to your Glycoprep.
Drinking alcohol is not recommended.
Take your regular medication 1½ hours prior to beginning the Glycoprep or 1½ hours after completing the Glycoprep, to allow the medications time to be absorbed.
Prepare the Glycoprep by dissolving the contents of each sachet with 1 litre of water (to make a total of 3 litres if you were sent 3 sachets, or 4 litres if you were sent 4 sachets).
You may refrigerate this preparation if you want.
At 4pm start drinking the Glycoprep. You should drink a glass every 5-10 minutes, aiming to drink approximately a litre an hour.
You need to drink all except one litre of your Glycoprep preparation today (the final litre should be saved for tomorrow).
Glycoprep is a laxative designed to produce a watery stool and cleanse the bowel, therefore it is recommended that you are at home and close to a toilet when you start taking it.

The day of your appointment:

You must take the final 1 litre of Glycoprep, drinking one glass every 5-10 minutes, starting no later than 3 hours prior to your appointment time.
E.g. if your appointment time is 7:30am, you will need to take the final litre commencing by 4:30am at the latest.
If you are concerned about finishing the preparation in time to travel to your appointment, you may commence the Glycoprep up to 4 hours prior to your appointment time.
ake your regular medication 1½ hours prior to beginning the Glycoprep-C or 1½ hours after completing the Glycoprep-C, to allow for the medications to be absorbed.
Do not drink any more fluids from 1 hour prior to your appointment time.
**If you are having a Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy, or an anaesthetist administered anaesthetic, do not drink any more fluids from 2 hours prior to your appointment time (ignore the nil-by-mouth instructions in the Gastroscopy pamphlet).
You will be at your appointment for approximately 2-3 hours.
If you are given a sedative for your procedure, it is important that you do not drive a car or operate heavy machinery for at least 12 hours after.
You must arrange for a responsible adult to collect you after your appointment.
For your safety, please remove all jewellery and watches prior to your appointment and leave them at home.
Do not bring any valuables, we do not have facilities to lock them up.

A few tips for during your bowel preparation:

Anal soreness may occur due to multiple bowel motions. You can apply Vaseline or other barrier cream to the anal area before starting the Glycoprep to minimise this.
The use of wet wipes (baby wipes) instead of toilet paper will also help.
Please drink plenty of water or other clear fluids to prevent dehydration.
The Glycoprep is not absorbed by your body so does not keep you hydrated.
If you suffer from nausea please contact your GP prior to starting your bowel preparation to get some anti-nausea medication to take an hour before your Glycoprep.
If the taste of the preparation becomes unpleasant, drinking the preparation through a straw may help. Or sucking on boiled sweets between drinking can also help.
If you feel bloated a short walk may help.
If you feel cold and shivery, wrap up warmly, and drink warm water.

The full PDF of the bowel preparation sheet:

Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation.pdf

Colonoscopy Low Fibre Diet

A low fibre diet reduces the volume of your bowel movements, which helps with adequate cleansing of your bowel prior to colonoscopy. It also prevents blockages from seeds during your colonoscopy.

Food Groups	Allowed	Avoid
Bread, Cereals, Rice, Pasta, Noodles	White bread / crumpets / English muffins. Low fibre processed breakfast cereals e.g. Rice Bubbles or Cornflakes™. White rice / pasta, sago, tapioca,semolina. White flour, cornflour, custard powder. Plain sweet and savoury biscuits or cakes.	Wholemeal/wholegrain bread, fruit bread, rye bread. Wholegrain breakfast cereals or any with fruit, nuts or coconut, e.g. Muesli, All Bran™, Weetbix™. Oats and oat bran, muesli bars. Brown rice, wholemeal pasta, maize, wholemeal flour. Sweet and savoury biscuits. Cakes made with wholemeal flour, nuts, dried fruit or coconut.
Vegetables	Ensure all vegetables are peeled and well cooked Potato, pumpkin, zucchini, cauliflower or broccoli tips, asparagus spears, button mushrooms. Strained vegetable juice	All raw vegetables. Any vegetables not listed in the “allowed” column.
Fruit	Pawpaw/melon (no seeds), banana. Well-cooked fruit with no skin or pips. Canned fruits with no pips/skins e.g peaches or pears. Strained fruit juice	Fruit with skin, pips, or of very “fibrous” texture e.g. pineapple. Dried fruit. Any other fruits not listed in the “allowed” column
Milk, yogurt, cheese	All varieties of milk. Plain yoghurt, custard, cheese, plain or flavoured ice cream.	Ice cream or gelato containing dried fruit, nuts or coconut. Products containing “chunky fruit”
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes	Chicken (no skin), fish, turkey, ham. Tofu. Eggs.	Legumes e.g. Baked beans, lentils, soy beans, kidney beans. Red meat. Nuts and seeds.
Other	All fats including butter, margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise. Sugar, honey, syrups. Boiled lollies, jubes, chocolate withno fruit, nuts or coconut. Spreads without seeds or skin. Soup made from allowed ingredients. Desserts made from allowed foodse.g. jelly, custard, icecream. Gravy, salt, pepper, spices.	Popcorn, coconut, crunchy peanut paste, chocolate with nuts and fruit. Chutney and pickles.