How to properly prepare for a colonoscopy at home?

What can serve as the best argument in favor of this or that survey, no matter how sad the statistics. In Russia, among all cancers leading to death, colon and rectal cancer is one of the leaders. And mainly because people are in no hurry to check their intestines - out of ignorance, out of embarrassment or fear. Doctors assure that in 95% of cases the pathology could have been avoided by noticing the signs of an incipient tumor in time. This can be done during a colonoscopy.

Residue-free diet before colonoscopy

The most common questions that arise when discussing a slag-free diet: what foods can be consumed, and what should be avoided without fail?

The category of waste foods includes foods that result in bulky stools and bloating. These products must be abandoned 3 days before the examination. The following foods should be excluded from the diet:

• fresh vegetables (carrots, white cabbage, onions, garlic, turnips, radishes, radishes, beets);
• millet, pearl barley, oatmeal;
• greens (spinach, sorrel);
• legumes (beans, peas, beans, lentils);
• nuts;
• black bread;
• berries (raspberries, gooseberries)
• fruits (apples, dates, oranges, apricots, peaches, grapes, raisins, bananas, tangerines);
• kvass, carbonated products;
• milk.

The following products can be consumed:

• dietary broths;
• dairy products;
• lean fish, beef, poultry;
• bakery products made from wholemeal flour.

The last meal of the day before the procedure can be no later than 12-00. You can drink plain and mineral water, tea. For dinner there is only tea. On the day of the colonoscopy, you can have breakfast only with liquid.

Diet before colonoscopy with Moviprep

If the procedure is scheduled for a time between 10:00 and 14:00, then it is better for the patient to adhere to a two-stage scheme.

• The day before the appointed date, you can consume any product from the permitted list presented above for breakfast. A light breakfast is allowed, and for lunch only liquid food is allowed.
• From 18:00 to 19:00 you will need to drink the first liter of Moviprep solution.
• On the day of manipulation (from 6 to 7 am), the next liter of preparation is taken.
• After each liter you drink, it is important to wash it down with 500 ml of liquid.

Important

Remember that from the moment you start taking this drug until the colonoscopy, it is better to avoid eating altogether and you can drink clear water. This will help the intestines to efficiently clear the contents.

Fortrans drug for preparation for colonoscopy

Drug Fortrans

The effect of the drug Fortrans is to cleanse the intestines without absorption into the gastrointestinal tract; the drug is excreted unchanged. Preparation using Fortrans is extremely simple: a package of the product is diluted in 1 liter of water. For 20 kg of patient’s body weight - 1 liter of solution. There are two methods of using the solution:

• The drug is taken in the evening, starting from 15-00, 1 glass, at intervals of 1 hour;
• Half of the solution is taken in the evening, the rest in the morning.

The last time you should take Fortrans is 3-4 hours before the examination. The drug is intended directly for the cleansing stage preceding X-ray, endoscopic examinations, and operations on the colon.

Types of colonoscopy

It is conventionally divided into diagnostic and therapeutic.

Diagnostic colonoscopy is an examination whose purpose is to identify or exclude diseases, for example, colitis, including nonspecific ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, diverticula, cancer and other ailments.

Therapeutic colonoscopy involves not just a visual examination, but also the removal of tumors and foreign bodies.

In the list of endoscopic procedures you can also see the words “ fibrocolonoscopy ” and “ video colonoscopy ”. They are variants of the same colonoscopy, just the equipment is slightly different. The first uses a fiber colonoscope, a more flexible device that contains heavy-duty optical fibers, and the second uses a video colonoscope. It allows you to examine the colon in detail using a video stand at multiple magnifications, perform a high-quality biopsy and safe polypectomy (removal of a colon polyp), and also reduce the percentage of diagnostic inaccuracies.

To the point

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In general, all these procedures are the same. The patient removes everything below the waist, lies on his left side and bends his knees under him. The specialist carefully inserts a thin tube through the anus into the intestines and slowly moves along it. At the same time, a weak air stream is supplied so that the intestines straighten and the condition of its walls can be seen. At the end of the device there is a camera with which you can take photos and videos of damaged areas of the intestine.

Today, colonoscopy can be performed while you sleep. A person is given an injection, he falls asleep and voila – he wakes up after the procedure to hear the doctor’s verdict. This is a wonderful opportunity for those who are afraid of such manipulation or have had a negative experience before (the procedure was done rudely and unprofessionally).

Preparation with Flit

Fleet is a drug that appeared relatively recently, its popularity is rapidly growing, many patients have been convinced of the effectiveness of the drug from their own experience.

Rules for preparation using the drug Flit

• Take in two doses.
• 45 ml of the product is diluted in half a glass of water and consumed immediately after breakfast;
• the second dose (45 ml) - in the evening after a diet dinner.
• If the patient has time, you can take another dose in the morning on the day of the examination, no later than 8-00.
• Breakfast and dinner should include only 1 glass of water.
• Lunch should be dietary and include no more than 750 ml of water.
• Each dose of Flit should be washed down with 1-3 glasses of cold water; after taking the drug, the liquid can be consumed in unlimited quantities.
• Fleet begins to act approximately 30 minutes after administration.

What is a colonoscopy and who is it for?

Colonoscopy is a way to examine the large intestine, assess its condition, diagnose inflammation, polyps, cancer and begin timely treatment. This examination is carried out using a special flexible instrument - a colonoscope.

During an intestinal colonoscopy, the following is assessed:

• condition of the mucous membrane;
• the presence of formations (polyps, tumors), erosions and ulcers;
• structure of the vascular pattern;
• anatomical features: diverticula, lengthening of the colon, additional loops of the sigmoid colon, etc.

In some cases, colonoscopy is a mandatory examination. In particular, if there is a suspicion of a tumor in the intestine, if the patient suffers from Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or intestinal obstruction. Colonoscopy is also indicated for bleeding from the intestines and if there is a suspicion that there is a foreign object in it.

Approximate cost of preparation

The most affordable method that does not require material costs is an enema. Castor oil is also inexpensive. Duphalac and Fortrans are more expensive, but the ease of use and effectiveness of the drugs fully justify the cost.

There is another drug that is in quite high demand - Lavacol. It should be noted that currently most clients prefer Fortrans. Before preparing for a colonoscopy, it is recommended to seek qualified advice from the doctor who will perform the procedure, especially if the patient has no experience in cleansing the intestines; it is also necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of the body.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that be sure to consult with the doctor who prescribes the examination (colonoscopy) for you - he will probably recommend the most suitable way for you to prepare for the procedure.

You can see how a colonoscopy is performed in the video:

Quality assessment according to the Boston scale

Specialists performing colonoscopy evaluate the quality of patient preparation using the Boston scale. The cleansing of each section of the colon is analyzed separately:

• Transverse colon with angles;
• Right segment;
• Left segment.

The number of points for each department is set (it can be from 1 to 3), the points are summed up. A good level of purification is 6 points in total, with this result you can be confident in the excellent quality of diagnostics.

Diet recipes

It’s not easy to switch to diet food without knowing the specifics of cooking. Here are a few recipes that you can use in your menu:

1. Rice soup - prepare a vegetable broth from carrots, potatoes and onions, after 20 minutes add rice, cook the soup for another 20-30 minutes, sprinkle with herbs, leave for 5 minutes.
2. Vegetable broth - boil green onions, carrots, tomatoes, celery, and garlic cloves in a small amount of liquid for 40 minutes. Then the broth is filtered; there is no need to consume vegetables.
3. Stewed vegetables - zucchini, squash, and carrots are stewed in vegetable broth for 15 minutes.

Recommended Products

Low-fat dairy products are allowed.

Although the diet before a colonoscopy is quite light, it can cause weakness in those who are accustomed to eating high-calorie foods and, due to the nature of their work, are forced to expend a lot of energy.

Used for food before examination:

• Dairy products: cheese, milk, yogurt, sour cream with a low fat content.
• Cereals: porridges and side dishes made from finely ground semolina and corn grits.
• Meat products: lean meat and fish (chicken breast, rabbit, veal, lamb), eggs.
• Fruit and vegetable juices without pulp.
• Oil and fat: olive, sunflower, butter, margarine, mayonnaise.
• Drinks: tea, cocoa, still mineral water.
• Sugar, honey, jelly, lemon juice.

Prohibited Products

Eating meat products before a colonoscopy is prohibited.

Before the examination, it is not recommended to use products that cause gas formation, contain a lot of fiber and cause fermentation.

Products from the following food categories are not recommended:

1. Dairy products with added seeds, muesli, pieces of fruit, nuts, berries, whole milk.
2. Bakery products, cereals: whole grain bread, baked goods with the addition of seeds, raisins, muesli, nuts, bran, rye bread.
3. Meat products: fatty varieties with cartilage, smoked meats, sausages.
4. Fruits: compotes and fresh fruits with seeds, peels, having pulp with partitions (citrus fruits, oranges, pears, apples), dried fruits.
5. Vegetables: all types of cabbage, legumes, onions, potatoes (especially in their jackets).
6. Refractory fats (pork and lamb).
7. Carbonated drinks, fruit and vegetable juices with pulp.
8. Coconut flakes, popcorn.
9. Pickles, canned foods.
10. All types of seeds, nuts, oils with fillers made from them.
11. The use of alcohol and coffee is strictly prohibited.

How to use drugs to cleanse the intestines

It is necessary to take special products to clean the intestinal lumen at home. Before using any such tool, you should study the instructions. This will avoid the development of side effects and clarify the order of taking the drug.

It is not advisable to eat food directly during bowel cleansing, but it is necessary to consume a lot of water. This is necessary to compensate for the liquid losses that inevitably occur during the cleaning process.

You should start taking medications 2-3 hours after a light breakfast. Some medications must be taken strictly on an empty stomach. The most common means of preparing for a colon examination include:

• Fortrans
  . It begins to act 2 hours after administration. Able to effectively cleanse all parts of the intestines. One sachet of the product is designed for dilution in 1 liter of cold water. 1 sachet per 20 kg of patient weight. For a patient weighing 80 kg, 4 sachets will be required. The resulting solution must be divided into 2 parts. Drink half between 18-20 hours, in portions of 0.25 liters every 15 minutes. The second half should be consumed between 6 and 7 am on the day of the study.
• Lavacol
  . Osmotic colon cleanser. Available in powder form. You need to take it according to the regimen indicated in the instructions. Standard dosage is 15 sachets per procedure.
• Endofalk
  . macrogol, sodium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. The medicine is a mixture of different salts and macrogol to obtain a homogeneous isotonic solution.
• Picoprep
  . It has a complex effect - it helps soften stool, accelerate its excretion, and retains fluid in the intestines. It begins to act 2-3 hours after administration.
• Moviprep (recommended)
  . The product begins to act 1-2 hours after the first dose. It is necessary to divide the reception into 2 parts, evening and morning! read more here! It retains fluid well in the intestines and is well tolerated by patients due to the small volume of the drug (only 2 liters).

Important to remember

Please note that before using any laxatives, you should consult your doctor. Only a specialist will be able to prescribe the correct remedy and show the exact regimen for its administration.