Welcome to the Columbia VA Health Care System colonoscopy prep video.
This video will help you to prepare for your upcoming colonoscopy procedure.
Several weeks before your appointment,
you will receive a letter in the mail with your appointment information
including date, time, and instructions.
You should also receive your jug of colyte from our pharmacy
within seven to 10 days prior to your appointment.
On the day of your procedure,
you will need a responsible adult driver at least 18 years of age to be with you,
so please plan ahead.
Your driver must check in with you and remain in the hospital until your procedure is completed
Seven days before your procedure,
you are to stop taking any iron supplements and multivitamins containing iron.
If you take blood thinners,
one of our GI nurses will contact you 10 days prior to your procedure
to go over your medications and let you know how long you need to stop
blood thinners before the procedure.
If you take aspirin, you can continue taking it.
Here at Columbia VA, we have several different preps.
for this video we will address the split dose prep.
On the day before your procedure. Do not eat any solid foods at all.
“If you have to chew it, don’t do it.”
You can only have clear liquids
that means for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and snacks will be clear liquids.
There is no limit on how much clear liquids you can have the day before your procedure.
You can have clear liquids until midnight before your procedure.
However, do not drink red, blue, green, or purple colored liquids,
as these can discolor the colon and make it difficult for the doctor to see the colon wall clearly.
Do not drink any alcohol during your prep.
Do not follow the instructions on the colyte jug you received from the pharmacy.
Instead, please do the following:
At 8am on the day before your procedure,
fill the colyte jug with water to the fill line, then place the jug in the refrigerator.
You can also leave the jug out at room temperature, if you like.
You can to add drink flavored drink packs to the jug as well,
as long as you follow the color restrictions – no red, blue, green or purple drink mixes.
At 6pm, drink an 8-ounce glass of colyte every 10 to 15 minutes until half the jug is gone,
then place the jug back into refrigerator or leave it out at room temperature.
If you are diabetic: do not take diabetic pills the night before your procedure
and if you take long-acting insulin, only take half the dose the day before the procedure.
Please contact prescribing provider if you take any other medications for diabetes
Set your alarm for 6 hours before your check-in time
and drink the last half of the colyte solution every 10 to 15 minutes until the container is empty.
After midnight, do not eat or drink anything except the last half of the colyte solution.
On the morning of the procedure: do not take diabetic medication,
remember to take your blood pressure, heart, seizure, and thyroid
medications with a sip of water
at least three hours before your procedure
For your procedure: dress comfortably,
bring your reading glasses, hearing aids, dentures and ID card.
Please arrive 30 minutes before your appointment time,
report to building 100 main entrance,
take the elevator to 2nd floor, go 2 east and check-in at GI lab desk.
Once again, your driver must be with you at the time of check in
and remain in the hospital until your procedure is completed.
We hope this video was helpful,
and here at Columbia VA Health Care System, we thank you for your service.
If you have any questions or concerns. Please call the GI department