Whether going in for a procedure such as a sigmoidoscopy or a colonoscopy, or just preparing for surgery, one of the main thing patients should know about is properly clean out their colon. If you're already in the hospital, doctors leave notes for nurses on the procedures needed to to this. For surgeries, nurses administer a 1000 cc enema.
However, if you're having the procedure done as an outpatient, you'll have to perform the cleansing yourself. Your doctor's staff will give you instructions on do so. It is important to follow the instructions to the letter, because if the colon is not properly cleaned, the procedure/surgery will be rescheduled.
Instructions
Cleansing Should Begin 48 Hours Prior
1. Twenty-four hours before the scheduled surgery or procedure, eat only a full liquid diet. This begins to cleanse the solid food out of the intestinal tract. Full liquids include such things as creamy soups, plain yogurt and drinks such as Ensure which will give you the vitamins you need during this time.
2. The day before the surgery/procedure, begin the clear liquid diet. Clear liquids mean just that. You can see through them. Chicken broth is one of the most common. You may also have beef broth. You can also drink 7-UP, Sprite, orange soda, ginger ale, Gatorade, Kool-Aid. You are allowed to Jell-O. Of course, you may drink water.
3. Golytely is a gallon laxative. The doctor will either give this to you, or give you a prescription so you can pick it up from your local pharmacy. Ask your doctor for one of the flavor varieties. It makes it much easier to drink. Begin drinking the Golytely around 7:00 p.m. Golytely has to be taken within a certain time period, usually within three to four hours, with the rule of thumb being a glass every 30 minutes.
4. Once drinking the Golytely, stay close to the bathroom. It might take an hour or so to begin working, but once it does, it does! No matter how horrible or distasteful, you must drink all of it. The goal is that eventually, the stool will be liquid clear at best, or at the very least, the lightest of yellow in color. Once you've finished the gallon, don't be surprised if you are in and out of the bathroom throughout the night.
5. If there is any sort of narrowing on the intestinal tract, don't be surprised if when you awake in the morning, there's a few left over bits of solid stool. Whether there are or not, you need to use at least one Fleet enema. If you don't, the nurses will do it while prepping you for your surgery/procedure.
