Keeping Our Bodies Healthy

« Back to Home

Colonoscopy Procedure — How To Prepare For Your First One

Posted on

Eventually, as you get older in age, you'll need to have a colonoscopy procedure performed by a physician. It checks the lining of the colon for irregularities like cancer. If you're preparing for your first one, you'll want to take these suggested steps. 

Get Professional Advice on How to Use Laxatives

Something you'll need to do to prepare for your first colonoscopy is take laxatives. They will make you use the bathroom more regularly, which is important for ensuring your physician is able to see your colon in an unobstructed manner.

You just want to make sure you get professional advice on how to take these laxatives. Then you can avoid mistakes and ultimately feel more confident about this examination. Your doctor can show you which laxatives in particular to use and how much to take leading up to your procedure. 

Schedule Exam For Early in the Morning

Since you won't be able to eat much before your colonoscopy, it's a good idea to schedule this exam for early in the morning. This way, you don't have to wait all day and not eat anything for a long time. That would be hard, especially if you had a condition like diabetes.

You just need to tell the physician performing this procedure that you want to be seen as early as possible. Find a date that's available early in the morning, so that you can make this procedure much easier to manage as a whole. 

Find Someone to Drive You Back Home

After your first colonoscopy procedure, you may be a little sore. After all, a device known as a colonoscope is inserted into your rectum. So that this soreness doesn't hinder your ability to drive, you should have someone take you back home after this procedure is complete.

Then regardless of how sore you are afterward, you don't have to worry at all about driving. This will keep you calm and ultimately safe. You can get help from your family member or a friend perhaps. Their help will make this procedure more convenient to deal with.

If you want to make sure your colon is healthy and you don't have colon cancer, a colonoscopy is something you'll need to plan for. If this is the very first one you've been subject to, it helps to plan carefully leading up to your procedure date. Then you won't be worried or make mistakes.  


Share