Getting ready
Getting your letter
Once you've been referred you'll get a letter, in the post or by email, telling you when your colonoscopy will be.
Some hospitals will phone you to book you in, but you should also get a letter – call the hospital if you do not get one.
Your letter will:
- tell you what you need to eat and drink in the days before your test
- tell you when you should stop eating and drinking
- have laxatives with it for you to take before the test, or information on how to get them
- tell you how to take the laxatives
Important
If you're pregnant, or taking any medicines, let the hospital know as soon as you get your letter.
2 days before
For 2 days before a colonoscopy, you should only eat plain foods like:
- plain chicken not in a sauce
- white rice, pasta or bread
- clear soup
Your letter should tell you what you can eat and drink.
1 day before
The day before your colonoscopy you'll need to drink sachets of laxatives to empty your bowels ready for the test.
Most people:
- need to drink a few sachets
- need to drink the sachets at different points throughout the day
- get diarrhoea a few hours after taking the first sachet
Stay at home and be near a toilet after you've starting drinking the laxatives.
Important
You need to drink the laxative as it says on your letter. Otherwise the specialist may not be able to do your colonoscopy.
Page last reviewed: Tue Jun 2022 Next review due: Wed Feb 2020
