When your doctor wants to do a complete inspection of your large intestine, the process will generally involve an examine using a flexible sigmoidoscopy. This form of colonscopy is much more comfortable than using the rigid sigmoidoscope but the procedure can still be disconcerting the first time it is ordered.
Preparing for this procedure begins with a discussion with the doctor the day the test is orders. Patients should begin by asking their doctor if they need to discontinue any of their existing medication before the procedure. Blood thinners like Warfarin are often discontinued for three to five days before the test. The doctor ordering the test will explain exactly how long the patient needs to be off the medication.
The doctor may also order a course of antibiotics before the test. People with a history of heart trouble or a heart murmur will generally be given antibiotics to take before the test.
Finally, the doctor will ask the patient for assistance in making the pathway a little more clear for the scope. Generally, this means patients are restricted to a liquid diet for 24 to 48 hours before the procedure. The night before the test patients often are asked to perform an enema at home and then they are given a second one about an hour before the test begins. Most doctors ask that patients have nothing to eat for about 12 hours before the test.
Once at the doctor’s office, the patient will be asked to disrobe and either lie of her left side on the examination table or kneel on table with her bottom in the air.
