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

Getting ready for a colonoscopy

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.