You've probably read all about the fasting, the pills and the mixes you take, the bland food diet. It's time to brace up and forget your minor worries. This procedure can be less of a worry than facing your dentist.
What is involved is a visit to a bowel specialist. I was referred when I asked my regular doctor if I could undergo the procedure. I'm 52, with two older siblings that have found polyps, but no history of cancer. I have known a coworker to die of colon cancer, and another currently undergoing chemotherapy. Once I met the specialist, he explained my options. It is possible to settle for what is known as a Virtual Colonoscopy, done by Cat scan. While it is non invasive, you still will have to purge your colon, and have it filled with another media so the scans take better images. While less involved, if anything is revealed by the scan, you will need to undergo the full procedure. Looking at it in that light, I opted to go for the works.
I received a very detailed set of instructions from my doctor. First, two days before I was to limit myself to foods which were low on fiber and basically as colorless as possible. I laughingly referred to this as the 'White Diet' since it consisted of fish or chicken, white rice, potatoes with no skins, fruits, pasta with no sauces, white bread, limited dairy, and clear soups or broth. There are to be no seeds, vegetables, peels, sauces or foods with red or purple coloring. The idea behind this is to be sure that nothing that mimics blood in the stool might be left behind.
What is involved is a visit to a bowel specialist. I was referred when I asked my regular doctor if I could undergo the procedure. I'm 52, with two older siblings that have found polyps, but no history of cancer. I have known a coworker to die of colon cancer, and another currently undergoing chemotherapy. Once I met the specialist, he explained my options. It is possible to settle for what is known as a Virtual Colonoscopy, done by Cat scan. While it is non invasive, you still will have to purge your colon, and have it filled with another media so the scans take better images. While less involved, if anything is revealed by the scan, you will need to undergo the full procedure. Looking at it in that light, I opted to go for the works.
I received a very detailed set of instructions from my doctor. First, two days before I was to limit myself to foods which were low on fiber and basically as colorless as possible. I laughingly referred to this as the 'White Diet' since it consisted of fish or chicken, white rice, potatoes with no skins, fruits, pasta with no sauces, white bread, limited dairy, and clear soups or broth. There are to be no seeds, vegetables, peels, sauces or foods with red or purple coloring. The idea behind this is to be sure that nothing that mimics blood in the stool might be left behind.
- Colonoscopy, Diet prep. Laxatives.
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