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INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOWING COLONOSCOPY

You have just had a colonoscopy. This sheet contains information about what to expect over the next week. Please telephone our office if you have:

Severe or persistent abdominal pain.
Fever.
Bloody bowel movement(s)
Vomiting.

Your doctor will speak with you and decide a course of action. If biopsies were taken from the colon or if a polyp was removed, please telephone your physician in approximately seven days to obtain results.

BLEEDING: Bleeding may occur after taking a biopsy or after the removal of a polyp. A small amount of blood in the stool is not uncommon after colonoscopy, but the passage of an entire bloody bowel movement should be immediately reported. You will have been informed if there was any bleeding at the time of the procedure. Although rare, bleeding may still occur up to ten days after a polypectomy when a scab from the cauterized area falls off.

PAIN: Sharp or persistent abdominal pain is uncommon after colonoscopy. If this occurs, please telephone our office. Many patients experience discomfort due to the air pumped in to the colon during the procedure, but this usually subsides over the course of a few hours.

INTRAVENOUS PROBLEMS: The medications injected in your arm vein may cause local swelling and discomfort, which may last 1-2 weeks. Although this may become bothersome, it is almost never serious. Please contact your doctor if local redness, swelling or tenderness near the injection site worsens in the days following your procedure, as this may indicate a skin infection.

FOOD : The bowel preparation has emptied your gastrointestinal tract. We recommend that you avoid heavy or fatty meals today. DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL on the day of the procedure. A normal diet may begin tomorrow.

ACTIVITIES: The sedation you receive will make you less alert than normal. DO NOT DRIVE or exercise the day of the exam. You may resume normal activities tomorrow. Strenuous exercise should not be performed for 24 hours unless your physician otherwise advises you.

MEDICATIONS: You may resume all medications after your colonscopy. If a polyp was removed, your physician may advise you to avoid aspirin-containing medications for several days.

BECAUSE YOUR COLON HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CLEANSED, YOU MAY NOT EXPERIENCE ANY BOWEL ACTIVITY FOR THE NEXT 2 TO 3 DAYS.