The colonoscopy will only take about half an hour, but you will need to stay at the hospital or clinic for about five hours in total. You will need someone to pick you up after the procedure and stay with you overnight to make sure you are okay.
After a colonoscopy, you can expect the following: The anesthesia takes time to wear off completely. You'll stay at the hospital or outpatient center for 1 to 2 hours after the procedure. You may feel cramping in your abdomen or bloating during the first hour after the procedure.
After a colonoscopy, you'll stay at the clinic until you wake up. Then you can go home.
After the exam, it takes about an hour to begin to recover from the sedative. You'll need someone to take you home because it can take up to a day for the full effects of the sedative to wear off. Don't drive or make important decisions or go back to work for the rest of the day.
The First 24 Hours of Recovery
Because a colonoscopy is performed with the patient under the effects of sedation, the patient will need to arrange for a ride home. Once they are at home, patients should allow themselves at least 24 hours to rest and recover.
If any biopsies were taken, they will be sent to the lab for further analysis and you will receive a letter in approximately 1- 2 weeks with the results and the recommended time until your next colonoscopy. The gastroenterologist will write up a procedure report which is available for your referring provider.
You can start eating regular foods the next day.
Most people stop moving their bowels about 2 – 3 hours after finishing the solution. People are different and some have liquid movements until the time of the procedure. The instrument used during the colonoscopy will suction out any liquid left in the bowel.
Pain after the procedure: Some people have stomach pain after a colonoscopy. A person may also experience mild irritation to their rectum, gas, or other digestive problems. These symptoms are usually mild and tend to go away in a few days.
You'll need to stay in the recovery area to wake up from the sedative medications, and you'll need someone to help get you home safely since you may be sleepy from the sedative for a few hours. You may pass a lot of gas (the air the doctor pumped into your colon) during the hours following the colonoscopy.
Usually if a suspected colorectal cancer is found by any screening or diagnostic test, it is biopsied during a colonoscopy. In a biopsy, the doctor removes a small piece of tissue with a special instrument passed through the scope. Less often, part of the colon may need to be surgically removed to make the diagnosis.
Then, the patient is usually administered light sedation via pill or IV. Due to the sedation, it is unlikely the patient will remember the colonoscopy itself. Once the procedure is over, the patient will need about 30-60 minutes to recover from the sedation before getting dressed and leaving the building.
Most colonoscopies are associated with little or no pain (66%) and are easy or only mildly difficult to perform (58%). Patients who have had sigmoid resection are especially easy and painless to examine while women, especially after hysterectomy, are at higher risk of having a painful experience.
Conclusion: Combined colonoscopy and multiple (3 quadrant) synchronous hemorrhoidal ligation is a safe and effective method of treating symptomatic internal hemorrhoids.
Colonoscopy Recovery: After the Procedure
The effects of the sedation could last up to a day, so you should not drive or operate any machinery until the following day. You may feel gassy or bloated for a while after the procedure because of the air that was injected into your intestine during the colonoscopy.
Is a sedation-free colonoscopy painful or uncomfortable? Most patients report little or no discomfort during the procedure. You can request sedation during the procedure if you change your mind and feel you need it, although it has been my experience that this seldom occurs.
While everyone's body is different, most people are able to complete their round of purging before going to sleep for the night. If you're taking a split dose, you may have to wake up early to take your second dose on the morning of your colonoscopy. But you should be able to sleep in between.
Will a colonoscopy prep keep you up all night? You make wake up once or twice to go to the bathroom, but it shouldn't keep you up all night. However, some people are required to wake in the middle of the night to take a second dose of laxatives at least four to six hours before their procedure.
However, if the person preparing for the colonoscopy is still passing liquid containing fecal matter, or brown, cloudy liquid, they should seek medical advice as they will need to take additional steps to clean their colorectal region before the screening can be performed.
Studies have indicated that colonoscopies done during the morning hours have actually contributed to more accurate findings due to a number of varying factors. Although it might not be a thrill to wake up earlier than usual, it could just help your overall health.
No, it is not recommended to eat a big meal after a colonoscopy. Your physician will likely suggest soft foods or low-residue foods that are easy on your GI tract. It is best to speak directly to your physician for diet recommendations and to know the potential recovery time.
One day before — and the day of — your colonoscopy, you will be on a clear-liquid diet. The chart shows examples of drinks you can include, and what to avoid. Starting the day before your screening, don't eat any solid food until after your colonoscopy.. Print this chart (PDF) for easy reference.
Your doctor can't usually tell, simply by looking at a polyp during a colonoscopy, if it's cancerous. But if a polyp is found during your colonoscopy, your doctor will remove it and send it to a lab for a biopsy to check for cancerous or precancerous cells.