Patient Resource FAQs

MiraLAX is a gentle bowel preparation. Be patient, take 1-2 hours to drink your bowel prep and wait for results. It may take 2-6 of hours for you to see results. If you are within 2 hours of your appointment and your stool is still brown, please call our Endoscopy Center for further instructions from the nurses.

A clear stool can have a slight tint of yellow or brown. It will be completely transparent and will not contain any solid matter. If your stool is not clear 2 hours prior to your procedure, call the endoscopy center for further instructions.

Bowel movements can take up to 5-6 hours after beginning the prep to start. Be patient, continue to drink liquids. If you have not had a bowel movement by midnight the night prior to your procedure, you will need to reach the physician on call for further instructions.

You will not need to reschedule your procedure, however the seeds or nuts may cause difficulty with screening and require rescreening. If you have eaten a large amount of seeds or nuts, you may want to contact the nurse/physician.

Alcohol is not allowed as part of the liquid diet. It is dehydrating and not recommended prior to being sedated.

Yes! In fact we want you to consume at least 64 ounces of clear liquid during the day and evening in addition to the prep liquid. Just remember to stop taking anything by mouth 2 hours before your procedure. No water. No gum. Nothing.

A split prep has proven to be the most effective for a clean bowel and successful colonoscopy. It is very important that you follow bowel prep instructions and timing.

The liquid amount is not weight dependent. Stay well-hydrated during your prep and finish the entire prep for a successful colonoscopy.

Lie down between doses and take a full two hours to drink the prep in small doses of a few ounces every 5-10 minutes. If the nausea worsens, call our office.

Call our office to speak with the doctor.

Yes, up until 2 hours before your procedure. You should take all normal medications EXCEPT diabetic medications the morning of the procedure, and blood thinners as instructed by your doctor.

Minor headaches are normal when you are on a liquid diet. Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water and clear liquids. If the headache is serious or worsens call our doctor.

If you ate breakfast THE DAY BEFORE your procedure, probably not. Plan to drink extra clear liquids and proceed as instructed. If you ate THE MORNING OF your procedure, yes, you will need to reschedule. It is not safe for patients to have food in their stomach before a procedure.

Call doctor.

Call our doctor.

We use a non-narcotic sedative called Propofol. It is administered via an intravenous drip. We use it because patients awaken quickly, and it is completely out your system after four hours, allowing patients to get back to normal life quickly.

Our anesthesia providers are Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, supervised by our doctors. Our CRNAs are experienced registered nurses with years of specialty study and practice in anesthesia.

We ask patients to plan to be with us for 2 hours. This is “door-to-door” time from the time you walk in the door to the time you walk out. We have registration, admitting and recovery times that surround the actual procedure time of 20-40 minutes, depending on which procedure you’re having. A single procedure is normally around 20 minutes, while two is closer to 40 minutes.

There is no specific test that is standard with an EGD. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a visual inspection of the esophagus and the stomach down to the duodenum. The doctor will visually inspect the area, and if necessary, take tissue samples for analysis by a pathologist. The doctor will determine what tests may be useful based on the patient’s symptoms and what is encountered during the procedure.

There is no specific test that is standard with a colonoscopy. During a colonoscopy the doctor is looking for polyps or damaged tissue, depending on the reason for the procedure. During a colon cancer screening we are looking for polyps. If none are found and the patient appears to have a healthy colon, there are no further tests. If the doctor finds anything of concern and takes tissue samples to address other health concerns, they are sent to pathology for analysis.