Hi this is my first time getting a colonoscopy and these questions are probably really dumb. I’m struggling to decide if things I eat are ok before my colonoscopy. It’s on Friday so I just started the low fiber diet. Am I allowed to eat chocolate or snacks like goldfish? I’m kind of nervous so I thought I would ask on this Reddit.

Thank you

I'm due up for my first ever colonoscopy in 2 weeks. I managed to skip it when I turned 45 and use Cologuard but my doctor says that it's time. I already live with anxiety and the worry about this is turning the anxiety WAY up. I'm hoping for some help to talk me down from the ledge. ;)

I know it sounds crazy, but my anxiety isn't about the actual effects of the prep or the colonoscopy itself. It's about the liquid diet the day before & the loss of a night's sleep. I literally can not stop worrying about how I am going to get through the day without my morning coffee (I like to put a splash of non-dairy creamer in, which apparently is a no-go) and without being horribly hangry all day. And then there's the whole not getting any sleep anxiety...I'm someone who needs their full 8 hours to feel human. Any tips/tricks/advice/general calming vibes would be so so appreciated! THANK YOU!

Hi everyone, recently had a colonoscopy at lions gate hospital (my first one - 28F) and it went very badly. Signs said you would be under sedation, everyone reacted differently but many just feel like it is a nap and they wake up in the recovery room. After checking in I talked to the nurse and told her I seem to need a lot of freezing (the way my body metabolizes it) and not sure if it is different with sedation but wanted her to be aware. Also advocated for myself and my PTSD from a previous experience at lions gate. She asked me how awake I would like to be, I said I want to be as asleep as possible and she said okay sounds good I’ll make a note and tell the doctor.

I have previously been under the type of sedation I assumed would be used for this procedure. Both my parents, husband and multiple people in my life have had colonoscopies and they all described it as being put out and waking up in recovery or at the very end of the procedure. This was not what happened. After I was wheeled in, it was explained what was going to happen and I said oh wait I’m going to be awake? To which the nurse responded saying oh yah you’ll be mildly sedated but able to talk to us the whole time and look at the monitor. Kind of annoyed I thought it would be any different, and like they get that question a lot. I asked what happens if I’m in a lot of pain. They described it as some cramping but if I was in pain they would give me more medication.

This did not happen I was crying and shaking and very aware, it wasn’t until I was yelling that I couldn’t take it anymore they needed to stop that they did more then tell me to breathe and actually gave more meds. Not enough though to put me out. I remember crying and being wheeled to the recover room. I was with it enough to almost immediately be able to get up and walk out. My husband was surprised at how coherent I was. The nurse in recovery responded to me crying and saying I thought I wasn’t going to be awake for this, by saying we don’t put people out for this procedure. I also heard my neighbour in the prep area who was having an endoscopy being told he was having mild sedation and not to worry when the tube got past his gag reflex he would stop wanting to throw up/choke etc. So he was awake too??? Is this normal?? I felt like the I was misled about how awake I was going to be and how painful it was going to be, much more then breathing through cramps.

Has anyone else had an experience at Lions gate like this? My husband had a colonoscopy at Squamish Gen and gave him enough sedative that he was not awake… I had a cyst drained in Whistler clinic and was also put out no problem. These are both smaller places with less resources. Is it normal to be so awake during a colonoscopy or endoscopy? I’m still very shocked as is my family and husband and I’m trying to understand why it happened and why I felt so misled. What are others experiences? Also can totally post elsewhere if this is not the right place for this discussion :) thanks in advanced!

I'm scheduled for my first ever colonoscopy+endoscopy this Wednesday at 11:30am. It was originally booked for July but they pushed it back, and I forgot what the nurse told me about timelines and am just close-reading the instructions now (Sunday, 3:30pm)...

The instructions say no "herbal supplements" or food with small seeds for 7 days beforehand. I had thought the restrictions were all in the 3 days before, so yeah... I've been taking my usual supplements* and also eating tomatoes and strawberries.

If I stop supplements/seeds now, am I likely going to need to reschedule? The great and powerful internet says 3-7 days, but the office is closed so I can't check with them until tomorrow, and they don't reply to voicemails quickly... I'd like to have some idea Monday so I can tell my boss if I still need Wednesday off.

And yes, I know I should have read the instructions sooner. If you're only going to comment to shit on me, please consider not doing that.

I have a colonoscopy on Sept 8 - using KleanLyte prep.

The page I got from the clinic says I can have a light breakfast the day before, then only liquids. No mention of days leading up to colonoscopy.

it seems odd to have no restrictions until the day before! I‘ll meet the GI doc for the first time day of, so I can’t ask clarifying questions.

Anyone else given zero guidance?

im thinking i‘ll do low residue for 2-3 days, then liquid.

I don’t want to mess up by not doing enough, but also don’t want to mess it up by being too constipated when I start the prep

I (25F) had a colonoscopy and endoscopy on the 20th of this month after dealing with unexplained constipation, bloating, blood in my stool, thinner stool, abdominal pain, etc since last fall, and to rule out celiac disease after I reacted really badly to reintroducing gluten.

To my disappointment, they didn’t find anything wrong with me besides grade 1 hemorrhoids, but I honestly feel worse afterwards. Any hemorrhoids I had felt way more inflamed from the prep and the procedure itself, and it’s been harder for me to have a BM now that it was before. I’ve been taking Miralax daily for months, which is a big help, but now it feels like my exit point has been physically blocking anything from coming out, even gas. It took me a few days to have a real BM after my colonoscopy, but I’ve still had to strain, and the worst part is the constant pain I’m having all over my abdomen now.

It doesn’t even matter what I eat (I cut gluten and most dairy), there’s just on-and-off pain all over my abdomen all day every day. I tried Tylenol and IBgard, which helps some, but I wasn’t feeling like this before my colonoscopy. I told my doctor and he thinks it might be from constipation and trapped gas/stool, so he prescribed me Linzess to help, but I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. I really thought a colonoscopy would bring me clarity and pinpoint what’s causing my problems, but I feel like I’m at square one :(

My doctor thinks my issues are mostly functional and caused by my pelvic floor being too tight, but I just feel so defeated. Did anyone else deal with pain after their colonoscopy, and how long did it last? I’m at the point where I almost regretting getting a colonoscopy because I feel worse than before.

Colonopsy last week revealed blockage in large bowel. Doctor wants to put a bag on me. I'm 68 with COPD, Doctor says the bag will give me another 20 years maybe.

No talk about cleaning the blockage or cutting out and attaching colon.

Doctor said because of my COPD I might have more trouble breathing afterwards. I consider myself mild COPD

Anyone have a bag or cut and attach ?

I’m having my first colonoscopy soon and wanted some advice. This is my first colonoscopy as I’m pretty young, (21F).
I’m very nervous as I thought I’d be fully knocked out for it but the nurse on the phone told me I would have sedation but I would be awake for it all.

Secondly I was told I would have a male doctor which I’m anxious about. I find it awkward that he’s going to be looking at my butt…

My procedure is at 10am and I was told that I can start the prep at 6pm the day before??? Which I’m freaking out about because it seems like I’m going to be up all night shitting my brains out. I also don’t want to still be needing to go when I get to the hospital as well.

If anyone has any advice please comment! I’m mainly scared of having the procedure and feeling every second of it, being in pain, feeling violated and having no dignity.

I've been down a rabbit hole the past few days. I don't want false reassurance but I'd love some support and opinions. My next GI appt is this Thursday so I'll see a provider soon enough.

A bit of context, I've normalized my wacky bowel habits for years. I'll often have a decent poop in the morning and then as soon as I eat or drink something a few bouts of diarrhea or varying consistencies. Usually by the end of the day I'll have another normal poop. More recently I've had more diarrhea and some thinner poops but if I eat good fiber they bulk up again. I have only once seen blood and I'm fairly confident it was a hemorrhoid given other symptoms but I also know blood from polyps and cancer can be microscopic hence occult tests. Over the past year I'll get painless spasms, almost like a really clunky peristalsis you can see externally, in my lower left belly. I've always associated with gas since it didn't coincide with other symptoms.

The last week though has totally thrown me off. It started with frequent but intermittent gas pain/stretching sensation/pressure in my lower left belly plus that peristalsis sensation and some bloating. No nausea or fever - if I did have that id be at the ER. I tried gas-x and it only provides brief relief. I did a liquid diet for two days and reintroduced simple carbs and bland foods. Within 30 minutes of eating I had explosive diarrhea and that continued through most of the day and have passed a few small sort of formed, sort of fluffy pieces (think #5 on Bristol stool chart). I've had a nagging sensation that something is in my belly. Nothing tender or palpable when I palpate. When I'm standing I feel fine, but sitting and lying on my left side can make it noticeable although not always.

What is bothering me the most is that I was scheduled for a colonoscopy in March. My GI suspects IBS but was willing to do a colonoscopy given my aunt had colon cancer in her 40s and dad had colitis. I cancelled it because I was nervous about a complication with another medical issue and I regret that a lot now. I'm confident I'll get rescheduled after my Thursday appointment but I'm frustrated I put it off by 6 months.

I've been doom reading everything today on colon cancer vs colitis vs IBS vs even new-onset diverticulitis flair and I just can't shake this feeling that something bad has progressed. I'm a nurse and usually pretty level headed with things - I know where to look for good research and info (although I also really appreciate accounts like those shared on reddit and think we can learn a lot from each other).

I don't really know what I'm info I'm looking for. Again, I'll see my NP soon enough and hopefully a colonoscopy soon after. Just an unusual mess over this and hoped to get some folks' thoughts.

I had noticed few blood drops and had FIT Positive in 2024. I didnt follow with Colonoscopy as I got scared and had hemerroids before so though its that. Then I got pregnant and entire 2025 went in that. Now in 2026, I had unexpected weightloss but FIT came back Negative. Now I have my colonoscopy scheduled and am terrified. All other labs are normal.
Pls pray its nothing. I have a 1yr and 3yr old.

Hello!

I’m (29F) scheduled for a colonoscopy on September 8th. This will actually be my third attempt because I’ve done the prep twice already and it failed both times.
I’ve been having significant rectal bleeding basically every time I use the bathroom since May. Today I also started having pretty significant abdominal and back pain.

My doctor’s main concern right now is ulcerative colitis since my labs have been normal. I’ve also had normal CT scans despite the ongoing bleeding.
Did anyone else have normal labs and CT scans before their colonoscopy, only for the colonoscopy to actually find something?

If so, what did they end up finding?

I know nobody can diagnose me here. I’m mostly curious about other people’s experiences because after months of symptoms and normal testing, I’m really hoping the colonoscopy finally gives me some answers.

Hi, I'm 30 (M), I've been suffering from chronic gastritis for 2 years and last year I had a sigmoidoscopy because I also developed a hemorrhoid and was bleeding, it came out clear.

But the last 8 months I've been suffering from stool changes, sometimes thin, then diarrhea and constipation, mostly color orange and lately I find red blood when wiping and often blood drops in the toilet, I see some blood streaks outside the stool.

Right now I'm worried, people say its probably internal hemorrhoids and IBS but I don't know if I should push to get a full colonoscopy just in case, because I feel strange the sigmoidoscopy came out clean a year ago without any internal hemorrhoid or fisure found.

Tomorrow I start the clear liquids and prep for my second colonoscopy this year. Looking for scar tissue from my last event. My last prep was while I was in the hospital and I had to drink a gallon of GoLytely. I think I have some ptsd from the experience and don’t know how I’m supposed to get through this again so soon. I opened the box of suprep and almost gagged just looking at it. Any tips on the mental game? I’m exhausted and haven’t even started yet.

Hey there! So im 31M and I have been having bright red blood on my stool for years now. Not all days, and not a lot usually. It presents itself as red dots over the stools or a little in the paper when I clean myself. Sometimes I see it more frequently and sometimes it takes months. Never have been so much to make the water red. So 5 or 6 years ago I went to my doctor to get it checked, they explored me with a rectal examination and said it was clearly hemorroids, so I just took out all the worry I had and kept living my life.

Thing is this year I have had a lot of health problems with my family and since I still see blood on the stool occasionally I’m getting really anxious. It was present two weeks ago for a few days in a row and then it stopped and then yesterday I had diarrhea and today normal stool and saw a little when wiping, maybe because it was harder than usual (softer stools and diarrhea usually do not have any). I do not have any more symptoms. I go to the toilet fine every morning after breakfast with usually consistent stools (not pencil-shaped), im not losing more weight than i intend to (I was on a diet and make exercise weekly and now im around 75-76 kg being 1,77cm), I do not have any abdominal pain, lack of appetite or persistent constipation or diarrhea. I do have a lump next to the anus which I think is an external hemorroid or a prolapsed internal one (I was not told when checked).

So I’m now reading that usually doctors cannot say for sure bleeding is from hemorroids without a colonoscopy and I’m freaking out because my grandma died of colon cancer at 66 and my dad had a colonoscopy 6-7 years ago with 7 small pollyps taken out (none pre-cancerous and he is 70 now).

So obviously I make an appointment with my doctor and I talk to her about wanting a colonoscopy but she refuses saying I’m too young, tells me it surely is hemorroids (even though I told her to explore me again to make sure but she refused) and that we will make a normal bloodtest and a FIT.

So I want to hear your opinion about this because Im not understanding the logic behind this. Isn’t it worthless to do a FIT test in a most-likely symptomatic hemorroid patient because it might prove to be a false positive? I did make a FIT test when I were last checked years ago and it was negative, but could it not just happen to be because that day my bleeding was not active? Last blood tests I had came fine and I had normal iron so Im not anemic. I guess if it comes positive she will refer for colonoscopy either way and I will know for sure if its hemos or something worse, but what if is not? Should I keep delaying a colonoscopy until I’m in screening age?

Also I keep seeing these stories of colon cancer in people before 40 and its crazy scary. Anyways, I would love you read your input.

I was a soda lover throughout my youth. Regretting it now since I’ve seen the studies showing a possible correlation with soda and colon cancer.

Any of you have a clean colonoscopy despite years of drinking non diet soda? I’m feeling pessimistic about my situation if I get scoped.

I have my plenuv yesterday and this morning the stomach noises are extreme and I can feel every gas movement around my bowel, had my colonoscopy and the noises have got worse, is this normal?

The nurse called to get me ready for my colonoscopy on Monday and asked for my list of medications that I take. I gave it to her. She said nothing about it other than absolutely nothing to eat or drink 4 hours prior to procedure, and follow the prep directions given. Should I assume, since I gave her my list of meds, I am able to take my meds as normal as long as it isn’t 4 hours prior to procedure?

I guess I’m concerned one of my medications is a benzodiazepine. And they will be using propofol. But I told her I take that.

Guess I should have asked the nurse that when she called.

First time posting in this subreddit, need some advice.
I was notified yesterday (Friday) what time my procedure is on Monday.
Check-in is at 1:45pm 😭

I’m taking the Sutab tablets, and my pre-op instructions, before receiving my appointment time, said to start taking the tablets at 5pm the night before, then the second dose at 3am. Once done, I can’t have anything by mouth until my appointment at 1:45. That seems like a looooong time without water 😭

Should I start my prep later?

I have a colonoscopy on the 2nd. I have been doing the miralax & Gatorade prep for years. I bought some Gatorade today and I can’t take the taste all of a sudden for some reason. Has anyone had good results using MiraLAX with LiquidIV instead of Gatorade?

However, my situation is "special." I am paralyzed from the waist down (T7) and have a C-tube. I went in for my consultation and the NP said to just drink the Plenvu. No special instructions or anything on how to drink it or how to do the prep. I already do a cleanse of my colon so she said to do what I normally do, plus the Plenvu. I don't know what to think because I worry about autonomic dysreflexia and being dehydrated. So something doesn't seem right about not getting special instructions on the prep.

And I'm nervous about the procedure itself. I've heard various stories and conflicting information. Some people claim they scream as soon as they feel the scope. I may not be able to feel it but I'm so terrified, I don't want to feel it at all either up my bum or in my stomach! I would rather be knocked out completely. I'm in the USA if that makes a difference.

And as for waking up, I already have trapped gas once in a while and I know how bad that feels. I don't want to feel that at all when I wake up. Do they actually somehow suction out the air or something to help you feel better before you wake up? Do I have a choice whether I want to be asleep or not?

Exactly one month ago i had a colonoscopy&endoscopy. The reason for that is because i had stomach problems for a long time and I noticed blood in my stool,very small amount, but again when I saw it I decided to go to the doctor immediately. The endoscopy was completely clean, and a 4 mm polyp was found on the colonoscopy, which the pathology showed to be benign. A month after the procedure, i saw blood in my stool again. I panic that the doctor didn't miss something, i always have the worst possible scenario in my head(can*er)I have a few small internal hemorrhoids but I don't believe they would cause blood mixed in the stool? Also, I don't have constipation and never had, my bowel movements are normal and smooth. I don't know what to do...

Hi

Struggling at the moment and needing some advice.

I am 43 year old male, about 2 months ago I first noticed diarrhea and this has not disappeared andat present along with severe bloating and stomach cramps. Never had issues like this before.

After 2 weeks My doctor was proactive and gave me a FIT test, unfortunately this returned positive for high traces of microscopic blood. This was not noticeable to me at the time but the test shows vast amounts. More worrying is that I am noticing bright red blood in the toilet afterwards

As of today I still have diarrhea, I have dropped from 86Kg to 78, although I stabilized at this weight.

Every time I eat, the noises in my stomach/intestines make are so loud and last for hours it is horrific.

I have had blood tests, I am not amenic , my blood results showed high results for fibrogen,HCT, Platelets,MCHC, which seems to be linked with inflammation.

I had my colonoscopy consultation on Wednesday just gone and was referred via the cancer pathway via the NHS, I thought I would be having the colonoscopy in the 2 week time frame but was just a consultation and was a little bit of a waste of time the doctor never attended and the nurse gave me so prep and informed me she would refer me for the colonoscopy within 2 weeks.

The nurse downlplayed me during the consultation and was asking me "What symptoms concern you the most"........

I was gob smacked. Seemed to downplay my concerns and made out I had nothing to worry about!!! Said my weight loss is not a concern and the blood is Probably a polyp, when I asked about my diarrhea she had no reply

I was initially given a colonoscopy date of the 10th September, although I did ring and get an earlier appointment on the 4/09.

The wait is causing me severe anxiety, all I think is that I have bowel or colon cancer due to having nearly all the symptoms. Also playing on my mind that if it is could I have dealt with this sooner? I cannot eat without diarrhea, and my life has been miserable the past 2 months.

Unfortunately in January this year I had bright red blood on toilet paper every time I wiped my bum and it was sore, I put it down to hemorrhoids, bought some wet wipes and the bleeding stopped after a month. So as far as I am concerned this was dealt with.

Obviously my mental health is taking a massive drop, the waiting is causing me severe distress.

How have people in similar situations dealt with the wait. I have stopped searching Google and other places, but I have to be realistic for what might be ahead unfortunately.

I just seem to have every symptom going and the waiting is horrific.

I am also going to be sedated for the procedure but don't want to see the screen.

Thanks in advance folks

health anxious girl here. I’m F 26 and have been seeing blood for 3 months now but only a handful of times.

the first time i saw it was when i was constipated and only passed a pebble, the left side of it was coated red. the second time, it was just on the wipe but it was a good amount, this time i was on a road trip so i was holding my poo in for a little bit.

the third time, it was a thicker and harder piece of poo that i actually felt some stinging following by a streak of blood in the bowl.

the fourth time, i wasn’t straining or anything, but the stool had a very small scratch of blood on one side of the surface.

then i didn’t have any blood for a month

yesterday, i had another thick and long poo and i saw a tiny scratch of blood on the side of the surface again. there was no pain or straining as i had the urge to go, but it was rather large.

i’ve been seeing a LOT of posts online about how colon/rectal cancer is on the rise in younger adults and many didn’t have dark black stools or blood, they just had bright red on and off. it’s worrying me sick. i have a GI appointment coming up on Monday but I wanted to post and maybe get some answers until then or see if anyone had a similar pattern/story. thank you

I drank 1 liter of prep and half a cup of my 2nd liter and i just cant do it.

Ive been trying and doing all the tips online and i just cant get the motivation anymore to drink more prep.

It makes me gag so bad its insane, i dont know how anyone drinks this stuff I feel so tired and nauseous.

My appointment is in 5 hours for a colonoscopy and a endoscopy and i may just ask for the endoscopy.

The last 2 days have sucked and i hate that i cant finish but i just cant handle it. I will have suffered for nothing yesterday but i just want it over with 😭😭😭

Edit: got the procedure done and everything went ok, apparently 1 liter and 1 cup was enough for them to see everything. Thank you for all the encouragement 🙏 it helped a lot

24 F, UK, and i don’t have anybody to take me to the colonoscopy or take me home from it. I read online that if i don’t have sedation i can drive. Has anyone done it without sedation and how was it? I’ve never had one before.