Follow the instructions from the office doing your colonoscopy first. If anything here is different from what they told you, go with theirs.
Procedure date:Arrival time:My prep:Dose 1 at:Dose 2 at:Nothing by mouth after:Office phone:
One week before
- Ask the doctor who ordered your colonoscopy about your medicines, especially blood thinners, diabetes medicines and weekly shots like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound. Don't stop a blood thinner unless the doctor who prescribes it says it's OK.
- Stop iron pills and fiber supplements if the office told you to.
- Pick up your prep and anything else on your list.
- Line up an adult to bring you, stay, and take you home. You can't drive after sedation.
Three days before
- Switch to low-fiber foods: white bread, white rice, plain pasta, eggs, chicken, fish.
- Skip nuts, seeds, popcorn, corn, raw vegetables, salads and whole grains.
The day before
- Clear liquids only, from the time the office gave you: water, clear broth, apple or white grape juice with no pulp, sports drinks, Jell-O, popsicles, black coffee or tea.
- Nothing red or purple, no milk or creamer, no alcohol.
- Diabetes: use regular (not sugar-free) clear drinks and check your sugar more often.
- Chill the prep and drink it through a straw. Keep wipes and a barrier cream by the toilet.
- Take dose 1 at the time written above.
The day of
- Take dose 2 at the time written above and finish all of it.
- Nothing by mouth after the stop time, except the medicines the office told you to take with a sip of water.
- You're ready when what comes out is clear or light yellow liquid.
- Bring your driver, photo ID, insurance card and medicine list.
Call the office if you can't keep the prep down, you've had no bowel movement by bedtime the night before, or you have severe belly pain.
Not sure which prep you'll use? See which colonoscopy prep is right for me.
Questions? Call (813) 400-0543 or send a message.
Written by Brian Frank, MD
Board-certified gastroenterologist (ABIM). Published November 3, 2026.
Board-certified gastroenterologist (ABIM). Published November 3, 2026.
This checklist is general information, not medical advice. For a medical emergency, call 911.