You may begin eating and drinking as soon as you get home from the procedure. Start with a bland liquid diet such as Gatorade, tea, coffee, water, soup and crackers, or jell-o. You can increase your diet slowly to a regular diet as tolerated.
As soon as you reach home, you may resume normal ad lib activity. You are encouraged to begin walking and resuming household activity immediately. You can increase your activity to a normal routine as tolerated. There are no major restrictions after this procedure.
You may resume all your normal medications after surgery except for any anticoagulants. You should wait at least 48 hours after surgery before beginning your anticoagulants, as long as there are no signs of rectal bleeding. You may need to wait longer, but please consult your surgeon first.
Severe pain is rare after this procedure. You may have some minor cramping and a bloated feeling due to the air injected into your colon during the procedure. You should pass this gas with relief of your symptoms within a few hours after the procedure. Increased walking can help you pass the gas quicker. You can take over-the-counter Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen as needed for pain if it is bad enough. If you have severe abdominal pain or a rigid abdomen, contact your surgeon immediately.
You should return to your normal bowel movement pattern within 2-3 days after the procedure. If you have had a biopsy taken or polyps removed, you may notice a small amount of bleeding in your first few stools. This should be darker blood and only a very small amount. If you notice bleeding beyond the first few bowel movements, a significant amount of blood in any bowel movement, bright red blood, or a fever, please contact your surgeon immediately.
You will be instructed as to when you should return to the office on your discharge instructions. You should call the office to schedule this if instructed to come back. Often times a follow-up visit is not necessary after this procedure. If it is requested, it will usually be within 1-2 weeks after the procedure. The pathology department usually takes 3-5 days to send results of your biopsy or polyps to our office. If there is important information from the report to tell you before your follow-up appointment, you will be notified immediately. If the pathology is benign, you will be informed of these results over the phone and likely do not need a follow-up visit. You will be instructed on when to obtain your next colonoscopy based on the findings in the procedure.
