Screening and diagnostic colonoscopies in Minnesota and Wisconsin

Your colon, also called the large intestine, is the unsung hero of your digestive system. It absorbs moisture from the food you’ve eaten and breaks down food waste so it can pass out of your body. A healthy colon helps ensure waste doesn’t build up in your body and that your digestive system is functioning well. But if your colon isn’t at its top health, you can experience gas, pain or more serious conditions.

In order to make sure your colon is healthy, doctors use procedure called a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a test where we examine the inside of your colon with a thin tube with a camera (colonoscope) and check for colon conditions, including colon polyps and colon cancer. A colonoscopy helps us detect signs of colon cancer in its earliest stages, when it’s the most treatable. Colonoscopies have helped us remove thousands of precancerous colon polyps before cancer was able to develop.

The team at HealthPartners and Park Nicollet is ready to provide answers to all your questions about colonoscopies and help you feel prepared for the procedure. Our gastroenterologists, general surgeons and others perform thousands of colonoscopies a year. We know how to keep patients comfortable while getting the most accurate test results possible. And with many locations throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin, you can book an appointment near you.

It’s important to properly prepare for a colonoscopy in order for doctors to accurately check your colon for any signs of illnesses. Colonoscopy preparation helps clean your colon so any polyps or abnormalities will be clearly visible.

Your doctor will give you detailed prep instructions before your appointment, but here is what you can commonly expect:

One or two days before your colonoscopy, you’ll stop eating solid food and drinking colored drinks. You are encouraged to drink clear liquids, like clear broth, teas, water, Gatorade and Jell-O. The instructions we’ll give you will have a specific time at which you’ll need to stop drinking anything.

Don’t eat or drink any red or purple foods for two days leading up to your colonoscopy. The coloring in these foods can make it difficult for your doctor to properly examine your colon.

When you schedule your colonoscopy, we’ll give you specific instructions about the medicine you’ll need to take before your exam. It’s important to follow these instructions specifically so we can perform the procedure. If you haven’t properly prepared for your appointment, we may not be able to do your colonoscopy as scheduled.

We’ll likely ask you to drink a medicine that helps clear out your colon. These medicines are typically laxatives that you mix with water and drink over a couple hours. Usually, you’ll drink this the day before your colonoscopy.

Some people find the taste of these medicines to be unpleasant. Chilling the liquid or drinking it through a straw to avoid your taste buds can help it go down easier.

Less common medicines might be used, like pills or a meal kit, depending on your unique needs.

This medicine will make you frequently use the bathroom. Make sure that you stay home, near a bathroom, after you take the laxatives.