FAQs

Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colon cancer screening. Screening should begin at age 45 and be performed every 10 years. If a person has a family history of a parent or sibling having colon cancer or a polyp before age 65, then colonoscopy should begin at 40 or ten years younger than the age of the family member when they were diagnosed with colon cancer or polyps. Subsequent exams should be at five-year intervals. If a person has a personal history of polyps on a previous colonoscopy, repeat exams should subsequently be performed at three-to-five-year intervals.

Please contact your prescribing physician and inform him/her that you cannot eat or drink after midnight before your procedure, then ask for instructions on how to adjust your insulin dosages.

Please let our office know immediately that you are on a blood thinner. If you are taking more than an aspirin a day to thin your blood, please give us the name of the blood thinning medication and why you are taking it. We will discuss with you the various options available before proceeding with an invasive procedure like endoscopy or colonoscopy.

If you are having a colonoscopy, please stop the iron four days before the procedure. Iron can interfere with the preparation resulting in a poorly cleaned colon. You do not need to stop the iron if you are only undergoing upper endoscopy.

No, according to the latest guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, antibiotics are NOT required for any routine upper endoscopy or colonoscopy. If your physician insists on you being on an antibiotic, please ask them to prescribe and instruct you on how and when to take the antibiotic.

Please inform us at least 5 days before the procedures for additional instructions.

With the exception of blood thinners, and insulin, you may take all your usual medications.

It is best to stop herbal remedies five days before the procedure as many can thin your blood and increase the risk of bleeding during or after the procedure.