Colonoscopy Plenvu advice please

[AdvicePlease22]

My mother has vascular dementia due to a stroke 4 years ago. She is ok, but her short term memory and attention span has been affected.

My father was her carer and he died last month, he took her to all of her appointments and did everything for her.

She has a colonoscopy on Tuesday, which I will be taking her to. Yesterday she showed me the Plenvu sachets that she needs to consume, but she does not have the letter with the instructions as she binned it!

Can anyone help me with this? I think she needs to be nil by mouth after breakfast tomorrow is that correct?

There are 3 sachets- the first bit and then part an and B after that.

Thank you for any help you can give me!

I can call the hospital tomorrow to double check but I am going to be worrying about it all night so thought I'd ask here too.

I used to work in Endoscopy. There’s often a bit of variation in terms of things but this is similar to what my old workplace did:

What time on Tuesday is the procedure - am or pm?

@StarsBeneathMyFeet hey, I can't seem to see any info about what your previous workplace did

@OnSecondThoughts it's at 9:45am

OK, so your mother should take the first dose tomorrow at approx midday and the second (the two sachets) at around 8pm.
To take each dose, pour the sachet (the two sachets for dose 2) into about a pint of cold water and stir until completely dissolved. Sip each dose over the course of about an hour, while also drinking about half a litre of water per hour for several hours. The plenvu tastes unpleasant, it may help to drink it through a straw. Your mother will be on the loo almost non-stop for 3-4 hours after each dose. That's it in a nutshell, but hopefully the hospital can give you more detailed instructions.

Thank you! :)

I would contact the endoscopy unit and ask for a duplicate set of instructions. If correct protocol is not followed they may not be able to complete procedure.
There will also be a note of any medications she needs to stop/ or continue with.

Tried contacting them but they aren't answering 😩

Maybe go through to the main switchboard and say you urgently need to contact the department. They may have an internal number to get through.

@FlorencenotRatchet unfortunately I'm not having any luck with that either- just rings and rings and cuts me off eventually :(

What a nightmare. The only other thing is to go into the endoscopy unit and see if you can collect duplicate info. I collected my Mum's prep and instructions in person.
Otherwise keep phoning and fingers crossed someone will answer eventually.
Good luck

I had different instructions to the one given above. For morning appointment, no solid food from 3pm day before, dose 1 was to be taken 8pm (with an hour or so on the loo from 9pm). Dose 2 taken from 5:30am (again hour + on the loo from 6:30). Obviously no breakfast, but water could be drunk.

@Fairygoblin Hello, thank you for your reply :)
When was your colonoscopy?
I've found similar instructions online via a NHS website, but they say to have the first sachet at 6pm and second two at 8pm (no food after 3pm etc)

Not sure what to do now and still no answer from anyone I try to call.

What Fairygoblin said will be ok.
Here's a pdf: Plenvu instructions
(youre a bit late already for dose 1, so add a few hrs to the dose 2 time).

@OnSecondThoughts thank you!! :)

Just a wee warning I've had two colonoscopies in the same department and received two completely different set of instructions - they changed their prep in between my visits. So I've been wary of following instructions other than the clinics.

I mean it's absolutely desperate getting all that liquid down and barely being able to leave the loo.

I wish you the very best of luck because this sounds like it's going to be an ordeal for all of you.

Well if they bloody answered the phone or their voicemails or their email all day yesterday then they could've contacted me to let me know, as I certainly couldn't contact them!

We've done the best we can - fingers crossed we don't get turned away ....

Hi Op
Was your mum able to have her procedure?
Hope it all went well.

@FlorencenotRatchet She was able to have it , and everything was ok :)
Glad that's over!

Thank you to you and everyone who posted advice on this thread.

Good news. Glad everything went well.