Low fibre diet pre-colonoscopy

[whyamisuddenlygettingolder]

Does anyone have any advice about the low fibre diet you're supposed to follow before a colonoscopy? I've been on mounjaro for 3 months and haven't had any stomach issues. I'm really nervous about now having to spend 5 days eating low fibre. I don't understand why they'd want you to effectively constipate yourself before the prep medicine cleans you out? Has anyone been in this position, and could you share what you ate during the low fibre period? I've been told I've got to do it for 5 days, and they've suggested white bread and special k, lean meat, canned fruit!, and no nuts, very few vegetables, etc. I usually eat fairly low carb, high protein, fairly high fat, with lots of veg, so this sounds really gross tbh.

I can't say that I did much better than the list you've been given. Like you, I found it totally alien to my usual diet. I'm also coeliac, so that limited my choices further. I seem to remember a lot of chicken sandwiches, tinned pears and one rather disgusting mug of consomme. Good luck, and hopefully someone else will have better suggestions.

It's because high fibre foods leave residue in the bowel when digested which would mean the scope couldn't see your bowel clearly. The bowel prep sachets you take in the day or so before will clear your bowels out fully regardless of the low fibre. It's not the nicest diet but it's only for a few days.

You can also have white fish, boiled or poached eggs, butter, plain tofu, plain white rice, yoghurt, pasta, stuff like that, smooth fruit juices, plain croissants, plain biscuits like rich tea. It's boring but you'll be fine.

It's low residue rather than low fibre.

Constipation is kind of irrelevant as you will be completely clear by the time of the procedure due to the pre-op prep.

I roasted a chicken and that became the basis of my meals, with some pasta and cheese, in a (white bread) sandwich. I had some jelly too.

This is super helpful, thank you all.

I think if I recall correctly my diet looked like this;

Day 1
Dry fried Egg on toast
Plain cheese sandwich.
Noodles boiled with a stock cube and prawns.
Toast after midnight as I felt awful after doing a lot of exercise that day which was a bad move as it made bloods low

Day 2
Toast and More toast (white bread)
Dad brought me a load of chocolate
instead of Sunday roast my parents cooked me cheesy mash and steamed white cod
Lemon jelly

Day 3
Boiled egg and toast
had to stop eating after 9am, think I was allowed to suck mints/light coloured boiled sweets
spent day in bed after breakfast got up to start prep for 5pm
Stopped pooping about 10:30pm

I was seen really early on a Tuesday morning.

It’s very temporary. The objective is to have as clear a bowel as possible. I always feel a sense of pride when the report says ‘bowel prep EXCELLENT’ 😇

I remember my last meal before I had to fast was a chicken sandwich on white bread with lots of proper butter, sorry can’t remember what else I ate on the low residue diet.