Patient guides
The practical questions before a test or a procedure: how to prepare, what it feels like, which one you need, and how to arrange it for someone you love.
Colonoscopy preparation in Nigeria: what to eat, what to drink, and when
For two to three days before a colonoscopy you eat low-fibre food (white rice, white bread, eggs, chicken or fish), then only clear drinks the day before. The laxative drink is usually split between the evening before and the morning of the test, and the bowel is ready when what comes out is clear or pale yellow liquid. Your centre's own instructions come first: follow them where they differ from this guide.
Read the guideIs a colonoscopy painful? What it actually feels like
For most people a colonoscopy is not painful. With sedation you are relaxed and drowsy and many people remember little of it. Without sedation it is uncomfortable rather than painful: pressure and cramp, like wind, as the camera goes round the bends of the bowel. Most people say the preparation the day before was the worst part.
Read the guideColonoscopy or stool test: which bowel cancer check do you need?
If you have symptoms such as bleeding, a change in bowel habit, weight loss or anaemia, you need a colonoscopy, not a stool test. If you feel well, a stool test for hidden blood (FIT) is a reasonable screen that must be repeated regularly, and a positive result leads to a colonoscopy anyway. A colonoscopy is the only test that can find and remove polyps before they become cancer.
Read the guideWhen should you have your first colonoscopy?
Screening for bowel cancer is now recommended from age 45 for adults at average risk, following the US Preventive Services Task Force. If a parent, brother or sister had bowel cancer, screening usually starts earlier, often at 40 or ten years before the age your relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. Symptoms at any age are not screening: they need a test now.
Read the guideArranging a colonoscopy or endoscopy for a parent in Nigeria from abroad
You can book and pay online from anywhere for a colonoscopy, gastroscopy or both for a parent in Lagos. The price is all-in, so nothing is paid on the day, and with your parent's permission the report and the doctor's review can include you by video. You need one person in Lagos to take them home afterwards, because of the sedation.
Read the guideYour colonoscopy or endoscopy report, explained
An endoscopy report lists what the specialist saw, any samples taken, and a recommendation. Common findings such as small polyps that were removed, gastritis, or diverticular disease are usually not dangerous, but each has a next step, and biopsy results follow a week or two later. On Mezo a doctor goes through your report with you by video.
Read the guide