1 day before your colonoscopy
Colonoscopy diet advice and bowel preparation
Please follow these instructions the day before your procedure.
Medicines
Continue to take your regular medicines. Take them either 2 hours before or 2 hours after you take the bowel preparation, unless you have been told otherwise.
If you need any advice about when to take your regular prescribed medicines, please contact the pharmacy medicines helpline on 020 7188 8748 (open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).
Food and drink
Have a light breakfast, such as boiled egg on toast (white bread), before 9am.
After this, do not eat any solid food until after procedure the next day.
You can drink clear fluids until 3 hours before your procedure time.
They may include:
- water
- squash
- fizzy drinks
- clear strained soup
- clear stock
- tea or coffee (with a small amount of milk or no milk)
Try to drink 2 litres of clear fluids (about 8 to 10 glasses) throughout the day (not including the bowel preparation solution).
Do not drink any alcohol, or any other fluids that are not included in the list.
Bowel preparation
You need to start taking the bowel preparation solution the day before your colonoscopy.
Read more about what to expect from taking bowel preparation solution.
Please follow the instructions and timetable in this section for the solution that you are taking. Do not follow the instructions on the packet.
The solutions taste better if they are served chilled. You may want to mix the solutions in advance and keep them in the fridge. You need to use them within 24 hours of being prepared
At 4pm
Take 4 senna tablets from the pack with a glass of water.
Read more information about taking senna tablets.
At 5pm
Mix 1 sachet of Picolax or Citrafleet with about 150ml of water. Do this in a large glass or jug, as the mixture may fizz over.
Stir the solution for 2 to 3 minutes. If the solution gets warm, allow it to cool before you drink it. You can add more water if you want to dilute the solution (make it weaker).
Please drink the preparation at once or, if you are drinking slowly, finish it within an hour.
At 4pm
Empty 1 sachet A and 1 sachet B of Moviprep into 1 litre of water, and stir until it is dissolved.
Drink this over the course of 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.
At 4pm
Empty 1 sachet of Plenvu into 500ml of water and stir until it is dissolved.
Drink this over the course of 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes.
Resource number: 3993/VER3
Last reviewed: December 2025
Next review: December 2028
A list of sources is available on request
