Two years ago, Dr. Poley suggested that Sarah have a
colonoscopy to make sure there weren’t any hidden problems. We were thrilled the results were normal!
The following is the prep and also the diet that Dr. Poley
recommended prior to that procedure:
Two days before
the colonoscopy, drink 1 ½ ounces of castor oil. (Sarah mixed it with white
rice, which made it more tolerable.) She
was also instructed to eat a low-residue diet (also called a low-fiber diet).
The purpose of the low residue diet is to reduce the volume of stools.
Low residue diet:
-- Well cooked meats.
--Well cooked vegetables (ex. beets, green beans, carrots,
squash and eggplant). Avoid broccoli,
cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
--Well cooked white potatoes (no skin)
--Fruit without skin, applesauce, watermelon, and cantaloupe.
--Milk, but limit to 2 cups/day.
--Plain cereals such as cheerios or cornflakes are okay.
--Saltine crackers are okay.
--Avoid whole grains, popcorn, potato chips, highly spiced
foods and nuts and peanut butter.
On the day before
the colonoscopy, Dr. Poley ordered a clear liquid diet and gave instructions to
drink a bottle of citrate of magnesium that afternoon.
So many of the choices that are typically suggested for a
clear-liquid diet contain a lot of sugar (sucrose) and could possibly cause problems,
such as sodas, sweet popsicles, jello, Gatorade, etc.
The choices that worked well for Sarah in following a clear
liquid diet with very little sucrose are chicken broth, beef broth, naturally
flavored teas with no sugar added,“Knox blocks”(made
with apple juice and Knox gelatin) and water. You can also make popsicles with diluted
apple juice.
Recipe for Knox Blox
(using less juice than the recipe on the box of gelatin)
4 envelopes Knox
unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold apple juice
1 cup apple juice and 2 cups of water heated to boiling.
Sprinkle gelatin over cold juice in large bowl; let stand 1
minute. Add hot juice and water until
gelatin completely dissolves, which is about 5 minutes.
Pour into 13x 9 inch pan.
Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. Cut into squares. To make it more fun for kids,
use cookie cutters to cut different shapes.
Many Blessings,
Martha
