Capsule Endoscopy

Seven days or more before your procedure:

• Discontinue iron supplements at least five days before to your procedure.
• If you are diabetic or take medications for a chronic condition, talk with the doctor who oversees your treatment about how to modify your medication schedule in accordance with the diet/fasting requirements for your procedure.
• Avoid eating raw, leafy vegetables, raw fruit, and products containing olestra (for example, potato chips) three days before your procedure.

One day before your procedure:

• Buy three 10-ounce bottles of magnesium citrate, three 32-ounce bottles of clear or yellow Gatorade and simethicone (Mylicon 80 mg) and store in the refrigerator, as early in the day as possible to ensure ample chilling. Magnesium citrate and Gatorade are easier to drink when very cold.
• Eat a light breakfast.
• At noon, begin the clear liquid diet (i.e., no “milky” liquids or supplements, pureed or soft food). Acceptable clear liquids include:
  • Clear broth or bouillon (without noodles or other solids), any flavor.
  • Coffee or tea (without milk or cream)
  • Soft drinks like soda-pop, Kool–Aid, Gatorade, Tang, lemonade
  • Juices without pulp: apple, cranberry, orange, grapefruit
  • Gelatin like Jello (no red, blue, green or purple)
  • Popsicles (no ice cream or yogurt bars)
• Avoid red, green, blue or purple colored clear liquids and Jello because brightly colored substances in your system will make the exam more difficult to read.
• Drink plenty of water and other clear liquids on the day prior to your exam to avoid dehydration. Avoid alcoholic beverages.
• At 6 p.m., begin drinking one 10-ounce bottle of magnesium citrate, along with Gatorade. Alternate one 8-ounce glass of Gatorade with the magnesium citrate every 10 minutes until you finish one 32-ounce bottle of Gatorade. Keep the Gatorade very cold to decrease nausea, and drink it fast, to improve effectiveness of bowel cleansing.
• At 8 p.m., begin drinking the second 10-ounce bottle of magnesium citrate, along with the second bottle of Gatorade, drinking one 8-ounce glass every 10 minutes until you finish one of the 32-ounce bottles of Gatorade. Keep drinking plenty of fluids until bedtime to prevent dehydration.

On the day of your procedure:

• On the day of your procedure, stop drinking clear liquids three hours before leaving home.
• Four hours before leaving home, consume the third 10-ounce bottle of magnesium citrate and the third 32-ounce bottle of Gatorade, finishing one glass every 10 minutes. Take the two tablets of simethicone (Mylicon). After you finish the Gatorade, do not eat or drink prior to your exam.
• Four hours after you have swallowed the “capsule endoscope,” you may take your regular medications with water and eat a light meal.

*This exam is not recommended for patients with kidney disease or renal insufficiency.