Your preparation plan, explained before your appointment
I currently undertake endoscopy at Endoscopy Auckland and Greenlane Medical Specialists (GLMS). Booking, preparation and sedation arrangements may differ slightly between locations. You will receive instructions tailored to your procedure and health.
If the appointment offered does not suit you, or you need an earlier appointment, please get in touch. I will do my best to accommodate your needs. For preparation questions, contact the location of your appointment, your GP or our team.
Guidance behind this advice
Organise your visit in four parts
Instructions
Your tailored instructions will be communicated directly. In general, solid food is stopped before the procedure while approved clear fluids may continue until the cut-off time given by the service. Check the location and arrival time and contact our team if anything is unclear.
Instructions
Your tailored instructions will be communicated directly. In general, solid food is stopped before the procedure while approved clear fluids may continue until the cut-off time given by the service. Check the location and arrival time and contact our team if anything is unclear.
Medicine decisions
The team needs your complete medicine list. Confirm whether each blood thinner is withheld and when to restart if withheld. Diabetes and weight-management medicines need specific advice.
Bowel preparation
If you are having a colonoscopy, preparation usually involves a prescribed bowel-cleansing product and approved clear fluids. The service will send the exact product, timing and food restrictions. See the bowel preparation page on this site for general practical tips; your booked service instructions take priority.
Transport and support
If sedation is planned, arrange a responsible adult to collect you and follow your individual instructions about support at home.
Simplified illustrations, not to scale. These show an example, not your own anatomy or test result.
Read every diagram explanation
Instructions
Your tailored instructions will be communicated directly. In general, solid food is stopped before the procedure while approved clear fluids may continue until the cut-off time given by the service. Check the location and arrival time and contact our team if anything is unclear.
Medicine decisions
The team needs your complete medicine list. Confirm whether each blood thinner is withheld and when to restart if withheld. Diabetes and weight-management medicines need specific advice.
Bowel preparation
If you are having a colonoscopy, preparation usually involves a prescribed bowel-cleansing product and approved clear fluids. The service will send the exact product, timing and food restrictions. See the bowel preparation page on this site for general practical tips; your booked service instructions take priority.
Transport and support
If sedation is planned, arrange a responsible adult to collect you and follow your individual instructions about support at home.
Start with the instructions for your booking
Check these details when your appointment is confirmed. Let our team know early if you need an interpreter, help with forms or an adjustment for a disability.
- Your procedure, location and arrival time.
- Your current instructions for food, clear fluids and, for colonoscopy, bowel preparation.
- Your medicine plan, including the last dose and restart time for any medicine that is withheld.
- Who will collect you after sedation and any support you need at home.
- The contact number to use if you are unwell, cannot complete preparation or have conflicting instructions.
Make sure your medicine plan is clear
Tell our team about all your medicines, including injections, non-prescription products and supplements. Do not change a medicine until you have your individual instructions. If a blood thinner is withheld, the plan must include when to restart it.
Blood thinners
Tell us the exact name and dose. Examples you may recognise include warfarin (Marevan), apixaban (Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), dabigatran (Pradaxa), edoxaban (Lixiana), clopidogrel (Plavix) and aspirin (such as Cartia).
For each medicine, your instructions should say whether it needs to be withheld and, if so, when to take the last dose and when to restart it. Some can be continued. The plan depends on the medicine, the reason you take it and any treatment expected during the procedure. Do not stop it yourself.
Diabetes medicines, including SGLT2 inhibitors
Tell us about every diabetes medicine. Tablets you may recognise include metformin, gliclazide (Diamicron), empagliflozin (Jardiance), dapagliflozin (Forxiga), empagliflozin with metformin (Jardiamet), sitagliptin (Januvia) and linagliptin (Trajenta). Insulins include NovoRapid, Humalog, Lantus, Toujeo and Tresiba.
Bring your glucose meter, insulin and injection equipment if you use them. Fasting and bowel preparation can change the plan, and SGLT2 medicines need particular care because they can increase the risk of ketoacidosis even when glucose is not very high. Your instructions should cover tablets, insulin, glucose checks and how to treat low glucose. Do not change the dose yourself.
GLP-1 and weight-management medicines
Tell us about GLP-1 medicines such as semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy), liraglutide (Victoza or Saxenda), dulaglutide (Trulicity), and the dual GLP-1/GIP medicine tirzepatide (Mounjaro). Tell us the dose, whether it is daily or weekly, when you last took it and whether you have nausea or vomiting. These medicines slow stomach emptying.
Some gastroscopy-only services ask patients to withhold a weekly injection for seven days. Current Australasian guidance generally recommends continuing treatment with a clear-fluid diet for the preceding 24 hours, followed by the service's fasting instructions. These approaches differ, so confirm the plan with the service doing your procedure. Do not combine instructions or stop a diabetes medicine without an agreed plan.
Check food and drink instructions separately
As a general guide, preparation includes a period without solid food, commonly at least six hours before gastroscopy. Allowed clear fluids include water, clear broth and pulp-free juice; stop drinking at the time in your booking instructions.
People taking GLP-1 medicines may need a longer period on clear fluids. Your service will send the exact times for your procedure.
Your instructions should specify when to stop solid food, which clear fluids are allowed and when to stop drinking. Clear fluids are not the same as all liquids. Milk, smoothies and drinks with pulp are not clear fluids.
Follow the times in your own plan. Fasting longer than instructed is not automatically better and can leave you dehydrated. If you accidentally eat or drink outside the instructions, tell the team so they can assess what to do.
If you are having colonoscopy
Colonoscopy preparation usually starts with a short low-residue diet, followed by clear fluids and a prescribed bowel-cleansing drink. White bread, white rice, eggs, fish or chicken are common low-residue choices; avoid seeds, nuts and wholegrains as instructed.
The drink is often split between the day before and the morning of the test. Standard Glycoprep commonly involves about 3 to 4 litres, while other products use different volumes and extra clear fluids. Use the product, mixing instructions and times sent for your appointment. See the bowel preparation guide for more practical tips.
Collect the prescribed bowel preparation in advance and read how to mix and take it. Stay near a toilet while it works. The preparation removes poo so that small polyps and other changes are easier to see. Passing a bowel motion does not always mean preparation is complete.
Follow the whole prescribed course and the fluid advice provided. Do not add extra laxatives or change the schedule yourself. If you repeatedly vomit, cannot finish, feel unwell or think the bowel has not cleared, call our endoscopy team for advice. Poor preparation can mean part of the bowel cannot be assessed properly and another examination is needed.
Arrange the journey home and recovery
If you are having sedation, arrange a responsible adult to collect you and follow the advice about support at home. Do not drive yourself home.
Follow your discharge instructions about driving, alcohol, work, machinery and important decisions. Most people can return to their usual duties the next day, depending on the procedure, sedation and the instructions I give you.
Six things to check
Use this alongside the tailored instructions for your appointment.
The ticks are a reminder for you. They are not sent to our team or saved when you leave this page.
If you become unwell during preparation
Contact our endoscopy team promptly for repeated vomiting, inability to keep fluids down, marked dizziness or concerns about glucose or medicine doses. If the service is closed, seek advice from an urgent medical service rather than guessing what to take.
Seek urgent assessment for severe abdominal pain, fainting, heavy bleeding, confusion or unusual deep or rapid breathing.
Call 111 if you collapse, have breathing difficulty or are too unwell to travel safely.
Three things to remember
- Use the current instructions for your own procedure, preparation product and appointment.
- Check medicine decisions early. Blood thinners, diabetes medicines and weight-management medicines need individual advice.
- Call our endoscopy team if preparation is unclear or not going to plan, and arrange transport if sedation is planned.
Related information
Sources and further reading
English clinical master checked 15 October 2026.