Colon Capsule Endoscopy (PillCam™) – Preparing for your Procedure

This leaflet will explain what Colon Capsule Endoscopy (PillCam™) is and how you should prepare for the procedure. It is important that you follow all instructions so that your procedure will work. Please pay careful attention to the timings and the dietary instructions in the days leading to your procedure.

What should I do before my procedure?

3 to 5 days before your procedure, you should have a LOW-FIBRE DIET. This will help to keep your bowel clear and make the procedure easier.

Which food can I eat?

• White flour products (e.g. bread, pasta etc.)

• White rice and potatoes

• Dairy products (butter and margarine)

• Oils (olive, canola, soy)

• Unseasoned white meat, fish

• Chocolate and sweets (without fruits or nuts)

• Tea and coffee with milk and sugar/sweeteners

• Eggs

Which food should I avoid?

• All fruits and vegetables

• All breakfast cereals

• All varieties of nuts, seeds and grains

• Red meat

• Any wholegrain products

• Instant soups

• All legumes (baked beans and chickpeas)

You will need to speak to your Doctor/Colon Capsule Team for advice on stopping your medicine before the procedure. You will receive a pre-assessment call a few days before the procedure, during which medical advice and any queries will be addressed.

You will need to stop taking any iron tablets. Iron makes everything inside your bowel dark. This will make it difficult for your video Endoscopist (a Doctor or Nurse specially trained to do capsule colonoscopy) to see anything.

One day before your procedure, you should consume clear liquids only and no more solid food until after the procedure. This will keep you hydrated and keep your colon clear. It is recommended that you drink a combined volume of 2 litres of clear liquids the day before your procedure.

Clear liquids you should drink include:

• Water

• Clear soups

• Clear or fizzy sports drinks

• Tea or coffee without milk

• Ice lollies or flavoured jelly

• Apple juice or clear fruit cordial e.g. white grape

You should avoid red or purple coloured drinks or soups/broths/thick consistency soups.

You can have chewing gum or boiled sweets (boiled sweets should be dissolved slowly).

One day before your procedure, you would have been given bowel preparation sachets called Plenvu. This is a laxative, which will help to clear your bowel and comes in 2 doses.

Plenvu dose 1 should be taken at 06.30 pm, one day before your procedure while on clear liquid diet.

How to prepare Plenvu dose 1?

1. Open the carton and remove the dose 1 sachet.

2. Pour the contents of dose 1 into a measure container that can hold 500ml of fluid.

3. Add water to make up to 500ml and stir until all the powder has dissolved. This may take up to approximately 8 minutes.

How to drink Plenvu dose 1?

1. Drink the 500ml dose 1 and 500ml of other clear fluid over a period of 60 minutes.

2. Alternating between the reconstituted solution and clear fluid is acceptable. Try to drink a glassful every 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Other clear fluids may include water, clear soup, diluted cordials/clear fruit juice (without pulp), clear or fizzy sports drinks, tea or coffee without milk.

4. You may find it easier to drink the solution by using a straw.

5. Prescribed tablets or medicine (if due) must not be taken within 1 hour of taking the Plenvu solution. If taken before this, your medication may be flushed out of your body by the laxative.

What should I do on the morning of my procedure?

You should continue to only have clear liquids. Make sure to not eat anything solid and to have no breakfast.

Plenvu dose 2 should be taken at 06:30 a.m., the morning of your procedure while on clear liquid diet.

How to prepare Plenvu dose 2?

1. When you are ready to take dose 2 pour the contents of dose 2 Sachet A and dose 2 Sachet B into a measuring container that can hold 500 ml of fluid.

2.       Add water to make up to 500 ml and stir until all the powder has dissolved. This may take up to approximately 8 minutes.

How to drink Plenvu dose 2?

1. You should adhere to the same instructions provided for consuming Plenvu Dose 1.

Additional Advice and What to Expect

• Additional clear fluid may be drunk throughout the bowel preparation process, i.e. before, during, and after you take Plenvu, but you must stop drinking 1 to 2 hours prior to your clinical procedure. Drinking clear fluids will help prevent fluid loss or dehydration.

• Do not drink anything else until you are told to by the clinic staff.

• You must not eat before your procedure. No breakfast.

• Wear a dark, loose-fitting shirt or T-shirt.

• You will arrive at hospital about an hour after you have finished drinking your solution and may be given additional medication such as Prucalopride tablet. You will now be ready to swallow the PillCam™ Colon capsule. You will be fitted with a sensor belt or an array.

• You may be fitted with a sensor belt. It will be worn over your clothing, around your waist. If you are fitted with the sensor array, it will be attached to your abdomen and back with sticky pads.

• The sensor belt/array connects to a data recorder, which is worn around your body. This recorder fits in a pouch with a strap around your shoulder.

• Once the PillCam™ Colon Capsule is ready, swallow it with water.

• Your Doctor/Colon Capsule Team will advise you about which activities to carry out while the procedure is performed. You will also be informed about the data recorder and what it does.

• The data recorder will send various alerts and prompts as the procedure is under way. This leaflet will explain what each alert/prompt means and what to do.

• It is important that the data recorder is handled with care at all times and it must be kept out of direct sunlight.

What do the alerts on the data recorder mean and what do I need to do? (After ingesting the capsule)

Alert 0:

As we have already given you a medication (Prucalopride) to help move the capsule into your small bowel, if you see Alert 0 when you return home, you should go for a 20 minute walk and remain active until the recorder alarms with Alert 1.

For patients with mobility issues, gentle upper body movements such as seated torso twists, arm raises, and shoulder rolls can be done. If safe and feasible. Brief transfers or assisted standing may also be beneficial.

You must not eat or drink anything until the next alert is seen on your data recorder. You should remain active as much as possible.

Alert 1:

This alert means you should drink 30ml of the sodium phosphate (Phospho-soda) laxative booster liquid solution with water. This is a laxative and helps to move the Pillcam™ along inside your gut. Your Doctor/Colon Capsule Team may also tell you to drink 50ml of Gastrografin. This is a dye that helps to see inside your gut better.

After taking laxative boosters as advised, you should drink 1 litre of water over the next hour. This will keep you hydrated and will help with the procedure.

You are to remain active during the procedure, carrying out your normal activities where possible. You must remain awake until the procedure is finished.

Alert 2:

This alert appears about 3 hours after Alert 1. You must drink the remaining 15ml of sodium phosphate (Phospho-soda) solution with water. Your Doctor/Colon Capsule Team may also tell you to drink another 50ml of Gastrografin solution.

You should drink half litre of water (500 mls) over the next hour. You should remain active and continue your clear liquid diet.

Alert 3:

This alert usually happens two hours after Alert 2.

When you see Alert 3 on your data reader, you must insert the rectal suppository into your back passage, giving it time to dissolve to stimulate bowel movements later in the procedure (Glycerin/Glycerol or Bisacodyl suppository).

You should remain active, continue your liquid diet and wait for your next alert.

Alert 4:

After 2 hours, if you see Alert 4 on the data reader, you should eat a small meal. After this meal, you should continue to drink plenty of fluids to help the capsule move along inside your body.

You should remain active and wait for the ‘End of Procedure’ alert.

End of procedure alert:

When you see the icon above on your data reader, it is the end of your procedure. This may happen at any time after Alert 1.

You do not need to collect the capsule after you have passed it.

What should I do when my procedure is finished?

You should sit down on a chair or bed to remove the equipment. This helps to remove it from your body without damaging the kit. If you were fitted with a sensory array, you should peel off the non-adhesive pads gently.

It is important that you DO NOT pull the wires or remove the sensors from the sleeves.

You should return all reusable equipment to the Capsule Clinic at University Hartlepool Hospital as advised.

Your Doctor/Colon Capsule Team will get in touch with you and after looking at the images made by the PillCam™ capsule. They will discuss with you the best way to continue you care.

What happens after my examination?

You can continue with your daily activities. Just make sure to avoid strenuous exercises for a while. Usually, you can return to your usual routine the day after the procedure.

You can start eating and drinking normally after a few hours or as advised by your health care provider.

The sensor belt and recorder can be removed at the agreed time. Please keep these safe until the next time you return to the Capsule clinic in Hartlepool.

Contact Numbers

If you need further advice or have any problems, please contact the appropriate number below.

University Hospital of North Tees

Endoscopy Unit
Telephone: 01642 624387
Monday to Saturday, 08:00 a.m. to 07.00 p.m.

Emergency Department
Telephone: 01642 382899
24 hours a day, 7 days a week

University of Hartlepool

Rutherford Morrison Unit
Telephone: 01429 522536
Monday to Friday, 08:00 a.m. to 06:30 p.m.

If you have any worries or concerns, you should contact your GP during normal surgery hours. Outside surgery hours, you should contact your GP’s surgery for the Out of Hours Service number.

Further information is available from:

NHS Choices
Telephone: 111 (when it is less urgent than 999)
Calls to this number are free from landlines and mobile phones.
Or via their website at www.nhs.uk

Information used during the making of this leaflet

• Medtronic. (2025). PillCam™ COLON capsule endoscopy – Healthcare professional resources. Retrieved May 23, 2025, from:
  https://www.medtronic.com/uk-en/e/pillcam-colon-capsule/healthcare-professional-resources.html

• Norgine Pharmaceuticals Limited, 2025. Plenvu powder for oral solution: Package leaflet. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.8578.pdf

• NHS England’s Clinical Guide for Colon Capsule Endoscopy

• NHS England (2025) Colon capsule endoscopy pilot evaluation: interim findings, NHS England. Available at: https://gut.bmj.com/content/72/Suppl_2/A40.1

• NICE Guidance on Wireless Capsule Endoscopy

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