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Stopping Tirz for Colonoscopy and Endoscopy

10 replies9 peopleMay 4, 2026β˜† Follow
Summary

What should I expect when pausing Tirzepatide for two weeks before a colonoscopy and endoscopy?

Users report varying instructions from doctors on how long to stop GLP-1 meds before procedures, with some following two weeks and others one week or less. Most notice returning food noise or hunger around day seven, though some maintain control through habits and lose weight during the pause or prep. Slowed gastric emptying is the main concern for aspiration risk and incomplete prep, leading to advice to follow the performing doctor's rules to avoid cancellation. Experiences with prior procedures show mixed recovery and no major issues when resuming shortly after.

What this discussion establishesWhere people disagree

How long to pause the medication, with recommendations ranging from five days to two weeks and some citing updated guidelines against stopping at all.

Still open

Whether the new anesthesia guidance will be widely adopted by endoscopists or if individual doctors will still require a pause.

Nothing here is advice.

10 replies Β· 9 people
NorthLantern91archiveopening postMay 4

My physician told me to halt Tirz two weeks ahead of my colonoscopy and endoscopy. At that point I'll have used it for five months total. I'm wondering how stopping the shots will affect me and how soon. Will hunger hit hard right away or build gradually over days? I just want to know what the two weeks off will be like before restarting after the tests.

GreenMeadow54archiveMay 4

I'd argue the other way. The group for those specialists just updated its position on the matter and doesn't advise pausing anything ahead of surgery anymore.

QuietAlder20archiveMay 5

Colonoscopies require the bowel to be completely empty beforehand. These medications can reduce gut motility quite a bit at times. Pausing seemed logical to me. I stopped the injections two weeks prior to my scope. Cravings began to return just as the unpleasant cleansing process started. During the break I shed quite a few pounds. Following the exam I enjoyed a large indulgent feast before restarting the weekly doses. Last autumn I underwent vein stripping along with repair of two hernias and received varying guidance on halting the medication, either seven or fourteen days. My last dose was eight days ahead of surgery and I began again the morning after. That meant roughly seven days without it, I suppose, with some amusement. Everything went smoothly.

NorthLantern91archiveMay 5
↳ replying to @QuietAlder20

Wow, three years back I went through an operation to fix hernias in two places. The surgeons said it was just a little thing and that I'd be discharged right away. What a joke that turned out to be! My private parts ended up looking way more beat up than they did following my vasectomy, and the discomfort was so intense that getting better took over six months, with the marks still causing irritation now πŸ˜›

LevelThistle44archiveMay 5

Even without full preparation the team proceeds anyway. Breathing in material during the process doesn't call for long periods to clear out. I divide my medication every three and a half days and run into no blockage trouble at all. For a lower tract scope I'd pause roughly seven days so the last intake lines up exactly with the appointment. Two days ahead I'd stick to simple quick digesting items and the day before only things that leave the system empty. Back in February during my upper scope the doctor preferred I stop ahead of the following intake.

AmberMeadow80archiveMay 5

It's great seeing folks chat about the subject. My procedure is lined up for roughly five weeks from now.

CopperSignal27archiveMay 5

Last year I went through a pair of those exams and both turned out messy because the medication slowed everything down so much that leftover material stayed behind. One was checking why my iron had fallen from the low-dose aspirin and the other was just keeping an eye on the colitis. After the second round of that awful cleansing routine I figured I was done and would rather skip a third even if it meant possibly overlooking a small abnormal spot. It took me seven hours just to get the full volume of liquid down because of the delayed emptying. The main worry seems to be avoiding stomach contents getting into the lungs once the sedation kicks in. The guidelines say stopping might not be essential yet it still feels safer to do what the team asks so the appointment does not get called off at the last minute. The same slowdown can leave the bowel less clean so a stricter liquid diet a day sooner and extra effort on the prep could help. Two weeks off still leaves roughly a quarter of the medication in the system so the effect does not disappear right away.

NorthLantern91archiveMay 5
↳ replying to @CopperSignal27

This marks my second colonoscopy. Two years back, without any meds involved, I stuck precisely to the preparation instructions yet the exam couldn't be finished. In the reachable section, they extracted a massive polyp measured in millimeters that proved benign, but it prompted me to schedule a follow-up. Now seeing another physician who, upon learning of that prior attempt, provided a trial drug to begin the stomach emptying process well in advance of the appointment. The upcoming days will be tough, yet enduring some discomfort might preserve my life, so I'll push through.

GreyHarbour98archiveMay 5

Two weeks before the procedure I discontinued the injections, making my final dose sixteen days earlier. Then I paused for an additional seven days prior to beginning again. Hunger pangs appeared roughly seven days in, yet they didn't persist quite so long. Portions were a little bigger, however the patterns and resolve I'd cultivated allowed me to shed two pounds across those three weeks. I avoided weighing immediately following the prep cleanse.

SharpCompass66archiveMay 5

Three weeks ago I handled this procedure myself. Thorough preparation proved essential because my relative's insurance refused to pay for any repeat. I paused the injections a full week earlier and that worked fine. Appetite increased around the one week point but the process reduced it and caused some queasiness. After finishing everything felt normal again and I expect favorable results now.

GreyThistle88archiveMay 5

My approach involved quitting the medications about seven days ahead or maybe just five and then avoiding all food for three and a half days ahead of the appointment to empty everything out completely. Having worried about this for years it ended up way simpler and nicer than I expected. I'd rate the whole thing nine out of ten. Results showed nothing wrong so now another decade until the next round.

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