Most people leave a session feeling fine and get on with their day. But the 48 hours afterwards are worth a little thought — partly to get the most out of the session, partly so you know what’s normal and what isn’t.
The short answer: drink water steadily, eat something light and warm, skip alcohol and caffeine for a day, and don’t be surprised if your bowels are irregular for 48 hours. That’s the whole of it for most people.
The first few hours
You’ll have private use of the en-suite for as long as you need before you leave, so you shouldn’t be caught out on the journey home. Some people do feel the urge to go again within the first hour or two — worth knowing if you’re heading straight into something where that would be awkward.
How people feel varies. Most describe feeling lighter and less bloated, often with a lift in energy. A reasonable number feel a bit tired instead. Both are entirely normal and neither indicates a problem.
If you can, avoid scheduling anything demanding immediately afterwards. Not because you’ll be incapacitated — you almost certainly won’t be — but because a quiet couple of hours is more pleasant than rushing.
What to eat
Start light and warm. Your digestive system has just been through something unfamiliar and a heavy meal isn’t the kindest next step.
Good first meals
- Soup or broth
- Steamed or roasted vegetables
- Stewed fruit
- Rice, oats or other simple whole grains
- A small portion of something you’d normally eat, if you’re hungry
Worth avoiding for 24 hours
- Alcohol
- Caffeine, if you can manage it
- Very rich, fatty or heavily spiced food
- Large quantities of raw vegetables
- Fizzy drinks
- Anything you already know disagrees with you
None of this is a rule. If you’re starving and want a proper meal, eat one — just perhaps not the heaviest thing on the menu.
Hydration
Keep drinking water steadily for the rest of the day. Not vast quantities at once — regular sips are better absorbed and easier on you.
Herbal teas count. Ginger or peppermint are pleasant if you feel at all unsettled.
What’s normal in the next 48 hours
- Irregular bowel movements. You might not go for a day or two, or you might go more than usual. Both are common and neither means something has gone wrong.
- Mild tenderness or a slightly windy feeling. Usually settles within a few hours.
- Feeling lighter. The most commonly reported effect.
- Tiredness. Some people feel it that evening.
- Increased appetite, or reduced appetite. Either way round happens.
If you don’t go for two days, don’t panic and please don’t reach for laxatives. Water, gentle movement and normal eating usually sort it.
What isn’t normal
These are rare, but you should know them.
Contact your GP or NHS 111 promptly if you experience:
- Severe or worsening abdominal pain
- Rectal bleeding
- Fever
- Persistent vomiting
- Dizziness or fainting
- Signs of dehydration that don’t improve with fluids
Please don’t wait it out, and please don’t ring me first. Get medical advice — then let me know afterwards if you’d like to.
Probiotics
Frequently recommended, sometimes useful, occasionally oversold.
The reasoning is sound enough: a session temporarily affects the microbial population of the colon, and a probiotic may support it repopulating. The evidence for specific products and strains is more variable than the marketing suggests.
I’ll advise individually rather than routinely, and I don’t sell supplements. Fermented foods — live yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut — are a perfectly reasonable alternative for many people.
The following week
This is where any lasting benefit actually comes from, and it isn’t from the session.
People often find a colonic acts as a useful reset point — a natural moment to drink more water, eat more vegetables, eat a bit slower, walk a bit more. Those changes do more for your digestion over a month than the appointment did in an hour.
If you use the session as a starting point rather than a solution, you’ll get considerably more out of it.
Whether to book another
Give it a week before deciding. How you feel after a few days is more informative than how you feel that evening.
Many people don’t need another. Some find a second session a week or two later useful. There’s more on this in how often you should have a colonic, including why I don’t push maintenance schedules.
Colon hydrotherapy is a complementary therapy. It doesn’t diagnose or treat medical conditions and isn’t a substitute for advice from your GP.
If anything at all concerns you after a session, get in touch. I’d rather you asked.