Having a gastroscopy

Before the procedure

We'll make sure you can have a gastroscopy safely. Contact us as soon as you get your appointment letter if you have any concerns.

Medicines

Tell us if you take:

• antiplatelet medicines, such as aspirin, clopidogrel, ticagrelor or prasugrel
• anticoagulant medicines such warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban or dabigatran
• diabetes medicines, including insulin
• weight loss medicines, such as Wegovy^® or Mounjaro^®
• stomach medicines or acid tablets, such as omeprazole, lansoprazole, esomeprazole, pantoprazole, famotidine or Gaviscon^®
• sedatives or medicines for chronic pain

You might need to stop or change your medicines before the procedure. Take any other medicines as normal, unless your doctor or nurse has told you not to.

Bring a list of your medicines to your appointment.

Implantable devices

Tell us if you have any devices inside your body. This includes:

• a pacemaker
• an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

Let us know:

• the maker of the device
• the serial number
• the date you had your device implanted
• the date you last had your device checked
• the hospital where you have follow-up appointments

We might need to ask the heart devices team to check your device before your procedure. If so, we might need to change your appointment date.

Medical conditions

Tell us if you have:

• ­­Addison’s disease
• diabetes
• haemophilia

Allergies

Tell us if you’re allergic to any local anaesthetics or sedatives, including:

• lidocaine
• lignocaine
• phenylephrine
• midazolam
• fentanyl

On the day

No eating or drinking (fasting)

Your stomach must be completely empty before your gastroscopy. This is to make sure we have a clear view and so you do not vomit.  

Do not eat any solid food at least 6 hours before the procedure.  

You can have small sips of water up to 2 hours before your appointment.

If your stomach is not empty, we will cancel your appointment and reschedule it.

What to wear

Wear clothes that are loose around your neck. This can help you to feel more comfortable during and after the gastroscopy.

Planning your day

Though the procedure only lasts 5 to 15 minutes, some appointments take longer. This can sometimes cause delays. Please be prepared to stay with us for the whole morning or afternoon.

At hospital

It’s important you arrive on time for your appointment. Check in at the reception desk and then wait for a nurse to call your name.

Delays

Our department deals with emergencies that we cannot predict. Sometimes, we need to prioritise emergency patients. We’ll do our best to make sure you have your appointment on time. Ask the reception desk if you’re concerned.

We have 5 procedure rooms that run at the same time. Someone who arrives after you might be called in before you. This is because they are being seen in a different room.

Checking in

When a nurse calls you, we’ll ask about your past medical history and check what medicines you take. We’ll also check that you have followed our fasting instructions.

If you’re having sedation, we’ll ask about contact information for the person who is picking you up from hospital. If you have not arranged for someone to pick you up, we might need to cancel your procedure.

You do not need to change your clothes for the procedure, but we might ask you to put on a gown over your clothes to protect them.

We’ll take you to a waiting area while we get ready to do your gastroscopy.

During the procedure

We’ll take you to the procedure room where you’ll meet a specially trained doctor or nurse called an endoscopist. Your endoscopist will explain the procedure and answer any questions you have.

We’ll ask you to take off any glasses and dentures.

Giving you local anaesthetic or sedation

If you’re having the local anaesthetic spray, we’ll spray it into your nose or mouth. The spray numbs your nose or the back of your mouth.

If you’re having a gastroscopy through your mouth and you chose to have sedation, we’ll inject the sedation medicine into your arm.

Doing the gastroscopy

We use a flexible tube with a camera on the end (endoscope). We’ll put the tube gently into your nose or mouth. You’ll feel the sensation of gagging and retching. This is a natural response to the tube touching the back of your throat.

A nurse will support you during the gastroscopy. You can ask us to stop the procedure at any time by speaking or raising your hand.

Your endoscopist might pass some air down the tube to get a clearer view. This might make you feel bloated and uncomfortable for a short while, but it should not be painful.

Try to keep the air in as much as you can. This gives your endoscopist more time to look at your stomach.

We'll suction the air out before removing the endoscope. 

We might take photos with the endoscope for your records. If you have another gastroscopy in future, we can use these photos to compare your results.

Taking a tissue sample

Sometimes, we’ll take a small tissue sample (biopsy) for testing in a lab, using biopsy forceps (mini tweezers). You might feel a slight tugging sensation while we take the biopsy, but it should not be painful.

Finishing the gastroscopy

The procedure usually lasts 5 to 15 minutes.

If you had the local anaesthetic spray, we’ll take you to the discharge lounge where you can get ready to leave hospital.

If you had sedation, we’ll take you to the recovery area. You need to stay here for at least 30 minutes. After that, we’ll take you to the discharge lounge to meet the person who is picking you up from hospital.