Everything you should know about gastroscopy preparation

A gastroscopy is conducted to analyse and examine the abnormalities, reactions, and symptoms of your digestive system and it can also be conducted to treat and diagnose types of cancer.

A gastroscopy can check the reason behind your digestive symptoms, such as:

• Tendency to feel nauseous

• Vomiting contents of blood

• Chest pain and stomach aches 

• Constant sensations of heartburn 

• Passing dark stools along with blood 

• Inabilities and pain felt when swallowing

A gastroscopy can sometimes also be used to treat problems within the digestive system. A gastroscopy can assist in:

• Widening the oesophagus to help smooth digestion 

• Preventing internal bleeding from the stomach or oesophagus

• Removing the growths of cancer cells within the digestive tract

• Acting as a feeding tube which aids in swallowing and digesting 

• Identifying stomach or oesophagal cancer

A gastroscopy is performed to provide a diagnosis and evaluation of various gastrointestinal conditions. This can help identify and provide details on issues like ulcers, digestive inflammation, tumours, bleeding, causes of abdominal pain, inability to swallow, and unexplained weight loss.

Before undergoing a gastroscopy, you will need to empty your stomach and digestive system, to ensure clarity in the endoscopy and to prevent you from vomiting during the procedure. It is important to stop consumption of food and fluid 6 hours before the endoscopy. Moreover, your specialist will advise you about procedure specifications. 

Your gastroscopy clinic will send you a detailed briefing that will hold details on: 

• The wait period for the gastroscopy results

• What foods and fluids to consume before your gastroscopy 

• Medicines you may be offered before having endoscopy preparation

On the day of the gastroscopy, you will be able to have small sips of water; most often, your specialist will highlight how much water you can drink before the examination.

Your doctor will give you sedation and anaesthesia medications. Sedation is given to relax your nerves and body before a gastroscopy is conducted—this is likely to stay active in the body for about 24 hours.

It is safer to either remain in the hospital under the eye of your doctor or arrange for a caretaker, a family member, or a friend to keep watch over you. It is best to apply for leave the day after the endoscopy for symptoms of anaesthesia and the endoscopy to wear off. 

Sedation or anaesthesia is administered to prevent you from having the urge to vomit during the process. However, this sensation should stop once the tube reaches your stomach. During the process, you are likely to experience bloating and feeling full. 

The symptoms of sedation and anaesthesia include: 

• Nauseous feeling

• Headaches 

• Slower heart rate 

• Low levels of pressure

• Dizziness and confusion

• Difficulty in passing urine and stools 

The procedure of gastroscopy is likely to take around 15-45 minutes. However, the total time spent in the hospital under examination and during review and monitoring may take around 4 hours of your time. A gastroscopy should not be painful because you are under the influence of sedation and anaesthesia but if you do feel pain, you can ask the gastroscopy to be halted.

After the gastroscopy, your specialist or nurse may explain the results before you leave the hospital. 

A follow-up appointment will be scheduled to talk about your gastroscopy results and discuss treatments.

Typically, a colonoscopy is used for faecal transplantation. The solution containing donor faeces is poured into the colon as the colonoscope is withdrawn after being guided entirely through the colon by a gastroenterologist.