About the examination

You are going to have an examination of your oesophagus, stomach and duodenum using a flexible tube with a camera. This examination is called a gastroscopy. We check for any changes in the lining of these areas. We may also take tissue samples.

You can expect to be at the hospital for about 1–2 hours, but there may be some waiting time.

If you need to cancel your appointment, please contact us in good time so that someone else can have your appointment time. You can find the phone number under contact details.

Important preparation

You must fast before the examination

You must not eat or drink before the examination. This means:

• Stop eating at least 6 hours before your examination.
• Stop drinking milk products and juice with pulp at least 6 hours before your examination.
• Stop drinking all types of cold and hot drinks 2 hours before your examination.

Take your usual morning medicine, but wait with diabetes medicine

Take your usual medicine with a small amount of water. However, this does not apply to diabetes medicine, which must not be taken until after the examination.

Brush your teeth well

You must brush your teeth thoroughly before the examination.

At the hospital

You will have a cannula inserted

We will insert a cannula into your arm. Through the cannula, we can give you medicine or fluids during the examination, if needed. We will offer you a liquid mixture to numb your throat.

The examination

You are usually awake during the examination and will lie on your left side. We will place a mouth guard in your mouth. You can breathe through both your nose and mouth. We then insert a flexible tube with a camera, about 1 cm thick, through your mouth and down into your oesophagus, stomach and duodenum. We introduce air into the stomach during the procedure to improve visibility. This may feel like pressure in your stomach. In some cases, we also take tissue samples for further examination. If necessary, we will take a picture of your stomach.

The examination takes about 15 minutes. In some cases, you may need to rest in the unit afterwards.

You may eat and drink after the examination

If you received throat anaesthetic, you must wait 2 hours before eating or drinking. If you did not receive throat anaesthetic, you may eat and drink straight after the examination.

You may feel pressure in your stomach and soreness in your throat

After the examination, you may feel slight pressure in your stomach and soreness in your throat. This will pass on its own.

You may experience side effects

The pain-relieving and sedative medicine may cause side effects. These may include drowsiness, tiredness, temporary forgetfulness and nausea. This is common and will pass on its own.

Results of the examination

You will get the result of the examination straight away. If we have taken tissue samples, we will agree with you how and when you will receive the final results. Please note that, because you have access to parts of your medical record, you may receive an automatic message before we have reviewed the results.

Risks related to the examination

There may be a risk of discomfort or complications during or after the examination. If there are specific reasons why you may be at higher risk, we will discuss this with you. In some cases, there may be bleeding from the throat if we have taken tissue samples. In very rare cases, a tear in the oesophagus may occur. If this happens, we will treat it.

At home

Important precautions for the first 24 hours

If you have received sedative or pain-relieving medicine, there are some precautions you must follow during the first 24 hours. Please note that you:

• must not drive or operate machinery
• should not drink alcohol.

You will be given more information to take home

We will give you information about what to be aware of once you are back at home.