Follow these and any other instructions you are given before your endoscopy. If you don’t follow the healthcare provider’s instructions carefully, the test may need to be canceled or done over:

• Follow any directions you are given for not eating or drinking before your test. In some cases, you may be able to take medicines with sips of water until 2 hours before the test. Talk with your provider about this. 

• Bring your X-rays and any other test results you have.

• Because you will be sedated, arrange for an adult to drive you home after the exam.

• Tell your provider before the exam if you are taking any medicines. This includes any over-the-counter and prescription medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements. Some medicines may be adjusted or stopped before the test. Don't stop any medicine unless directed by your provider.

• Tell your provider if you have any health problems.

Here is what to expect:

• You will lie on the endoscopy table. People often lie on their left side.

• You will be placed on a heart monitor and given oxygen.

• Your throat may be numbed with a spray or gargle. You are given medicine through an IV (intravenous) line that will help you relax and stay comfortable. You may be awake or asleep during the test.

• The healthcare provider will put the endoscope in your mouth and down your esophagus. It is thinner than most pieces of food that you swallow. It won't affect your breathing. The medicine helps keep you from gagging.

• Air is put into your GI tract to expand it. It can make you burp.

• During the procedure, the healthcare provider can take tissue samples (biopsies) and remove abnormalities such as polyps. The provider can also treat abnormalities using tools placed through the endoscope. You will not feel this. 

• The endoscope carries images of your upper GI tract to a video screen. If you are awake, you may be able to look at the images.

• After the procedure is done, you will rest for a time. An adult must drive you home.

• After the procedure, you may feel gassy for a few hours. You may have a sore throat which should improve within a day or 2.

Call your healthcare provider if you have:

• Black or tarry stools, or blood in your stool

• Fever

• Pain in your belly that does not go away

• Upset stomach and vomiting, or vomiting blood