What is important when preparing for a gastroscopy? What can you do, what should you absolutely not do? It's all here!
It's four days away. I have to go for my first gastroscopy.
You're thinking about doing one too? Your doctor recommended it? Then sooner or later you will deal with the gastroscopy preparation. I'll tell you what to look out for before the gastroscopy.
Preparation for gastroscopy is important. Only in this way can you be sure that the procedure will pass quickly and without problems.
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With good preparation, you can make life easier for yourself and the doctor. There are a few small things you can do as gastroscopy preparation to get the whole process over with quickly.
This is how a gastroscopy really works!
What you can eat before the gastroscopy
Very important: You must be fasting for the gastroscopy. Fasting is the most important gastroscopy preparation. Only if there is really no food residue in the stomach, the doctor can see if everything is good.
By the way, being sober means not eating anything solid for at least 8 hours. You must also abstain from milk or coffee.
Drink only clear water, without fizz. Two hours before the gastroscopy there is another glass of water and then nothing more.
Why?
On the one hand, this prevents you from accidentally inhaling rising food pulp that is in your stomach. In the worst case, you can get pneumonia from it!
And of course, the doctor can only see if your stomach lining is okay if there is nothing in the way.
Before the 8 hours, you can basically eat everything normally. However, you should avoid foods that are very heavy in your stomach. Your stomach already has enough stress ahead of it in the next few hours, so you don't need to torture it even more.
What helps against air in the belly?
Attention to smoking before gastroscopy
You should refrain from smoking from the evening before the examination. Nicotine stimulates the production of gastric acid.
If there is a lot of gastric acid, the doctor has difficulty identifying the gastric mucosa. It can happen that the result is not clear. So you have to do it again.
In the worst case, stomach acid can get into the throat here, too. And then you inhale it, which is very harmful for the lungs.
So better to go a few hours without smoking!
What medications you must do without during gastroscopy preparation
You do not have to stop taking medications during the gastroscopy preparation. At least not all of them. You should do without a few.
The doctor will take small tissue samples during the examination. It may happen that you start bleeding during the procedure. Therefore, blood-thinning medications such as aspirin are not a good idea days before the examination.
If you are unsure, be sure to call your doctor and find out exactly what you should take. He or she will be able to give you a list of medications that you should not take before the gastroscopy.
Watch out: these 11 habits make for a bloated belly!
Why you need an escort
In most cases, gastroscopies are performed with a sedative. You are more relaxed and inserting the endoscope is also easier.
After the examination, it takes some time until you are fully fit again. You will be tired, groggy and maybe even a little confused.
Therefore, you must never operate a vehicle yourself. You should also not use public transport. After the gastroscopy, you must not drive for 24 hours.
Therefore, it is a very important part of the gastroscopy preparation that you are clear about how you will get home afterwards.
Therefore, have an escort take you home or take a cab. Give your body some rest.
Did you know what a colonoscopy is like?
What you should know about gastroscopy preparation
You should prepare for the gastroscopy a few days in advance. Once you have made an appointment, the doctor or someone from his office will explain to you how it will be done.
You will receive an information sheet on which everything is again noted in detail. But because I know how excited and uncertain you are at this moment, it was a great concern to me to record my gastroscopy preparation here.
What you can see with gastroscopy
A gastroscopy helps you understand causes of discomfort in the stomach, esophagus and duodenum.
Do you suffer from
- recurrent heartburn
- constant nausea and vomiting
- Dysphagia
- Flatulence
- Blood in stool
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- unclear weight loss
- Anemia
then you should consider doing a gastroscopy together with an internist.
This examination provides certainty and can help you to permanently get rid of your complaints.
The gastroscopy will give you certainty if you have
- inflammation of the gastric mucosa
- an infection with Helicobacter pylori
- a stomach or duodenal ulcer
- an injury or inflammation of the mucous membranes
- an injury or varicose veins in the esophagus
is suspected.
But during the endoscopy you can not only detect the disease. The doctor removes good and malignant tissue changes directly.
My conclusion
Preparation for a gastroscopy is not very complicated. All you have to pay attention to is that you do not eat anything 8 hours before and drink only water. You should also abstain from water 2 hours before the examination. Organize a companion and you will see that it is half as bad!
All the best for you!
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