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You nurse or doctor will explain the test to you and answer any questions you have.
S/he will ask you to sign a consent form to say that you agree to have the test done.
You may need to undress and put on a hospital gown. If you wear false teeth, glasses or contact lenses you will remove them.
You will be asked whether you would like a spray to numb your throat, or a sedative injection.
If you choose the spray, some anaesthetic is put onto the back of your throat to numb it. It means you won’t feel any pain as the endoscope goes in.
If you choose the sedative injection it will make you feel drowsy, relaxed and less anxious. It won’t put you to sleep, but you will be unlikely to remember anything afterwards.
To have the test you lie on your side, on a trolley. Your nurse stays with you all the time and your pulse and oxygen levels are checked throughout. A plastic guard is placed in your mouth to protect your teeth and the endoscope.
When you are ready, the doctor or nurse passes the endoscope over the tongue, down through the gullet and into the stomach. The endoscope is about the thickness of your little finger.
Don’t worry – you aren’t going to choke, and you will be able to breathe normally.
During the test some air is passed through the endoscope and into the stomach. This is to make the stomach bigger and give the doctor a clearer view. It doesn’t hurt, but it may feel a bit uncomfortable. The air is sucked out at the end of the test.
If your doctor needs to take some tissue samples (biopsies) this can be done painlessly through the endoscope.
It normally takes just a few minutes for the test to be completed. Then, the endoscope is gently removed.
