Your gastroscopy

A gastroscopy gives a close-up view of your food pipe, stomach and the first part of your small bowel.

Follow your appointment’s fasting and medicine instructions. Call your endoscopy team if anything is unclear. Don’t stop medicines without advice.

The team checks your health, medicines and allergies, discusses throat spray, sedation and individual risks, and answers your questions before you give consent.

You usually lie on your left side with your knees bent. Monitoring is set up before any sedation. Sedation helps you relax, but awareness varies.

The scope passes through your mouth, around the back of your tongue and into the food pipe. It does not enter your windpipe. From there, it reaches your stomach and duodenum.

The camera sends pictures to a screen so the lining can be examined carefully.

Tiny samples, called biopsies, may be taken—even when the lining looks normal. Taking samples is usually not felt and doesn’t necessarily mean cancer.

Afterwards, you rest while the team monitors you. Follow the advice about when to eat and drink.

If you have sedation, arrange an adult to collect you. Follow the discharge restrictions, including no driving, even if you feel awake.

Afterwards, you’ll hear the initial findings and what happens next. Biopsy results come later, with treatment and follow-up documented in your endoscopy or histology report.

Seek urgent advice for severe pain, fever, bleeding or persistent vomiting. Use your discharge contact details. Call 111 for collapse or severe breathing difficulty.