ד״ר איל שחרגסטרואנטרולוגיה ומחלות כבד

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Printable instructions · Dr. Eyal Shachar, Gastroenterologist

Gastroscopy preparation

My exam:

Date Time

The three most important instructions

  1. Do not eat anything starting 8 hours before the exam. Until 3 hours before, you may drink only water, tea without milk, clear juice without pulp and clear sports drinks; from then on, do not drink anything, including water.
  2. Blood thinners — check with your family doctor or treating gastroenterologist at least one week before. Do not stop them on your own.
  3. Exam under sedation: you must come with an escort. Do not drive for 8 hours after the exam.

Taking a GLP-1 medicine? Clear liquids the day before, and skip one dose.

For everyone: on the day before the exam, drink only clear liquids, and also skip one dose — weekly injection (including Mounjaro): skip the dose due in the week before the exam; daily medicine, injection or Rybelsus: skip the dose on the day of the exam. Taking it for diabetes? Plan this in advance with your doctor or diabetes clinic. Also taking an SGLT2 medicine (Forxiga, Jardiance, Steglatro) for diabetes? Because of the clear-liquid day, stop it 3 days before the exam.

Medicines from the GLP-1 family, by injection or tablet: Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda, Mounjaro, and also Trulicity, Rybelsus (tablet) and pens that combine GLP-1 with insulin (Xultophy, Soliqua). Not sure? Report any weekly injection and any medicine for diabetes or weight loss.

Timeline — tick ✓ when done

  • In advanceTell your doctor about insulin, diabetes medicines and acid-reducing medicines (Losec, Omepradex). Before testing for Helicobacter pylori, your doctor may ask you to stop the acid-reducing medicines two weeks in advance. Aspirin — do not stop it. Plavix — check with your doctor; do not stop it on your own.
  • 8 hours beforeNo food: Last meal. From this point, do not eat, and do not drink coffee or milk.
  • Until 3 hours beforeOnly water, tea without milk, clear juice without pulp and clear sports drinks. Regular medicines (e.g. for blood pressure) — as usual, with a little water.
  • 3 hours beforeNothing to drink: Do not eat or drink anything, including water.
  • The examBring your ID, the referral and the consent form (signed at the unit). With sedation — escort required.

What is the exam, and how is it done?

A thin, flexible tube with a camera at its tip is passed through the mouth, and the doctor examines the esophagus, the stomach and the duodenum. The exam can diagnose inflammation, ulcers, tumors and absorption disorders, and a biopsy can be taken during it.

  • The exam is short, usually up to 10 minutes. You are connected to monitoring devices, and you keep breathing normally.
  • Two options: an anesthetic throat spray (you are awake and your throat is numb), or sedation by injection into a vein (most people do not remember the exam). With the spray alone (no sedation) you may drive, and you do not need an escort.
  • A biopsy is not painful — the stomach lining has no pain nerves.

After the exam

  • After sedation — about one hour of observation at the unit. At home you can eat something light.
  • After the throat spray: no food or drink for 30–60 minutes, and until the feeling in your throat has returned.
  • Mild bloating (from the air that was put in) and a mild sore throat are common and pass within hours to a day or two.
  • After sedation: do not drive for 8 hours.
  • Preliminary results — usually at the end of the exam. Biopsy results — usually within 3 to 6 weeks.

What are the risks?

  • Uncommon complications: bleeding, or a tear (perforation) in the esophagus, stomach or duodenum; these may require admission, further treatment and sometimes surgery.
  • Passing the instrument through the mouth may damage the teeth.
  • The sedation drugs may rarely cause breathing or heart problems — mainly in people with heart or lung disease — or an allergic reaction.
  • Even during a well-performed examination, some lesions may be missed. You will get an explanation before signing the consent form; please read it.

Go immediately to an urgent care center or an emergency department if you have:

  • Vomiting blood, or repeated vomiting
  • Black stools, shortness of breath or fever
  • Severe or worsening pain in the abdomen or chest

Full explanation and videos on the website

An explanatory video, the instruction sheet and the consent form in several languages — on the website (in Hebrew): shachar-gastro.co.il/endoscopy-prep. For non-urgent questions, call the endoscopy unit where your exam was booked. The detailed explanations on the website are in Hebrew. If you cannot read them, ask the endoscopy unit for written instructions in a language you understand.

General instructions that do not replace personal medical advice. If the endoscopy unit gave you different instructions — follow them.

ד״ר איל שחר — גסטרואנטרולוגיה בגובה העיניים · https://shachar-gastro.co.il · מידע להסבר ולידע כללי בלבד. אינו מהווה ייעוץ רפואי ואינו תחליף לבדיקה אצל רופא.