Home Care After Your Upper Endoscopy (Includes Dilation, EndoFlip or Esophageal Banding)

This Health Facts for You will provide health and safety guidelines to follow at home after an upper endoscopy.

What to Expect

After your endoscopy you may have:

• Mild sore throat: Treat by gargling lightly salted water or suck on hard candy.

• Gas pains or fullness.

• Chest pain: This should go away within 24 hours.

• Redness/soreness at IV site: For relief, use a warm, moist washcloth. Call your primary doctor if this does not get better in a couple of days.

Preventing Falls

When you have sedation, you are at an increased risk of falling. Falls can cause serious injury. To prevent a fall:

• Ask for help.

• Get up slowly.

• Wear glasses if you have them.

• Use your cane, walker, etc.

At Home

• Do not drink alcohol, take tranquilizers or sleeping pills tonight.

• Do not drive today. You must have a responsible adult take you home.

• Do not make any important decisions today.

• Rest. Do not return to work or school. You may resume your normal daily tasks the next day.

• You may resume your routine medicines unless you are told not to.

Diet

Follow your doctor’s diet instructions if you had a dilation or a banding of varices.

You may resume your normal diet if you had a routine endoscopy and were not given other instructions.

Start out with a light diet to prevent nausea. Avoid spicy and greasy food as this may cause nausea.

Results

If the doctor took biopsies, you will get the results in the mail in 1-2 weeks. If you do not get the letter after 2 weeks, call the clinic. Ask for your doctor’s nurse.

When to Call

• Vomiting blood

• Dizziness

• Bloody or black tarry stools

• Chest pain

• Abdominal pain

• Fever or chills

• Trouble and/or pain when swallowing

• Trouble breathing

Who to Call

Digestive Health Center

750 University Row

Madison, WI

(608) 890-5000

(855) 342-9900

University Hospital

GI Procedure Clinic

600 Highland Avenue

Madison, WI

(608) 263-8097

(800) 323-8942

Meriter Hospital Digestive Health Center

Lower Level

202 S. Park Street

Madison, WI

(608) 417-6389

After clinic hours, leave your name and phone number with the area code. The doctor will call you back