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Getting ready for an upper GI endoscopy: why, getting ready, the day of, and after
For anyone who has an upper endoscopy (also called an EGD) coming up, or who is driving someone home from one. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says upper GI endoscopy is a procedure in which a doctor uses a flexible tube with a camera to see the lining of your esophagus, stomach and duodenum, to find the cause of symptoms such as ongoing pain, heartburn, vomiting or problems swallowing, and to treat some conditions. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: why doctors use it; your health and your medicines; nothing to eat or drink before, and the ride home; what happens during the procedure; and recovery, results, the risks, and when to get care right away. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card for the fridge.
Right now
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting, or vomiting a lot of blood? Call 911 (ours).
- After an upper endoscopy: problems breathing, problems swallowing or throat pain that gets worse, vomiting (above all if it is bloody or looks like coffee grounds), chest or belly pain that gets worse, bloody or black, tar-colored stool, or fever? NIDDK says to seek medical care right away.
- Not sure whether to stop a medicine, such as a blood thinner, before it? Ask the doctor who ordered the procedure. Do not stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own (ours).
- It is all too much, or you are thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- The belly, on this site: Heartburn · Barrett’s esophagus · Celiac disease · Peptic ulcers · Gastritis · Bleeding in the digestive tract · Getting ready for a colonoscopy · An upset stomach: find the right page.
- Getting there and getting ready: Rides to care · My medicines list · Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment.
- If the news is hard: When the doctor says cancer.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 17, 2026 on NIDDK’s Upper GI Endoscopy page (NIH) and its Spanish version, both last reviewed in October 2023 and saying the same things; the cards also point to NIDDK’s Upper GI Series, Acid Reflux (GER & GERD) in Adults and Celiac Disease pages. The numbers (nothing to eat or drink for up to 8 hours; typically 10 to 20 minutes; about an hour after) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting, or vomiting a lot of blood; asking ahead which medicines change, and never stopping one on your own; asking for the time to stop eating and the time to stop drinking; asking the center about your ride; telling the team you gag easily; asking who tells you the results and by when; the card; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: sedative names, brands, doses, and clinical pages for providers. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.