I didnt have an endoscopy, just an upper GI. You swallow barium, which is nasty, and I also had to swallow these crystal things that bubbled up as you swallowed it like ginger ale on steroids. It was to expand everything for the best view on the xray, they said. Then you get on the table, which tilts, and they have you go up and down, roll around, breathe, hold your breath - they take a bunch of xrays in rapid succession and watch as the barium travels down your esophagus and through your stomach.
It wasn't awful, but you do it on an empty stomach and I felt pretty gross and gassy after wards. I almost wanted to puke when I left just to get the barium out of me, but I felt better once I had some food. I'd suggest bringing some gas-x or something for afterward.
And PS - you have to do an upper GI post op too to check for leaks. It was way worse then, because you aren't allowed anything to drink until the day after surgery when they can do the leak test - and then you're swallowing this barium on an empty, small, swollen stomach. They want you to swallow more than you really can because otherwise it's not enough for the contrast, and you're rolling around on the table right after surgery when you're hurting... I mean, the radiologist and tech were very nice at the hospital I was at and helped me and were patient with me, but it was still unpleasant for me. But then you go back to your bed and get happy meds and sleep it off!
You'll get through it - just steps down the road to where you want to be!
Good luck!
Hi everyone. Haven't been on here in awhile, I'm 7 months post-op and I'm down 153 lbs.. It's been tuff at times but with discipline and hard work it can be done. I'm down 6 pant sizes and 5 shirt sizes. It is so worth it!! Keep up the hard work ...
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