You should allow between 2-4 hours for your visit to the Endoscopy unit.

The appointment time is measured from the time you register at the Endoscopy reception to your departure from the unit. It includes pre procedure checks, the time you spend waiting for the examination, the time the actual examination takes, the time you need to recover from it and the time taken getting yourself ready to go home.

The actual time spent on an examination will vary between patients and examinations. In general, an examination of the stomach (gastroscopy) will take 5-15 minutes and one of the Colon (colonoscopy) 20-40 minutes.

The instructions sent to you with your appointment details will clearly explain what you will need to do to prepare for the endoscopy.

Whether you need to bring someone with you as an escort depends on whether you will have a sedative for the endoscopy. If you have a sedative, it is important that you have someone to help you home afterwards, including being driven home. You will be advised of whether you need to have a sedative. For some examinations you can opt not to have a sedative and therefore do not need to have an escort.

The gut lining does not have nerves that give sharp pains but they can sense movement, stretching or pressure. If no sedative is used, some endoscopies can be uncomfortable but not painful.

For examinations of the pancreas and gall bladder (ERCP), it is accepted practice for people to be offered a sedative. For examinations of the colon (colonoscopy) it is accepted practice to offer a sedative, and most people decide to have one but some prefer not to. For a flexible sigmoidoscopy, which is a shorter examination of the bowel most people chose not to have a sedative.

For other examinations, such as a gastroscopy, the use of a sedative is less necessary because they take less time and are less uncomfortable. About half of the people who come for a gastroscopy elect to have a local anaesthetic throat spray alone, rather than with the sedative injection.

The sedative we use most often is Midazolam (a type of valium) which makes you feel sleepy and more comfortable. Usually the sedative does not actually send you to sleep, but makes you feel sleepy. Also, you might not remember anything about the examination afterwards. These sedatives start to work very quickly but take hours to wear off (up to 24 hours)

If you have had a sedative after the endoscopy examination you will feel very sleepy at first and then you may feel a little unsteady. After a variable number of hours you will feel much more normal again but we advise you not to resume driving for 24 hours or carry out work or leisure activity that could be compromised by lack of attention. These effects are often why people opt to not have a sedative.

 If you haven’t had a sedative you can usually leave immediately after the examination.

If you have had a sedative we encourage you to stay in the department until you are feeling more awake, for example until you can walk safely.

This depends on the test you are having. You can discuss this with someone in Endoscopy beforehand. For examinations of the stomach approximately half of the patients choose to have a local anaesthetic spray to the back of the throat alone. The choice is yours.

If you have chosen not to have a sedative injection before a gastroscopy we will spray the back of your throat with a local anaesthetic to numb it (preventing any pain). You will still have a gag reflex but will feel the tube (scope) much less as you swallow it. The numbing lasts about half an hour. If you decide to have throat spray you will remain fully conscious during the procedure and will remember it afterwards. Having the throat spray is a good alternative if you cannot have sedation for any reason, or if you do not want to be sleepy for the rest of the day. If you choose to have the throat spray without a sedative you will be able to leave the department as soon as the examination is complete.

If you are having a sedative injection for the examination it is very important that we know you will have someone to help you get home safely afterwards (you will feel sleepy and must not drive). If you arrive by hospital transport you do not need to arrange your own escort because the drivers can vouch for your safety.