Home Care after Your Upper Endoscopy (including Dilation or Esophageal Banding) What to Expect You may notice a mild soreness in your throat. You may wish to gargle with lightly salted water or suck on hard candy. When you have received sedation, you are at an increased risk of falling. You may need help with things you don’t normally need help with. Falls can result in serious injury. To prevent a fall: • Ask for help. • Get up slowly. • Wear your eye glasses. • Use your assistive devices such as a cane or walker. You may have a feeling of fullness or gas pains. You may feel mild chest discomfort, this should go away within 24 hours. At Home • You must have a responsible adult support person to take you home. You should not drive today. • Do not drink alcohol. Do not take tranquilizers or sleeping pills tonight. • There may be some soreness and redness at the IV site for a day or two. You can relieve this by placing a warm, moist washcloth over the area. Please contact your primary doctor if this does not improve in a couple of days. • Do not make any important personal or business decisions today. • Rest today. You may resume your normal daily tasks tomorrow. • You may resume your routine medicines unless told otherwise. • 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 890-5000, select “clinic” when prompted. Ask for your doctor’s nurse. Diet • If you have had a routine endoscopy or have been given no other instructions, you may resume your normal diet. Start with a light diet to prevent nausea. • If you have had a dilation or a banding of varices, follow your doctor’s instructions on diet. Call your doctor right away if you have • Vomited blood • Lightheadedness • Bloody stools: including black tarry stools • Chest pain • Abdominal pain • Fever or chills • Difficulty swallowing or Pain on swallowing • Difficulty breathing Phone Numbers Digestive Health Center, 8am to 5pm weekdays, (608) 890-5000. If after clinic hours, leave your name and phone number with the area code. The doctor will call you back. If you live outside of the Madison area, please call 1-855-342-9900. UW Health Digestive Health Center 750 University Row Madison, WI (608) 890-5000 (855) 342-9900 University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics 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 Your health care team may have given you this information as part of your care. If so, please use it and call if you have any questions. If this information was not given to you as part of your care, please check with your doctor. This is not medical advice. This is not to be used for diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Because each person’s health needs are different, you should talk with your doctor or others on your health care team when using this information. If you have an emergency, please call 911. Copyright ©5/2018. University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority. All rights reserved. Produced by the Department of Nursing. HF#4563.