upper G.I

Hey,, I have been having stomach problems after surgery and was told I needed a upper g.I done to check my stomach. I was wondering if anyone here has had it done and if you have would you mind sharing your experience.. im not very fond of medical procedures and I am a bit nervous and wanted to know what to expect. Thanks for your answers. Anything would be appreciated

I've had one before Kelly. You have to drink some barium contrast =, which is a chalky whitish liquid, which allows the X-ray or ultrasound machine to see what's going on in your gastrointestinal tract. It's painless.

I've have many an upper GI series.  Except for drinking some chalky barium, it's non-invasive and painless.  Just a bunch of x-rays.  Good luck!

It depends on what sort of upper GI that your doctor wants to do. If it is just a barium test, it's easy peasy. Just drink some (rather nasty) barium liquid and the doctor can watch it go down your esophagus and through your sleeve in real time via a digital scan. It's actually REALLY interesting, especially if you're positioned so that you can see the monitor. The barium can cause migraines and will likely cause constipation (it will DEFINITELY give you nasty gas), so drinking LOTS of water afterward is really important. Seriously. Bring a water bottle with you and start sipping AS SOON AS you're finished. (NOT before though. You'll likely be NPR at midnight the night before). A barium test is absolutely NOTHING to be scared of. You just drink (or eat) something that doesn't taste good at all and you're done :)

Now, if your doctor wants to do an upper endoscopy, that's entirely different. You're put under very light anesthesia and a camera on a long tube is inserted into your esophagus and down into your sleeve. You won't feel a thing and you shouldn't have any discomfort or issues after (minus an afternoon of napping off residual anesthesia that is in your system). It's really easy and nothing to be nervous about. Just make sure that you have someone present to remind you of silly things that you say when you wake up... I'm pretty sure that I told my nurse MULTIPLE times how much I liked her haircut. And I was absolutely obsessed with her nose piercing ;)

I've had both procedures done. Honestly, I found the endoscopy to be a less unpleasant experience! When I had the barium test done, I was newly sleeved (maybe 6 weeks out) and the barium was so thick - my doctor had me eat some barium paste on a cracker (it actually wasn't very nasty tasting; I told myself it was marshmallow cream!) - that I felt really full and uncomfortable afterward due to my still new restriction. My endoscopy was performed by my new Gastroenterologist, while my barium test was performed by my WLS surgeon (which isn't the norm. My surgeon insists on being present.).

Best of luck! Either procedure can give you a lot of information if you're having trouble with your sleeve.

Thanks for giving me your experience on both procedures. Turns out I need and endoscopy now an upper g.I. that was very helpful