Question:
Do they put you to sleep for an upper GI?

   — Laurie D (posted on March 25, 2003)

March 25, 2003
No they don't. An upper GI is really just a series of X-rays. You have to drink some barium, which tastes really awful, IMHO, but that's the worst part of it. After you do that, they do some x-rays to watch it go through your upper GI tract. Not painful at all.
   — garw

March 25, 2003
Hi there, No they don't put you to sleep for an Upper GI. They will have you stand in front of an xray machine and drink barium at various points during the test. It is painless, other than drinking a chalky drink. Oh, barium also can cause constipation so make sure you get your fiber in afterwards. Truly, it is painless. You will do fine! Good luck!
   — daytymer

March 25, 2003
I actually drank the stuff all day long (4 bottles) and then went after work... and I was on a table lying down and the machine came up around me much like a scanning deal... I was asked to hold my breath at points then exhale... and did that for a long long time... it took quite a while...
   — MF

March 25, 2003
They dont put you to sleep. They take xrays of the inside of your belly while you drink this stuff called barium. To me it tasted like very chalky Mylanta. it's totally painless!
   — Kris T.

March 25, 2003
If you are having the upper GI Endoscopy you will be put out (at least I was). This is a test that is done before your surgery and is different from the leak test that is done in the hospital.
   — Sandy P.