Can I do gastroscopy during breastfeeding?

In daily life, many people do not pay attention to their diet, and often overeat or like to eat some irritating foods. Such eating habits will often cause some damage to the stomach over a long period of time. When suffering from stomach problems, the most common examination is gastroscopy. Only gastroscopy can detect the real cause of stomach disease. Of course, gastroscopy is also an uncomfortable process, so there are many things to pay attention to when doing gastroscopy.

Can I do gastroscopy during breastfeeding?

During the lactation period, you can have a gastroscopy if necessary. If you need to take medication after the examination, you should consider the issue of breastfeeding. During this period, it is best to stop breastfeeding for two or three days after gastroscopy to allow the secretions from the gastroscopy to be fully discharged.

Precautions for gastroscopy

1. You cannot eat or drink after 8 o'clock the night before the gastroscopy. Failure to do this will definitely affect the examination the next day, and may even make the gastroscopy impossible. It is best to eat light meals the night before and not eat too much.

2. You must be accompanied by someone when you go to the hospital. This is the hospital’s new rule. If you are not accompanied by someone, the doctor will not allow you to do the examination and you will have made a wasted trip.

3. You may have heard that gastroscopy is painful, but it is actually not as painful as you imagine. The main thing is not to be nervous. First of all, don't scare yourself, then you will feel that it is no big deal.

4. Do not eat or drink water within 1 to 2 hours after the examination. If your throat does not feel uncomfortable after 2 hours, you can drink some water. If you do not choke when drinking water, you can eat some soft, non-irritating food to avoid rough food causing bleeding in the esophagus or stomach.

5. Some people may have a brief sore throat after the procedure, as if there is something in the throat. Don't worry if this happens. It usually takes 1 to 2 days to recover. The important thing is to pay attention to protective measures.

When is a gastroscopy necessary?

1. Unexplained loss of appetite and weight loss

Severe stomach problems are often the cause of loss of appetite and weight loss.

2. Upper abdominal mass

Through gastroscopy, the location of the mass can be determined and whether it is benign or malignant.

3. Foreign objects swallowed into the esophagus and stomach

If foreign objects such as buttons, pins, coins, etc. are swallowed into the stomach, they can be treated promptly through gastroscopy.

4. Vomiting blood

Patients with hematemesis vomit bright red or dark red blood, and sometimes have black, tarry stools.

5. After gastric surgery, regardless of the reason

If symptoms are found in the case, lesions can be detected and followed up through gastroscopy. People who have undergone gastric surgery in the past need to have regular gastroscopy examinations.

6. Family history of gastric cancer

During routine physical examinations, if you have a family history of gastric cancer or live in an area with a high incidence of gastric cancer or esophageal cancer, you should consider having a gastroscopy.

7. Patients with acid reflux and heartburn

This symptom indicates that gastric juice has refluxed into the esophagus and irritated and damaged the esophagus. In this case, a gastroscopy can determine the extent and range of the lesion so that timely treatment can be provided.

8. Upper abdominal pain

A variety of diseases can cause upper abdominal pain, some of which are mild and some are severe. Severe cases may threaten the patient's life, and the treatment methods for various pains are also different, so first of all, we must check what the disease is. People over 50 years old should pay special attention to this.