Bravo Endoscopy test, what should I expect?

Hi,.

I remember being so scared for this test.  I mean, they were putting something down my throat.  Everyone assured me it wasn't bad and sure enough, I was sedated and didn't feel a thing...was talking to the dr, and then woke up. 

You will need someone to take you and will want to take the day off work (or from after you test time) as you'll be sedated and will feel tired for the day.  Next day you should be fine.  I didn't have any other after effects.

Good luck.

Hi Nickles,

I was nervous about this procedure too but it was a complete breeze. Here's how mine happened.

I got checked in at the hospital and was taken back to the GI ward. I had to de-robe from the waist up although I was allowed to keep my bra on (basically I just had to take my shirt off, pants and undergarments stayed on.) The nurse prepped me for an IV since I was to be sedated for the procedure. Make sure you drink lots of fluids the day before! It will make it much easier for them to insert the IV. But, you will also have to fast, probably nothing after midnight the night before.

Once the IV was in, they took some blood to do some bloodwork and then started me on a saline drip. I had to wait a while for the bloodwork to come back; among other things, I know they tested potassium levels. Everything came back fine. They started me on some antibiotics via the IV; the doctor didn't want to take any chances since the Bravo probe would be penetrating the flesh slightly in the esophagus. Then they wheeled me into the procedure room.

They had me lay on my left side and propped me up with some pillows. They gave me a couple doses of different sedatives. There was no anesthesiologist necessary since I was going to be under "conscious sedation", meaning I'd be able to respond to simple questions/commands but I'd be extremely relaxed and probably wouldn't remember anything. I remember the doctor coming in and putting an O-shaped plastic thing in my mouth, to keep my mouth open while I was under. He asked me a question and I couldn't respond well since the plastic thing was in my mouth, so I took it out to answer, except by the time I got it out, I had forgotten both the question and my answer. They said that was good since it meant the sedatives were working.

After that, I remember just small bits and pieces of the procedure. I remember burping a lot. I also remember the nurses telling me to breathe through my nose; I was trying to breathe through my mouth but the tube was already down so I couldn't, but once I remembered how I could breathe through my nose just fine. Each of these moments were only a second or two long. Most of the time I spent in the procedure room is a blank.

Then I woke up about 30 minutes later in recovery. I was very groggy and dozed for about 15 minutes before forcing myself to wake up. They let me husband come back to see me and gave me some water (they gave me a choice between water and juice to drink.) I did not have a sore throat at all and aside from being very groggy and hungry, I felt fine. I was discharged about half an hour later.

My husband and I picked up lunch on the way home and I was able to eat everything without any trouble. After that I laid down on the couch and slept for the rest of the afternoon while my husband went to work. The nurses at the hospital warned me not to make dinner that night and not to make any online purchases or other decisions involving money, etc. since I was still a little out of it from the anesthetic. The next day I felt fine (I was kind of gassy for a few days following the procedure.)

That's it! Nothing to it. Just remember to drink a lot of fluids the day before, nothing by mouth after midnight, have someone to take you to and from the hospital (and stay with you or check in on you later in the day, if possible), and take the rest of the day after the procedure off.

I was sedated too - so don't worry about any pain.. you won't feel anything!

I had issues at first with swallowing... it felt like food was having issues passing by the capsule. I was so scared that pain would last the entire time the capsule was in there (it can be up to 2 weeks before it detaches) but the pain went away the next day and even more so the day after that.

The best isn't as bad as you think. Make sure to eat foods that trigger heartburn so they can see exactly what is going on in there. It's pretty cool to see the pH score as you are wearing it. I'd look at it and have awful heartburn and my #s would be very low, then other times I'd feel okay but low #s. So I was also having heartburn I couldn't feel but it was still doing damage.

Good Luck with everything!


Oh yeah, my Bravo test wasn't the tube down my nose, that was the manometry and you won't be sedated for it. It's not as bad as you think either! Just remember this is all for the best and "fixing" what is going on!

Oh congrats on the surgery! That's great :)

The first 2 weeks of healing pretty much suck... all of it LOL But it's worth it, things will get better :) Give it some time before you worry too much about everything. Take it easy and try to heal. I was SUPER BLOATED.. you're lucky you can burp, that was so painful not being able to burp :(

Haven't started trying yet. Now that I feel so much better I just want to enjoy it a little bit before putting my body through crazy pregnancy. I didn't think I'd feel so good from LINX but I do and just want the summer to enjoy all of it!

for a more accurate test, avoid eating or drinking between meals. The bravo capsule can't tell the difference between something going up or down. So if your drinking coke all day... It may make your results seem worse than they are. Also, you could try eating the foods that you aren't suppose too. This will let your doctor know that there is indeed reflux happening.