Pediatric Upper GI

For this exam, it is very important not to eat anything after dinner the night before. It would also be easiest if you schedule your appointment for early in the morning. You will be having an upper GI. This is a set of pictures going from your neck all the way down to your intestines. Your intestines is where the food goes after it is in the stomach. The pictures will be x-rays, which are special black and white pictures that use radiation to see the insides of your body.

The technologist will show you to a room where you will change into a gown. Then you will be asked to sit on a table that might be cold and hard. Since the doctor wants to see what your esophagus (the tube in your neck that connects your mouth to your stomach), stomach, and intestines look like when there is something in them, you will be asked to drink Barium. Barium is a white, chalky fluid that makes your insides brighter for the pictures. It might taste nutty.

Once you drink that, the technologist will start taking pictures with the x-ray machine. The x-ray machine is like a big camera attached to the ceiling that can move. The technologist will put the camera near your neck or stomach, but it will not touch you. After that you can change and go home, unless you need what is called a follow-through.

Sometimes you might need a follow-through. This means that after the pictures, they will ask you to wait 15 minutes for the Barium (the white stuff you drank) to go further down into your intestines. They they will take the same pictures again with the x-ray machine/camera. After that, they might ask you to wait 15 minutes or more so the Barium can go down even more.

Then they will take the same pictures again, for the third time! But after that, you can change and go. Once you are done, you can eat. But the next time you go the the bathroom, you might see white stuff and that is normal. If you are scared or have any questions, please ask the technologist or call Fletcher Allen Radiology at (802) 847-3593.