For an endoscopy, the most common choice is moderate or deep sedation, given through an IV in your arm. In some cases, no sedation is used, and in rarer cases, general anesthesia is used, which means you are fully unconscious. Under moderate or deep sedation, you usually will not remember the procedure.

For an upper endoscopy, moderate or deep sedation is most common. General anesthesia may be used in a hospital for higher-risk patients. For some patients, no sedation is possible, with a numbing medicine sprayed in the throat to help with comfort.

The exact choice depends on your health, the type of endoscopy, and safety concerns like breathing or aspiration risk, which means stomach contents going into the lungs. Verify the exact plan with your surgical or anesthesia team in case they want something different for you.