EGD found retained solid food despite prep + 1 week GLP-1 hold. What testing or specialist follow-up was helpful for you?
I recently had an upper endoscopy/colonoscopy after long-standing reflux, nausea, and other GI symptoms. One unexpected finding was retained solid food in my stomach after following the prep closely (36 hrs, just gatorade, water, allowed hard candy + laxatives etc..). The report mentioned “copious solids” and noted that GLP-1 agonist use and marijuana may be contributing to impaired gastric emptying and worse GERD symptoms.
For context, I held tirzepatide for 1 week as instructed and did not use cannabis on procedure day. I had only inhaled a small amount the night before, not edibles. I also took the prep as directed, though I finished part of the MiraLAX later in the evening than scheduled.
Biopsies were otherwise unrevealing, and I’m now trying to figure out what follow-up makes the most sense. I’ve had GERD and other GI issues for many years, well before starting GLP-1s or cannabis, although I know both could affect motility.
I’m not asking anyone here to diagnose me. I’m mainly wondering:
- If you had retained food seen on EGD, what testing was done next?
- Did your doctor send you for a gastric emptying study, motility specialist, or neuroGI?
- If you were using a GLP-1 or cannabis, how did your doctors think about those as contributors vs pre-existing motility problems?
- If you felt those meds were helping overall quality of life, how did you approach the tradeoffs?
I’d appreciate hearing what the diagnostic/workup path looked like for others.