Test Preparation
What you need to know
Night before the Test
The Heidelberg pH Diagnostic test requires that you fast the night prior to your test day. After eating your evening meal, the night before the test, do not eat any snacks, or consume alcohol. You can brush your teeth, providing that your toothpaste does not contain sodium bicarbonate. Sips of water is ok.
Morning of the Test
In the morning you remain fasted. Do not consume food, do not drink coffee, soda, tea, citric juices, alcohol (wine or whiskey), or milk. You can brush your teeth, providing that your toothpaste does not contain sodium bicarbonate and it is more than 2 hours before the appointment time.
To keep this simple, we recommend to stay fasted, but you can have small sips of water up to 2 hours before the test, do not consume anything else.
The Visit
When you arrive at our office, we will check that you have followed the fasting requirements and not taken any medications that could affect the test results.
If you have not met the fasting requirements, or if you have taken medications, your Heidelberg pH diagnostic test will need to be rescheduled for another test date.
The Heidelberg pH Diagnostic test
You will be asked to turn off any wireless electronic devices, as they can affect the very sensitive electronic test equipment, which can make the test results invalid.
The test can take up to 2 hours to make an accurate diagnosis of your condition, so you may wish to bring some reading material to pass the time.
During the test you will be relaxed and comfortable. We will place a wireless transceiver over your stomach. Then we hand you the micro-electronic capsule to swallow with a small cup of water.
When the pH Capsule is swallowed, it reaches the stomach usually within moments and transmits the pH information found in the gastric juices of the stomach.
The pH Capsule is tethered to prevent it passing into the small bowel. This happens after we determine that the pH Capsule is properly positioned in the stomach, and displaying the pH Levels on the Graph, by applying a small piece of latex free tape, securing the tether to your cheek.
Depending on the information received from the Heidelberg capsule, we may elect to give you several small amounts of an alkaline fluid, to challenge the acid producing cells in your stomach.
Timing is a key part of this test. The amount of time required for your stomach to produce acid will determine if you have Hypochlorhydria, Hyperchlorhydria, or Achlorhydria.
We can also determine if you have Heavy Mucus (from infection or ulceration), reflux, Pyloric Insufficiency, Gastritis, Gastric ulcers, dumping syndrome or delay emptying of the stomach (Gastroparesis).
This is a realtime test. The pH capsule will record the strength of acid (pH) information and display immediate changes. Secretion from the acid producing cells in the stomach (parietal cells) is automatically recorded and display on a computer generated graph. The strength of the acid (pH), time required to reacidify or alkalize the stomach will also be displayed on the computer displayed graph and will be included as part of your report.
After the test
Unlike other procedures that require delays for laboratory reports, the Heidelberg test results are available as soon as the test is complete.
We recommend a post test consultation as soon as the test is complete. In many cases we can establish recommendations for you on the same day.
Capsule Removal
Our preferred recommendation is to remove the capsule by gently pulling the capsule from the stomach, out the mouth by means of the tether, while you enjoy a glass of water.
Alternatively, providing that there is no contraindication to do so, another option is to cut the tether, and allow the capsule to migrate through the whole alimentary canal and be expelled in your normal stool.
The decision on which option is best for you, is ultimately dependent on the opinion of the Heidelberg expert during your 30 minute consult, as certain aspects of your history and evaluation may determine one particular method of capsule removal to be the requirement for you.
With either option, there is little or no discomfort during swallowing or removal of the capsule.
To tether, or not …
Un-tethered Heidelberg pH Capsule…
You have the option of swallowing a pH Capsule without tether, that will migrate through the whole alimentary canal and be expelled in your normal stool.
This service is not our preferred recommendation, as without tether, we can not control how long the capsule will stay in the stomach, and if the capsule migrates from the stomach into the small bowel, before we have reached a conclusion the test will end prematurely. (The capsule needs to be located in the stomach at all times during the test.)
When this option still remains a clients preferred choice, we do our best to accommodate. Use of and un-tethered capsule requires a complete examination, patient medical history and a release signed by the patient.
Tethered Heidelberg pH Capsule…
The tethered capsule option indicates that a fine medical grade thread is attached to the pH Capsule.
The capsule and some of the tether is swallowed. When the capsule enters the gastric juices of the stomach, the remaining tether is attached to your cheek with a small piece of latex free tape.
Tethering the pH Capsule prevents the capsule from migrating out of the stomach during testing, and also allows the option for the pH Capsule to be removed via the mouth when the test is complete.
This is our preferred recommendation.