The Importance of Fasting.

Why an empty stomach matters

Under anaesthesia the normal reflexes that keep food and fluid out of your lungs are switched off. An empty stomach greatly reduces the risk of stomach contents coming up and being breathed in. This is a rare but serious problem we work hard to prevent.

The usual timings

As a general guide, stop solid food and milk six hours before your arrival time, and stop clear fluids about two hours before. Clear fluids such as water, black tea or coffee, and clear juice are encouraged up to that point and actually help you feel better.

Patients will sometimes report "I only had a sip of coffee with milk" or "I just had a few lollies to tide me over", believing these are okay inside the fasting window. If reading this guide, you will now know this doesn't meet the fasting requirements, as your body begins to secrete digestive juices etc as soon as you have these, which you can aspirate on while asleep. Please follow the fasting guidelines to the letter for your safety.

Also, please have a light meal as the meal prior to starting a fast, we discourage you from having a huge meal on account of an upcoming fast, as it may result in delayed gastric emptying, and cancel out the safety made possible by fasting correctly.

Medications and special cases

The official advice regarding weight loss drugs has recently changed. The update now is to continue to take your regular weight loss medications peri-operatively with a sip of water unless told otherwise. Childhood, diabetes, reflux, pregnancy and other patient factors can result in the need for a more tailored / altered plan. Always follow the exact instructions from your hospital or from us. When they differ from this general guide, the hospital and anaesthetist's instructions take priority!

If you have taken weight loss or similar compound "peptides" eg:

• Ozempic / Wegovy (Semaglutide)
• Mounjaro (Tirzepatide)
• Trulicity (Dulaglutide)
• Victoza / Saxenda (Liraglutide)
• Retatrutide, Reta, R-10, R-20

These change your fasting guidelines completely - please tell your anaesthetist and surgeon if you have taken these in the last month or so, for instructions. If so, you can read the fasting guideline that applies to you in the Ozempic / Peptides folder on this site!

If you slip up

If you accidentally eat or drink outside the window, don't hide it: tell us. It is far safer to delay or adjust the plan than to proceed on a full stomach.