Motility Capsule Test: Measuring How Your Gut Moves
The motility capsule test uses a small capsule that you swallow. As it travels through your digestive tract it sends signals to a recorder you wear, showing how quickly food moves through the stomach, small intestine, and colon. The test starts at our Temple City office.
Why it's done
- Suspected gastroparesis (slow stomach emptying)
- Severe constipation that doesn't respond to treatment
- Symptoms that suggest slow movement in more than one part of the gut
How to prepare
- 24 hours before: no alcohol
- 8 hours before: nothing to eat or drink, and no smoking or vaping. Only a small sip of water for morning pills.
- Medicines that change how the gut moves must be stopped on a schedule, from 7 days before (acid pills such as omeprazole, and gut-motility drugs) to 1 day before (antacids). Your instruction sheet has the full list.
- If you have diabetes, ask the doctor who treats your diabetes what to do.
Read the full motility capsule instructions (also in Español, Tiếng Việt, and 中文). All instruction sheets are on our Procedure Instructions page.
Test day
You eat a special snack bar, then swallow the capsule. For the next 6 hours, don't eat, take medicine, sleep, or exercise hard. After 6 hours you can eat normally. You wear a small recorder and mark meals and bowel movements in the app.
Until the capsule comes out
- Avoid laxatives, diarrhea medicine, and the stop-list medicines
- Check the toilet each time; when you see the capsule, follow the steps on your sheet before flushing
- Return the recorder to our office
Do not have an MRI until the capsule has passed.
Make an appointment
Our gastroenterologists in Temple City care for patients from Arcadia, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Monrovia, Monterey Park, and across the San Gabriel Valley. We accept most PPO plans (see accepted insurances), and our doctors speak English, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. Schedule an appointment or call 626-898-4560.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your own health.
Quick Answers
What does the motility capsule test show?
How long it takes for the capsule to leave the stomach, pass through the small intestine, and move through the colon, which helps diagnose slow emptying or slow colon transit.
How do I prepare?
No alcohol for 24 hours before, and nothing to eat or drink (no smoking or vaping) for 8 hours before. Several medicines that change gut movement must be stopped 1 to 7 days before, as listed on your instruction sheet.
How long does the test last?
Until the capsule comes out, usually a few days. You wear a small recorder and mark meals and bowel movements in the app.
