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GI Tract Travel Time?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/25/2009 9:05 PM (GMT 0)
How long does it take food to travel through the entire GI tract? I found one non-official answer that said 20-30 hours. I guess that's probably about right. But how about when you have diarrhea? I ate something last night and swear it came out about 6 hours later!
Posted 11/25/2009 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
Ha I wish mine took that long! I have to take codeine to slow my sytem down but even then I often err recognise some of the previous evenings food in the morning when I go! (like last night I had popcorn quite late at the cinema and this morning yup theres no mistaking undigested popcorn lol!)
Posted 11/25/2009 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
20-30 hours would be for a "normal" person

I'm like you both, I could eat something and then know that's what's coming out in the morning.
Posted 11/26/2009 12:29 AM (GMT 0)
The average for a person without intestinal problems of any kind is a range from 18 to 36 hours.

The pill cam [capsule endoscopy] showed that I had an abnormally rapid transit time. The pill cam came out 6 hrs and 52 minutes after I swallowed it. So it is entirely possible that what you saw last night was from your evening meal. The GI that administered my pill cam was commenting on my rapid transit time and my various vitamin deficiencies. He said the rapid transit time does not allow for proper absorption of nutrients.

The fastest that the GI center had ever seen a pill cam go from mouth to "out" was 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Posted 11/26/2009 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Pre-SCD, it was 4 days for me (I had a very slow system). Post-SCD, it was 2 days. Post surgery, it's about 1 day.
Posted 11/26/2009 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
I should have mentioned this before but just thought about it...

I had a patient that was doing a small bowel series and upper GI series one day. Before we were done with the upper GI the barium had reached her rectum. That means in 5 minutes the barium had gone through her GI tract. Crazy!!!! Granted barium goes through you quicker than food, but still...
Posted 11/26/2009 3:32 AM (GMT 0)
Five minutes? Yikes! My BFT took about 6 hours or so. I hadn't eaten anything for 24 hours beforehand.

On long camping trips I've gone 2-3 days without a BM, but those days are probably gone! Unless I load up on anti-D.
Posted 11/26/2009 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
I was just wondering this myself. I tend to get D 15 minutes or so after eating. I'm trying to figure out if there is some connection to the food i just ate-- but I can't imagine it's possibly moved through my system that quickly. Is it just the act of eating that sets the digestive tract in motion?
Posted 11/27/2009 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
I think eating gets the digestive juices flowing and moves previous meals out. I typically get D after eating breakfast and it's usually the previous night's dinner. Then I go again shortly after lunch, which I assume is breakfast.
Posted 11/27/2009 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
Mine can be while I am eating I have to run to the bathroom while eating to go and it is not mistakable that it is in fact what I was currently eating.
Posted 11/27/2009 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
Don't digestive enzymes help with rapid transit? And lilcronieUK, you can eat popcorn? Geez I would be in a world of hurt the next day if I ate popcorn. Lucky you!
Posted 11/27/2009 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
My last Bm the travel time was 24Hrs.
Posted 11/28/2009 12:23 AM (GMT 0)
Its weird Nanners, it comes out pretty much undigested but doesn't cause me any pain, I do avoid the lesser popped pieces but you'd think it would cause a problem as fruits with skin and veg that isn't cooked to the point of mush and especially dried fruit absolutely kill me though! I find it so random what my system does and doesn't accept - many years of huge trial and error lol.

Posted 11/30/2009 1:15 PM (GMT 0)
Popcorn! Oh my....I can't even imagine. That would obstruct me in two seconds flat. I am supposed to be having my second resection in the spring...the first thing I'm doing when I am up and feeling better is to hit a movie and buy a big, salty tub of it....ohhh what healthy people take for granted! Be careful lilcrohnie....chew thoroughly, if you must have it.
Posted 11/30/2009 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Steakum824 I have had two resections myself and still can't eat popcorn. So do be careful after that next resection with what you eat. Good luck!
Posted 12/4/2009 12:58 AM (GMT 0)

I once ate some snow-peas at about 11am and saw them come back out at 3pm, almost completely undigested. Fun fun. No more snowpeas for me.

Posted 12/4/2009 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
It's kinda interesting that many of us have abnormally fast transit times...also kinda cool that I'm not really alone in this complaint...

When I was in hospital for initial diagnosis, my barium follow through went through in less than 20 min (had to use the bathroom in the radiology lab)...normal for BFTs are less than 3 hours (my body really, REALLY, doesn't like that barium stuff...and don't get me started on that CT contrast media...YUCK)

My pill cam took a bit longer at about 4 hours. Lettuce when I'm in a superflare...less than 30 minutes...Oh those TV guys crack me up...they want everyone watching to SPEED up their transit time...seriously?
Posted 12/4/2009 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
My transit time for my last sbft was about 45 minutes from mouth to white poop.
Posted 12/5/2009 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
I swear I have had salad go in and out in 30 minutes!!! Usually takes several hours for most things though, 30 hours I wish!!!
Posted 12/5/2009 1:14 AM (GMT 0)
I ate a salad last night around 6pm, and at 7:15pm that same night it came out. 
Posted 12/5/2009 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
Mine isn't very long at all...I stole a piece of red pepper from my fiance around 12-2 am, and it was there in the morning so on a normal day it doesn't take much time.
Posted 12/5/2009 1:48 AM (GMT 0)
I wish I knew. Sometimes I swear I can eat nuts or seeds, other forms of roughage and they will get me in a few hours. It doesn't mean the seeds come out then, just that they irritate the intestines. I think my transit time is usually slower unless I go a lot.
Posted 12/5/2009 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
If I am not all loaded up on a anit D (which I normally am) most things don't seem to last in my system at all! I'm dubbed "Salad shooter" at work after learning salad stays in my system for about 30 minutes and comes out looking just like it did going in! I have the same problem with small noodles! It makes sense that we all seem to be ahead of the curve on digestion time!
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