Your least favorite "tests"

Hey all. Just sparking some friendly discussion. We have all been through COUNTLESS tests with this disease, especially when we were first trying to get diagnosed. I'm sure we have some horror stories surrounding them, but I just wanted to share what my least favorite was... By far, had to be the barium enema (is this called a lower-gi?) They fill your stomach up with barium and it's so difficult to "hold," especially when you are sick as all heck. Then they move you around naked on a cold, steel table while probing you... UGH; I remember crying during the procedure. (I was only 16 or 17 at the time) Upper GI I struggled with as well, as I couldn't drink the "milkshake" and ended up spewing it onto the assistant at the hospital... What do you expect; you give me pop-rocks to make me gassy and then have me chase it with a terrible thick substance!?!? lol

by far my least favorite was the barium swallow. I have a very strong gag refex and it was sooo hard not to hurl that nasty stuff back up. Then I had to wait forever for it to travel where they wanted. Hard to imagine when I have 3-5 BM a day that it would take that long. Then I had the indignity of walking through the hallways to get the stuff moving. I had to laugh at the tech though when she advised me to double my liquid intake that day to prevent constipation. I was like soo not gonna happen. Sure enough was back to my old multiple BM self the next day!

Interestingly,I've had all the tests done,and none have really bothered me too much.
That barium one is entertaining, with the carbonated stuff that pushes the barium through your system.
It can be fun when the tech's don't know you've had a resection, and go get help to figure you out.
My horror story happened in one of those mini changing rooms, with the curtain drawn, and me on the floor.
I give those tech's all the credit, for doing a decent job, under some really crappy situations.

Anything to do with barium. ( I hate that stuff ) Prep for either scopes or surgery. Having a central line placed!!

Anything where there is barium... especially when they stick an air hose up your behind. I'm never doing that test again I would rather suffer from my symptoms then that pain!

That being said I absolutely don't mind blood tests, those are my fave!

By far, as an xray tech, we hate doing barium enemas as much as patients hate having them. Luckily I've never had one done. I'd rather go with a colonoscopy.

I can handle barium pretty well, but had to have a Small bowel series done once after having an NG tube put in (which hurts like H$ll!!!) and I was the most nauseous after that test because they push the barium in the tube faster than you drink it.

The worst test, however, was having an ultrasound during my last hospital stay. They were trying to scan my heart, and I've had breast reduction surgery, so pushing on my chest where my scar is hurt so bad. I was on dilaudid for pain from the pulmonary emboli, and I was laying in my bed crying, and begging them to get me more pain medicine before continuing. Needless to say, they didn't complete the test, because it hurt way too much for me to endure any more.

The other bad test I've had was a colposcopy, where they take biopsies of your cervix, which hurts! The exam and biopsies don't last long, so that makes up for the pain when they take the biopsies.

The best I've felt in the last year and a half is right after my endoscopy and colonoscopy. After both of those, I've felt no pain, had no worries, and slept on an off during the day. Those were some good drugs.

The prep for the colonoscopy wasn't pleasant but tolerable. The barium stuff isn't too bad.

The worst "procedure" is one I have to do everyday-taking 11 pills(medication) and 10 other pills (supplements) and the feeling of having no control of my body. about a year and a half ago I had no worries and took a daily multivitamin and crestor. One morning I woke up and had blood in my urine. Went to the doctor then ER and they said my liver enzymes were way high. Stopped the crestor and liver enzymes returned to normal in about 2 weeks. By then I had pain in my guts. I figured it was from the stress of worrying. Things went down hill ever since and continues to do so.............I can endure any test but "no control" is the worst.

Lol Harry!
Thats what I'll tell them the next test that becomes uncomfortable.
O.K. I did it,I did it!(or even I am Sparticus)

i always put an NG tube down for barium or mri or anything where you have to drink large quantities of disgusting stuff coz I just cant make myself do it! id much rather the 30seconds of slight uncomfortableness to put the NG tube down than have to drink barium!!

Barium enema sounds about as fun as its name, but I haven't had one, so I nominate the barium swallow instead. First you have to somehow force down two large cups of unspeakable white liquid, then you have to hang around for 3 hours, or whatever, while the stuff goes through you. The second time I had one was even worse because I was ill that day and all I wanted to do was lie down; when the procedure was eventually over, I had a 2-hour commute home from central London. Fun!

No, why? Don't happen to know somebody called NiceCupOfTea there, do you? ;p

I was at St Mark's in Northwick Park hospital first of all, then the Royal Free in Hampstead. I'm now at Stoke Mandeville, a reassuringly easy 20-minute drive away and, more importantly, seems to be a decent hospital.

greyeyedblonde -

i totally agree with you. the first colonoscopy i had my GI hardly gave me anything. i was painfully awake for all of it, begging for drugs. kids should have this done to them instead of taking a field trip to a jail if they want to get "scared straight". i too had my colon perforated during a colonoscopy. but of course i found out like 2 hours after i was released and i went back and made them take x-rays of me cos i was in so much pain (they didnt want to believe me something was direly wrong). then i was admitted to the ER for emergency exploratory surgery. and this was 6 months after my first surgery....



after 17 years or so of living with this disease i can now drink anything. barium/contrast is so much easier now that it is flavored. but i will admit, i have never made it through the entire colonoscopy prep. i can get 1/2 to 2/3 way through the drink before i get serious convulsions/gag reflex which will make things come out the wrong end.

a colonoscopy where you are knocked out is cake - you are passed out! yeah the prep sucks, but that is the prep, not the TEST, which is the subject of the email thread.

the first NG tube i had was gnarly getting it in. it was like a scene from the exorcist and i hadnt eaten in like 5 days cos i just had surgery. the second time i told them to give me a hit of demmoral (sp?) first to relax me. that did the trick - tube went down no problem.

this is why i firmly believe it is hands down, without argument, the colonoscopy without any sedation or the barium enema. if you havent had either of these, once you do, you will change your vote and adamantly agree with me. but pray it doesnt happen. somethings are best left not experienced in our lifetimes...

Not really a test, but I've had 10 attempts at getting an NG tube in and all failed. I think they tried 6 times during 1 ER visit. Even after Valium, I couldn't stop shaking. Not like it was really necessary anyway, I already vomited up everything in my tract. It has since been noted in my chart that if they insist on putting in an NG tube that I be fully sedated.