How many have had capsule endoscopy?

How many of you have had this test? Why was it done?

I have a new doctor which besides this I otherwise really like so far. I have done a scope with her all disease is in my left lower colon only 40 cm and rectum. Rest of colon and TI was healthy and normal. I have never had any symptoms or indication that there is disease in my small bowel, but she is insisting on me doing a capsule endoscopy and can't believe I never had one done.

I told her last appt I wanted to wait because after the hospital I needed to see what my costs were and where I was at with out of pocket costs ect and since this was not an immediate need I didn't want to add any additional tests or costs or stress at this time.

Well I got a rejection letter from my insurance saying she started a pre-approval and they are denying it. I am mad, I told her not at this time. Now her office is calling me wanting info so they can do an appeal. This is exactly why I didn't want to do this now! I have enough on my plate and since starting Humira I am 80% symptom free and keep getting better.

Upon reading the insurance rejection letter, it doesn't seem like this test is really used for Crohn's much especially if the disease is contained to the colon. I feel like she is ordering an expensive test just to order a test maybe.

I had the camera swallow test. At the time, I was very anemic and my colonoscopy and upper endoscopy looked clear. With the camera test, they found a bleeding ulcer in my small intestine. A later colonoscopy showed Crohn's in my terminal ileum. They would not have diagnosed my Crohn's disease without that test. I did not have to be cleared out like with a colonoscopy....I can't remember exactly what I did to prepare, but I know for sure I didn't have to to the whole prep. If you are anemic or having other problems, you might want to let your doc argue with your insurance company on your behalf. Crohn's can show up one place like the colon and then show up somewhere else in your digestive tract at a later date. I hope you can work it out with your insurance if your doc thinks it's necessary. The test is not painful, you just swallow the camera which is the size of a large vitamin pill. I did feel like the uni-bomber with the transmitting equipment. They told me I could work with it on, but I'm glad I took the day off...I would have felt very uncomfortable working while wearing the equipment. I hope this helps.

I had the capsule endoscopy done on the same day after the colonoscopy.

I swallowed the camera with this vest on. My GI told me that it would show any inflammation that could be present in the upper GI tract thus, showing much inflammation above the large intestine.

Luckily, my insurance covered it when I had this done when I was 17.

HI YP9
My CD is located in the mall bowel. When I had the pill cam done about 20 months ago, you could see tons of ulcers in the small bowel. My doc said I had a 6 out of a scale of 10, with 10 being worst case. My symptons were not nearly as bad as many here, but I felt sick almost daily, no energy, pain... I hated feeling sick daily and having to spend so much time in bed.
Yes, my approach is natural, it is following a diet called SCD. This has turned things around for me 100%. I feel great almost every day and have virtually no symptoms.

One more thing. I knew so little about food before the Dx. Now I read and learn all the time. I continue to kick up the program. Right now, I am increasing coconut for the anti-fungal properties, and increasing gelatin for the healing properties. Once I get settled with this I will find the next thing and kick that up. I see this as a life long project toward continued healthy eating. Oh one more thing, although I see food as the most important medicine I can take, the food I eat tastes great.

I am one of the lucky ones where diet, suppliments and exercise really helps

Dave

dfdavedf said...
HI YP9
My CD is located in the mall bowel. When I had the pill cam done about 20 months ago, you could see tons of ulcers in the small bowel. My doc said I had a 6 out of a scale of 10, with 10 being worst case. My symptons were not nearly as bad as many here, but I felt sick almost daily, no energy, pain... I hated feeling sick daily and having to spend so much time in bed.
Yes, my approach is natural, it is following a diet called SCD. This has turned things around for me 100%. I feel great almost every day and have virtually no symptoms.

One more thing. I knew so little about food before the Dx. Now I read and learn all the time. I continue to kick up the program. Right now, I am increasing coconut for the anti-fungal properties, and increasing gelatin for the healing properties. Once I get settled with this I will find the next thing and kick that up. I see this as a life long project toward continued healthy eating. Oh one more thing, although I see food as the most important medicine I can take, the food I eat tastes great.

I am one of the lucky ones where diet, suppliments and exercise really helps

Dave

Hello!

Thank you for your answer!

I hope that your post will read others too and that some one of them will have something good from your words. I have. I feel that is great that you can control your diseasse with natural aprocah. I totally agree that food is one of
best medicine and also grain of most of evil diseasses.

Have read about SCD. Only thing I do wrong, as I think are to many carbs. Do you eat rice, potato, since they are not
alowed in SCD. What about soy?

I will try coconut oil. Have read about its healing properties. But never heard about gelatine beeing so good. That is interesting! I wish more of us would be able to control this DD with food. Because I am still loosing weight and I must drink liquid diet.

Your approach is truly inspiring and you are lucky that all of that works for you!

Hope to hear more from you!

Wish you best!

YP9

I just did this last week. It took a little while to get insurance to cover it, but they eventually did and the test was a piece of cake once you get over the fact that you have to swallow a large piece of plastic and metal that is flashing bright blue. I am a chewables and liquids girl so that was the only hard part. I am glad I did it. Mine was normal so an ibd is pretty much ruled out. I felt like at least once I should have my whole gi system looked at. And, there is no prep so it shouldn't mess you up.

I could not be DX until they did the camera pill. With it , they can see your whole digestive track instead of just the last few feet .