Had the dummy pill cam yesterday

Or, to give it its technical name, patency capsule.

I had to stop eating and drinking at 10pm the night before and be at the hospital by 8:30am. It was all over by about 8:45am. The nurse gave me a gigantic pill to swallow, which I gamely did with a large slug of water. She asked me if I wanted to take a photo. The thought hadn't even occurred to me, but apparently there are actually people who like to take photos of the pill and upload them to Facebook. So I got my phone out and took a snapshot. It came out too dark, but I felt like asking the nurse to stand there with a pill in her palm for five minutes while I fiddled around with the ISO settings was taking the piss a bit.

I was given several pairs of disposable gloves to fish around for the capsule with, which I regarded with no small amount of horror. I'm to call the nurse when I see the pill, which I haven't yet. On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me if I have already passed the pill without seeing it, given that I haven't been able to bring myself to use a single pair of the gloves.

I couldn't eat for two hours after swallowing the pill, whereupon I could have a light snack. I asked the nurse what that meant. She gave examples of a sandwich or a jacket potato. I managed to persuade myself that a Chicken Sandwich meal counted as a "light snack", and went to McDonald's at midday. I needed to go while I was there. The toilet was impeccably clean to be fair, unlike "the worst toilet in Scotland"*, but I wasn't fishing around in a McDonald's toilet bowl. No... just no.

After lunch, I went to my gardening place, where I do gardening with a group on Monday afternoons. Needed to go when I got there. I peered intently into the toilet bowl, but all I could see were a few sad-looking beanspouts floating in the water (we'd had a Chinese takeaway the evening before). I prodded mournfully at the semi-formed stool with a small branch I had picked up on the way to the toilet, but it just muddied the waters even more, so to speak.

Last night I didn't feel too well, but a large part of that was probably down to sleep deprivation. The food probably didn't help either, but I find it makes no difference to my symptoms whether I eat the healthiest, most organic, food in the world or a Chicken Sandwich meal. If anything I probably overdid the fibre with the beansprouts. Anyway, I went to bed and had a dull ache in my lower right quadrant, which kept me awake for a while. Suspected it was the pill. But even though I got up a few times to have a BM, I couldn't see anything. Even in my own bathroom I couldn't face using those sodding gloves.

Don't forget, I don't have a colon so I never get solid stool. It's either type 6 or 7 on the bristol stool chart, which means that there is nothing to really get a hold of. The most solid type of stool I manage to pass is a formless mush which instantly sinks to the bottom of the bowl.

I hope I see this pill today. I don't have any pain at the moment, but I don't want to have to go back into hospital for an abdominal x-ray

*Don't watch the YouTube video of this Trainspotting scene unless you have a strong stomach

Wow! That's quite a story! I never had the dummy pill, just the regular test and they didn't expect me to go looking for the pill. I never saw it btw. I'd almost rather have the x-ray then to have to fish through every darn poop, and in public places!!! It sure seems like it should have passed by now. Let us know what happens...

Thanks JaSanne. Thing is, I've tried to 'probe' the toilet bowl several times already and it just doesn't work. Sometimes the water is completely brown after I go too, and I can't see anything through it. Unless this pill floats up to the top of the water, I don't think I'm ever going to find it - I should have asked the nurse if the pill floats or not.

I'm gonna give it a couple more days before phoning the nurse, just in case the pill is still in there.

Edit: Sorry scifigal, we posted at almost exactly the same time! To be honest, I prefer collecting stool samples, grim though that is, to searching for an invisible pill. If I'm in the hospital, I just ask a nurse or receptionist for a sick bowl (a clean one, obviously). If I'm at home, I find an old plastic container and then chuck it away afterwards. I can't possibly go straight into the titchy collection bottle you are given; it would be like trying to aim a basketball at a hoop 1000 metres away - or something :-/

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 12/6/2016 12:33:46 PM (GMT-7)

Yeah, those collection bottles are tiny. Most labs give me a "hat", or a plastic bowl that is made to sit on the toilet to go to the bathroom into to collect samples. Thank goodness!

Oh goodness, I would have been mortified when they gave me the gloves too. As if stool samples aren't fun enough, but at least I usually get the hat to sit on with that too! Now they want us fishing around in the bowl each time. Why do we get all the fun? *sigh*

Hope you are able to see it today, hopefully without much fishing. I'm glad to hear they don't have you do a big prep, or do they for the "real" pill? That's one reason why I've kind of avoided wanting to have that test. The idea of a prep, and then not eating much the next day while it's in there taking pictures sounds worse then a colonoscopy. I'm always doomed to a migraine from not eating and the preps.

Still not seen the pill :-/

I'm going to call the IBD nurse tomorrow and see what she says. She said something about an abdominal x-ray if I didn't pass the pill, so I dunno what will happen. I think there's a good chance now that I won't get the proper pill cam, which I'm disappointed with: I was looking forward to swallowing a camera and having my small bowel photographed :(

@Jen - I think the prep for the real pill is the same as for the fake one. The not eating isn't as bad as it sounds: I was more anxious about the not drinking part personally. But I was able to have lunch at midday - I guess now I am regretting that McDonald's slightly :/ Think in retrospect I probably should have waited a few more hours. But you don't have to starve all day - at some point you can eat normally again.

@scifigal - That's a decent idea, but too late for me now :-/

Gumby - I think it's 50/50 at this point whether I passed the pill or not. I wouldn't like to take a gamble either way. Anyway, I'm gonna make a cup of tea and then call the nurse and hope she's in.

I heard that the real pill cams have flashing lights to take film and that when it passes turn the light out and see it flashing in the bowl? you would think the test pill would have alight on it as well. I mean a little led and watch battery is all I'm sure.

Have had the x-ray, folks. I asked the technician if the pill could be seen, but she just said my IBD nurse would get in touch with me. She also said it takes two weeks for the results. By then it'll be practically Christmas, so I probably won't get the results until 2017 =/

I'm still in two minds about whether the pill is there or not. Had loads of gurgles in the lower right quadrant this morning and in general I've been having more gurgles than usual there. The pill should dissolve in the next few days (the IBD nurse told me 10 days), so if the gurgles disappear then maybe it was the pill causing them.

PS: Made the GP appointment in plenty of time. It went pretty well. I've got a thyroid blood test for the 19th December.

Yeah, well my local GI is not the brightest bulb on the block, and at the time, I knew there was some inflammation, but I didn't understand that it was a stricture. Oh well, can't go backwards. I hope the pill went through so you can get the real test. Even the pill cam has its limitations though. The first time I had the pill cam was when I was being diagnosed, and they saw the bleeding ulcer at the terminal ileum that couldn't be visualized with the colonoscopy. The second time, I was very anemic and the pill cam results were normal....so somehow it missed the site of bleeding altogether. The pill bounces around as it takes hundreds of pictures, but I guess it can still miss some spots. I hope you don't have to wait for Christmas to get results!

WOW NCOT-- this is an epic story....The Case of the Lost Pill Cam or something. I've never had one, always told traditional method was better. Wondering why it's not neon coloured or something that can be traced like a kinda microchip for a dog. If my time ever comes I'll be sure to poop in a plastic container until I pass it.

Have you started Entyvio yet? opps yes you have. Any noticeable change?

Yes very sloooow acting. I noticed after the 2nd dose a tiny improvement in my urgency....then nothing. Gave it the 7 month trial....now on humira.....no closures of fistulas despite outrageous dosage:(

Feeling a better for a few days is wonderful, however fleeting. I hope it continues to build and you get relief.

I'm not only on a double dose but I've redone the loading doses (4 injections each) 3 times! The issue is that I keep abscessing. It seems every 3 weeks since Oct....dealing with the most disgusting drainage as we speak. So according to my GI I won't heal on H or R with an active infection. Unless something comes up this week I won't have surgery for a seton until sometime in the New Year. So if my abscess schedule continues, I'll be abscessing on xmas. Oh the joy of staying home alone and sitting on a donut. However, there is a glimmer of hope. I've somehow convinced my GI to try me Hyperberic Oxygen. It's a very intense treatment. Everyday for 6 weeks locked in a glass tube for
2 hrs. Again, unless surgery comes up you'll find me in there starting Tues. No books, no phone, no makeup, no hair products..AHHHH! Imagine the state of me. But from the study that Canada Mark provided, there was 100% closure of fistulas in all 9 patients. (Sorry, I'm digressing from your post).

I tried Remi about 10 years ago. It worked for 11 weeks then wasn't effective. Then I got Pyoderma....and all hell broke loose. Remi was abandoned and about 2 years later I was put on IVIG and wow it cleared the PG and my UC. That's how I ended up on IVIG for the last 8 years. Until now.

Anyway....have you passed the capsule yet?