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Just completed Capsule Endoscopy (in record time!)

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/23/2017 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
I'm undiagnosed and have all of my intestines. I did the Capsule Endoscopy today. The nurse told me to expect to pill to pass in my stool in 24-72 hours. A little less than 6 hours after I ingested it, there it was flashing away in my toilet.

The nurse assured me that the images wouldn't be blurred or anything from the rapid transit.

But is that normal? Less than 6 hours from mouth to toilet? Will that tell the doctors anything?

Could that account for why I'm losing weight so fast and don't feel nourished even when I eat well?
Posted 3/24/2017 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
I sometimes have something for lunch and see it again by dinner so I wouldn't be surprised. However I've never done the pill cam.
Posted 3/24/2017 1:44 AM (GMT 0)
That's pretty fast.

Typical times are 10-30 minutes in stomach, then 5-7 hours in small intestine, then many hours (24-72) in colon before coming out.

But yes, sometimes it goes through much quicker; and sometimes it's much slower. It can vary from person to person and even with the same person, from one day to the next.

I had one done where it stayed in my stomach and didn't move the entire recording time. I was having really bad nausea at the time, so that showed I had some gastroparesis going on.

I've also, as JChristensen pointed out, gone through times when I could identify what I ate just a few hours later in BMs.

Your times are definitely on the fast side, but that doesn't mean a whole lot in itself. If you have been having diarrhea, or even if you did a prep the night before, it can go through the colon much quicker (minutes to hours instead of hours to days).
Posted 3/24/2017 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
I've been having diarrhea 15-25 times a day for the last 3 weeks so I guess that makes sense. I've also seen things I ate come back around 6-8 hours later. I guess I was thinking since I had fasted so much that would somehow slow things down.

I was worried that the horrific, constant cramping I've been having might be due to some kind of stricture. It's a relief to have the pill pass so quickly without incident, in that regard.
Posted 3/24/2017 3:10 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, if you've been having that much diarrhea, it's not surprising the capsule went through pretty fast. Your colon is pushing out as quickly as it can anything that comes in. Fasting so much might help slow down transit of actual food, but probably doesn't affect the capsule transit time.
Posted 3/24/2017 11:42 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sure there was somebody here who said her pill cam passed in three hours. Think she posted in one my pill cam threads, so I could probably find her post again. Like you she had a lot of diarrhoea. In the days when I still had a colon, I would sometimes see bits of the food I had for dinner in the toilet bowl 3-4 hours later.

I never saw my pill cam (either the dummy or the real one) in the toilet bowl, so no idea how long it took to come out. But the real pill cam took nearly an hour just to come out of my stomach, so I doubt it was that fast.
Posted 3/24/2017 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hello everyone, just had to add that I had the pill endoscopy a few months ago (I had my colon removed 3 years ago and have had problems with my j-pouch on and off.)

Anyway, my camera pill completed it's trip in a little over 2 hours. Later when I went back to talk with the doctor about the results, the pictures turned out fine, not blurry at all. I was surprised by the transit time, but my doctor didn't really think it was an issue. But I do have diarrhea everyday ... and with the enema and laxative I took to get ready to do the pill, I'm sure my system sped up even more than usual.

Hope this helps and God bless you smile
Posted 3/24/2017 7:49 PM (GMT 0)
Well. The doctor just called. She said the pill cam found inflammation in my large intestine (a bonus of it going through me so fast is it visualize the whole colon) and a bit of the small intestine.

She said ideally, they would do a colonoscopy (for biopsies) before medicating me because meds can mask the inflammation. But, given how sick I am, she wants me to start on prednisone today and report back whether I'm feeling better on Monday.

Am I making a big mistake by taking the pred before my colonoscopy?
Posted 3/24/2017 9:06 PM (GMT 0)
Have you not had a colonoscopy before? Can you remind us of what tests have been done? Usually a capsule endoscopy is one of the last tests run, only when/if other tests are indeterminate.

Where in the colon (large intestine) was the inflammation found, and where in the small intestine?
Posted 3/24/2017 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, sorry beave.

Problems began in July 2014.
I had a colonoscopy in December 2014. By that point I wasn't feeling too badly. Colonoscopy showed nothing except a small area of abnormal (erythematous/bleeding) mucosa in the rectum, which was attributed to bowel prep injury. The biopsies were normal, including the TI biopsies.
In August 2016, blood tests showed elevated ESR.
September 30, 2016: CT Enterography - normal
Early March 2017: Blood tests showed elevated CRP, ESR and Eosinophilia.
March 23, 2017: Pill Cam showing inflammation in small and large bowel.

Since I only had the pill cam yesterday, I don't have the full report. In fact, they told me it would take a week. But, I'm guessing they do a prelim view to look for anything obvious so hence the call from my Dr. today. So I'm not sure about location.

The colonoscopy has been scheduled for April 14 - 3 weeks from today. My prednisone rx is for 4 weeks (tapering down).
Posted 3/24/2017 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks - I think you've given some/all that history before, but I couldn't remember! I have a hard enough time remembering my own history! smile

The eosinophilia is an interesting result. Do you have a lot of allergies? Asthma? Do you take NSAIDs like aspirin or ibuprofen?

Let us know when you get to see the full report for the capsule endoscopy.

The colonoscopy is a good idea as it will allow biopsies. They could be key in determining whether or not you have Crohn's, or something like eosinophilic enteritis.
Posted 3/25/2017 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
I have pollen allergies but no food allergies that I'm aware of. Food doesn't seem to have much impact on my symptoms. No asthma.

I take ibuprofen but haven't taken it more than 2-3 times in the last 3 months.

I guess my question is, will the biopsies show anything if I've been on prednisone for 3 weeks?
Posted 3/25/2017 1:28 AM (GMT 0)

noodlesnoodles said...
I have pollen allergies but no food allergies that I'm aware of. Food doesn't seem to have much impact on my symptoms. No asthma.

I take ibuprofen but haven't taken it more than 2-3 times in the last 3 months.

I guess my question is, will the biopsies show anything if I've been on prednisone for 3 weeks?

It depends on what the underlying cause of the inflammation is. If you have Crohn's, the prednisone likely won't heal the mucosa to the point that biopsies are normal; they should still show some type of activity. But if you have something else, like eosinophilic enteritis, then it's somewhat possible but still not likely that prednisone can clear it up to the point that the tissue returns to normal and biopsies don't show anything. It's also possible that the biopsies still could show something too.

So my answer is, unfortunately, that's a good question and there isn't a sure-fire answer. Taking the pred may or may not change what is seen in the biopsies, depending on what you may or may not have.
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