Small Bowel Follow Through

I hate to keep posting & bugging, this is all so new for me & I am trying to decipher what is going on with my body. I know the GI said that I have an IBD & she wasn't sure which one yet. I keep thinking about it & can't get it out of my head & I am wondering if I could get some input from you all who have been there before. Since I did not have a small bowel biopsy when I had my EGD/colonoscopy done, or at the time, a small bowel follow through, she didn't know. I had the small bowel follow through the next day. It was horrible & don't want to do it again. I have felt worse ever since & I thought it wouldn't be that bad. I guess I am just sissying out. Anyway at the test, the technician said that the barium went through me very quickly & I figured that was a good thing & I could get out of there sooner. Then when the radiologist went to do the flouroscopy or what have you, there was a big blob of the barium in my lower right area. He said he couldn't get a good view so he wanted to wait to see if the barium would "move along". I went to the bathroom a couple of times, and I had another x-ray done, the technician said the barium was shown throughout the colon so she showed it to him, he said wait until the next one. So we did another one, she showed it to him, he came in & did the flouroscopy & he showed me the screen & the blob & said the small bowel looks decent, he can't tell one way or the other if it is ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease. I thought everything was fine & the test came out normal except for that area that kept the barium.

Then when I told my mother, she seemed concerned about the pool of barium. I would think if it was something like a fistula or something like that they would tell me & keep me there or have my doctor call me immediately. That was Thursday, and now it's Sunday, so I am sure everything is fine & I told her that, but she's all worried. I think she's worried for nothing & that this is a good sign that everything is fine.

Could someone clue me in to if this is something to be concerned about? Is this normal to have the barium pool up in an area? Thanks.

They did not think that I had IBD. They were looking for cancer, I am sure of it. With my family history, that's what they were looking for. I didn't see a GI for the EGD/colonoscopy, I saw a general surgeon & I wasn't having much bowel problems at the time except more frequent BMs & blood in the stool & mucus (that I never mentioned & they never asked about.) So I don't think they were worried about IBD. They did biopsies of my colon & stomach, but not of my small bowel. The GI I just saw said that the "crypt distortion" means I have an IBD (along with the weight loss & other symptoms), she just doesn't know which one.

Any ideas as to what this pool of barium during the small bowel follow through means?

yes, where there is a puddle there is narrowing just after it.

Hi huckleberry

do you ever wonder what makes up these torture procedures i do quite often!i had the small bowel study where they put the tube down through your nose into your throat then you have to swallow the barium it was hell on earth i never want to go through that procedure again i was in the room for 2 hours now i read up on all my preocedures so i know what to expect before hand!

Theres nothing that shocks me anymore lol i sympthise with you whole heartedly us cronnies never have an easy ride do we!

I'm taking a GUESS that the barium where it was pooled was having a difficult time passing thru the ileocecal valve and into the cecum. The most likely area for Crohn's to first strike is at the very end of the terminal ileum (TI) at or just before the ileocecal valve(ICV). When doing a colonoscopy it isn't all that unusual that they can't get thru the ICV to get a good look or biopsies in the TI. (By the way, the cecum is the first part of the colon and the appendix hangs off the bottom of the cecum whilst the ICV adjoins/enters the cecum on the back or inner side which is what makes the viewing via SBFT difficult in that area, especially if there is pooled barium there).

Even when Crohn's strikes the colon it is difficult in its early stages to discern it from colitis until such time as it either "skips" to another area or it enters more deeply into the layers of the colon. Colitis spreads evenly as it progresses and it only affects the first layer or so of the colon's lining. Crohn's tends to "skip" and leave healthy areas in between and "can" eventually burrow its way all the way thru the intestinal wall in severe or untreated cases (perforation).

Fortunately, early treatment is similar or the same for both Crohn's and for colitis.

I still haven't received the results yet & am concerned a little. I have to go to work today (it has been difficult to work lately & I have missed quite a bit of work). I am tired already & have only been up an hour. I hope the cramps end.

I thought the barium would show up as a big bright blob, but it was a dark area & then a bright area to the left... Is it normal for the barium to have a hard time getting through the ICV?

How do you deal with the belly pain & cramping? Is there something I can do to lessen that pain?

Hi huckleberrie
I'm just passing along a big hug as you wait for your results. Waiting is the worst. I hope everything works out. Just cross your fingers that they don't say, "Why don't we repeat the test for kicks and giggles". Augh! SBFT's are the worst!

Cheers

Veebo~ I am so glad you posted. It makes me feel better, not feeling so alone. I hate to mention to my family how crappy I feel because I don't want anyone to worry, but I am tired of feeling like this. My GI is wanting to do another colonoscopy (last one in October) on me, too, but I don't want to. The last one I did with an EGD at the SAME TIME to save $ (no insurance) & I don't ever want to go through that again, ever! I felt so bad all week afterwards. I am hoping she doesn't say I have to have one. Ugh.

I am also hopeful that we both hear about what the DX is & finally get some treatment. This Azulfidine is not working for me....

Thanks LavendarBlue for the support. Things have been a little scary for me lately.... I will take all the support I can get!

Hukleberrie. My family gets upset too when I talk to them about my issues ( I also have Celiac disease, PCOS, and IR). Sometimes when I hang up with my mom she is all choked up about to cry. That makes me feel really bad. So now I tend to button up around them and just say everything will be fine. Thankfully I can spill my guts (ha ha kind of literally) to my husband and he seems to be able absorb it all. He is a great man so I am lucky to have him. Just know that you can always vent here. There are some great folks on here that will always help through it.

And still nothing! Not a word! And it still hurts!

How long do you all usually have to wait to receive test results?