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MRI of bowel with Barium and IV contrast?

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Posted 7/17/2012 3:37 PM (GMT 0)

Has anybody ever had an MRI of the small intestine (and large I assume) where you had to drink the barium beforehand and also get contrast injected into an IV before and during the MRI?  It’s been ages – probably 18 years when I was first being diagnosed – that I’ve had to drink the barium and get an x-ray. I do remember the barium making me run to the bathroom constantly afterwards, I assume this side effect hasn’t changed.  I am totally freaked out about this test – I’ve had one MRI in the past for an injury and even going in feet first I was completely freaked out by the small space.  Being in there, I assume head first this time, likely with abdominal pain plus having an IV in…..I can’t imagine this being a good experience for me L 

 

Has anybody else had this done?   I’m having pains in my upper left side and sometimes lower left side, and sometimes causing my stool to be pretty thin. He wanted to make sure I didn’t have any type of obstruction.  I guess at least its not the barium enema, which luckily I’ve never had!  Drinking 6 cups of barium isn’t fun either though.

Posted 7/17/2012 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
I think for an abdominal MRI you will not be in there head first. You can probably call the radiation facility ahead of time and ask about this. You can also ask your DR to prescribe an anti-anxiety med for the procedure.

I don't think you swallow barium for an MRI, but I haven't had this done so I don't know.

The IVs during MRIs aren't a big deal. They activate the contrast remotely while you're in the scanner. In every MRI I've had, the tech talks to me through the headphones to tell me what's coming up.
Posted 7/17/2012 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
My GI was talking about needing to do a barium swallow upper GI, small intestine study so yes I have heard of it.  We have not done this yet.  I think I read sometime back that barium enemas are contraindicated for people with UC but I am not positive about it.

 

Posted 7/17/2012 3:49 PM (GMT 0)
The barium swallow study and small bowel follow through series is typically done with X-rays, not MRI. I don't understand why you'd need barium for an MRI. You might need to do a bowel prep, though.
Posted 7/17/2012 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
It is definitely one where I drink the barium (or some liquid anyway, I guess I just assumed it was barium but maybe its something else).  The instructions/information I received from Mayo had a description of the test and it did say I will drink 6 1/2 cups of a contrast medium and 1 bottle of water (already enough to make you throw up!).  I guess I've had an IV contrast before when I had a kidney stone, so I'm not too worried about that. More about getting all that liquid down, about being freaked out during the MRI, and about going the bathroom for a day after to get rid of all the liquid.  I'm also hoping this doesn't upset my UC too much, I've been having normal BMs at least once a day (twice yesterday!) and softer ones the rest of the time. I don't want go go backwards but I do want to figure out what this pain is I'm having.

The instructions also said not to eat 4 hours before the test, and I'm trying to figure out how I'll take my Prednisone in the morning without eating.

Posted 7/17/2012 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Kazbern, and sorry for not including that part.  When we discussed it he was indeed talking about an x-ray study and not an MRI.

 

Posted 7/17/2012 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Kazbern, maybe its not barium but it does say a 'contrast liquid'.  It is definitely an MRI.  The instructions say Magentic Resonance (MR) Enterography.  No bowel prep needed before exam.
Posted 7/17/2012 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
Contrast liquid - probably not barium. I did an abdominal CT last year and had to drink a "contrast liquid." It was a foul-tasting kool-aid kind of thing that gave me diarrhea for a week. But it didn't make me feel bad during the CT, if that's any comfort to you.

I wasn't told to do any bowel prep for my CT and as it turns out my colon was full of stool (having motility problems over here!) and there were no findings for my colon since the contrast liquid could not get into the large bowel. Talk to your GI about this if you think you may have similar issues. I wish my GI had told me to do a liquid diet for a day and take a laxative so at least I could be somewhat empty.
Posted 7/17/2012 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm, thanks kazbern.  I do tend to be 'backed-up' to so I should probably eat lightly Thursday night (which won't be easy after going to a hot yoga class).  Although I usually do have a BM first thing in the morning so hopefully that will help.  I'll make sure to take my Metamucil the night before too as usual.  I usually also take it in the morning, not sure if I should do that or not. 

I definitely hope I don't get diarrhea for a week though!  I'll be so mad if it sets me backwards in my progress.   

Posted 7/17/2012 5:14 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think the diarrhea from the contrast is harmful, just annoying. It was definitely NOT a flare-ish kind of diarrhea.
Posted 7/17/2012 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
Ok, whew!  Thanks Kazbern, you are definitely making me feel better about this test - although not the MRI part, wish it was a CT scan. Those tiny MRI machines freak me out.

Still not looking forward to drinking all that liquid, I'm sure it can't taste worse than Moviprep did although I threw most of that up. Hopefully I don't get the same reaction with this!  I noticed the instructions say they can put a tube down your nose to get the contrast in your stomach also, although that doesn't sound too pleasant either (unless I'm sedated anyway!)

Posted 7/17/2012 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
I was just in the hospital.  They did a MRI on me.  Did not have to drink anything.  They put liquid in my iv.  very easy and quick.
Posted 7/18/2012 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
I did an MRI in the hospital once. They did give me a bunch of crap to drink before-hand that tasted pretty bad. I was worried about having to go to the bathroom during it too, especially because they would need to start over. Thankfully that didn't happen and it actually went well. MRI techs were cool guys I'd say it was one of the highlights of my hospital stay lol
Posted 9/22/2012 6:00 PM (GMT 0)
I had an MRI done just yesterday. I had to drink that Barium stuff and it was disgusting. They wanted to me drink two bottles of it but I was only able to get 1 1/2 of them down in 2 hrs... I heard them out in the hall saying how I didn't drink enough but we did the MRI and hopefully the images came out okay... I honestly don't know why I needed an MRI anyway though since my doctor already had a colonoscopy/endoscopy done on me and found out I had Crohns. I just hope I don't have to do it all over again and drink the 2 bottles again because I didn't have enough.

When the procedure began I was shaking like crazy because I was so afraid I was going to puke all the stuff up. Once I laid down on the bed and they put all the stuff on me I felt a lot better and I went in head first. I'm really tiny so I was completely fine with the whole thing and wasn't claustrophobic. The people were really nice and patient. Honestly, I would've smacked myself if I was the nurse I was so bad. Anyway, the nurses gave me headphones to listen to the radio and to them. It was a really easy process just holding my breath for 10-20 seconds which is a breeze for me.

So my only worry is that I'll have to retake this entire test because I didn't have enough Barium in me... Or that they'll find that my Crohns is flaring up or something.
Posted 9/23/2012 12:18 PM (GMT 0)
I did both and thought they were nothing compared to a colonoscopy. I wouldn't worry too much.
Posted 9/23/2012 1:42 PM (GMT 0)
I've had this done several time -no biggie.
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