Just had my MRE - Waiting on Results - Also Informing People About an MRE Itself

Had my MRE done yesterday. Had to travel about 2 hours (the way my dad drives anyway) to get there since its a specialty test. The day before I was told IV contrast only, which sounded awesome cause I read online that you have to drink barium. Well when I got there I had to drink barium. Was told 3 containers (each container fills 2 cups) then when I was given the second container I was told 4 containers... I figured the number would keep going up.

Once I started drinking the third container I was going to the bathroom non stop. At first it was just a lot of urinating but then turned into diarrhea as well. Real fun. I asked the nurse how they were going to do the test on the toilet. She laughed but I was serious. When she realized that she let me use the toilet 2 more times before the test. Yes I did need to go during the test but I was able to hold it.

If you haven't had an MRE before its similar to an MRI yet you have to keep your arms above your head, hold your breath periodically (up to like 30 seconds sometimes, if you cannot hold it for that long I was told that you can let your breath out slowly in a controlled manner but that's after trying your best to hold it) and is with contrast. You get IV contrast and of course barium. They gave me something else through the IV mid test before the IV contrast as well which they said slows down the bowels to get better images. The nurse/tech kept asking if I was ok after it was given. I was confused until suddenly I became very nauseous. I told her and she said she was waiting for me to say that as she came up beside me with something to throw up in. I held it down and it went away without me having to throw up all over her but she said that many people do throw up after they get that stuff in the IV. After I was given the IV contrast it seemed like everything was over rather quickly. I was told the test would take 40 minutes before it began but it seemed like less than that.

For the rest of the day I had constant diarrhea. Had I known this I would have been prepared with wet wipes, better toilet paper in my purse, and some diaper rash cream or something to numb my butt. The diarrhea didn't let up until the evening. It also produced a lot of gas (mainly from the barium I believe). Was super fun. I can't think of another time where I just said, "fuck it" and farted and let loose in a public restroom stall with other people in the stalls. If I didn't let it out though then I would have thrown up. I sucked up my pride and embarrassment and just went.

Instead of getting right back on the road to head home (with a two hour drive ahead that's a really bad idea unless you're alone and wearing diapers) we went to the zoo (I was with both my parents, not just my dad and my mom wanted to go to the zoo). I also didn't sleep the night before, just painting a picture here. So I'm barely paying attention to much of anything, wandering around and anytime I saw something interesting I had to go to the bathroom. I'd hold it until I got the third warning but then had to go find a bathroom. I think I spent more time in the bathroom and walking to and from the bathroom then enjoying the zoo (at least I've been there before so the magic wasn't ruined completely). One time since I was so tired from no sleep and the constant diarrhea I heard my parents calling to me in the distance from behind me until I realized that I was following the wrong people. :ybatty: No diarrhea today though which is good.

I was told that my GI would get my MRE results "soon." Dunno how soon that is and also don't know when my GI will call. I'm assuming next week. If he doesn't call by Wednesday then I'll call them to remind them.

The purpose of doing this test for me was to find out how bad the stricture is since I had an obstruction this year in June and do have symptoms of a partial obstruction from time to time not to mention daily symptoms of a stricture. This will help us decide if I should go on Cimzia or up the 6MP or Methotrexate (if there's still a fair amount of inflammation) or if we should start talking about surgery (if its mainly scar tissue).

Just hanging out now and waiting for the results but thought I'd share my day and info about the test as well if you haven't had one. Will update when I get the results.


aweis, Cross-stitch gal

The injection to slow the bowels you got was probably glucagon and you are right once the contrast is injected the test is literally like 2 minutes longer. I have had so many MRE's done and they suck to be blunt. My arms and back hurt the rest of the day and the diarrhea is awful.

Be sure to drink lots of water to flush that stuff out of your system. You really shouldn't have to wait so long for the results. Did you have it done in a hospital? The radiologists usually read and send the reports to doctors within 24 hours.

I hope you don't get any bad news. The waiting period is awful but at least you will now know what's going on in there. Feel better!

Ya I was told to drink lots of water to flush all that crap out. I forgot to mention that. Yes it was done at a hospital that's in the next county over but a fax wont take long. I don't think it will take long for the results to be sent, its more a matter of when my GI decides to call.

Thank you

I know the docs are busy but it's not fair making someone wait too long. It's nerve wrecking. I keep calling and bug them. If I need to drink that awful stuff the least they can do is call me or email the report.

Thanks for thorough description of the procedure. I thought the easy rosy picture painted by the doctors was probably wrong. They want to do an MRE on our daughter but she has been through so much I keep stalling, hoping a better method will be found or she will get better and won't need it. Again thank you.

Eema23 CT scans can get great images too unfortunately they give off a lot of radiation. This is why MRIs and MREs are preferred to repeat x-rays and CT scans.

Sometimes that easy rosy picture helps get the tests done rather than knowing the truth and fear to actually go through with it. I had a lot of unpleasant tests when I was a child (diagnosed age 9) and the MRE so far is not the worst test that I've had done. The worst test for me was the barium enema with x-ray but some people don't mind that test as much. Even the small bowel follow through with x-ray where you drink barium was worse than the MRE when I was a kid because it was an older form of barium. It was very chalky, unpleasant tasting and you had to drink a lot of it. The barium I drank yesterday had the texture of juice, so easy compared to drinking that milk shake sludge in the past and the flavor was easier to get down, not too bad. Worst part was the frequent diarrhea honestly but the test is important as I need to understand the severity of the stricture I have. So if your daughter needs one then hopefully she'll get it done.

Hey Jennifer,

Ughh, I am glad you made it through the MRE ok. I had that last year. Awful it was. When they injected me with the glucagon( this paralyzes the bowels for a minute or two), I thought I was going to barf in the machine. It was so awful. I also barely made it to the toilet after drinking all that stuff. IT was not the normal barium at all. It was light yellow nasty sweet tasting stuff. I did Not do well with it because it has ton of artificial sweeteners in it which I cannot tolerate at all. That is likely what caused the massive diarrhea. I wont ever drink that stuff again, it made me sooo sick. I have read that you really do not need to drink that stuff at all. You can drink any liquid, like rice milk or even water. If you have a good radiologist reading it, they will be able to see any abnormalities. They just have people drink that stuff so it is easier and quicker for the radiologists to read( it makes their job easier I guess). A lady I use to work with, her husband is a doctor and he is the one who said these tests can be done without drinking that stuff, you just need a competent radiologist reading it. I was worried because I know I may need to do this test again one day and I will not be able to drink that stuff. At least their are options I guess for those who cannot drink it.

I am glad the diarrhea stopped. Wow, you are brave to have went to the zoo afterwards. I was so sick, I had my husband rush home( literally blowing stop signs) as I had to get to a toilet and fast!! I also was really really sick to my stomach the whole day as well. I would say that was one of the worst tests I have endured, and I have endured a lot of tests in the last 10 years for various issues.....

Jennifer,
Thanks for reminding me of the importance of these tests. The problem is our daughter was upset at the idea of having to hold still in the MRI, and would likely have the teenage equivalent of a temper tantrum when asked to swallow bad tasting or feeling anything. The pediatric gastro and nurses from her practice seemed to think the contrast dye could be put through daughter's PEG tube but when I talked with the radiologist I was told the contrast would clog the tube and it must go in orally. When I followed up with our daughter's Gastro, she agreed the results would not change her treatment ( she is on remiocade). I'm sure it will be done sooner or later but unless it becomes critical, I'd like to wait.

Eema23, I'm not sure about the PEG tube but when my son, 16 at the time, had an MRE back in February, he used an NG tube so he wouldn't have to deal with drinking it. He had never had an NG tube but said it was much easier that drinking the stuff. That might be an option when/if you are faced with this type of testing. The radiologist, attending GI, and his GI said they got great images.

Jennifer, the nurse that gave C the glucogon was the same with C kept asking are you ok, he was confused as well, until all of the sudden the nausea came over him, he did get a little sick but not much and said this test was much better than the SBFT, said that was partly due to the amount of barium he had to drink with it though.

The stuff you drink is actually Not that bad as far as taste goes. I mean I would think it would be WAY easier to drink it than to have it put in through a tube in the nose. I think the worst part is the after effects of the stuff ( the diarrhea and the nausea from the glucagon). You can request NOT to have the glucagon and also you can request she have something else to drink, not that stuff. I have heard of others on here drink Rice milk instead. All they are doing is filling the intestines so they get a clearer picture. That is another option to talk to her GI doc about.

Eema23 said:

Jennifer,
Thanks for reminding me of the importance of these tests. The problem is our daughter was upset at the idea of having to hold still in the MRI, and would likely have the teenage equivalent of a temper tantrum when asked to swallow bad tasting or feeling anything. The pediatric gastro and nurses from her practice seemed to think the contrast dye could be put through daughter's PEG tube but when I talked with the radiologist I was told the contrast would clog the tube and it must go in orally. When I followed up with our daughter's Gastro, she agreed the results would not change her treatment ( she is on remiocade). I'm sure it will be done sooner or later but unless it becomes critical, I'd like to wait.

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The stuff you drink is actually Not that bad as far as taste goes. I mean I would think it would be WAY easier to drink it than to have it put in through a tube in the nose. I think the worst part is the after effects of the stuff ( the diarrhea and the nausea from the glucagon)

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Ihurt I think that would be individual, since my son did not like the drink(barium was too sweet to him and he didn't think he could drink the full amount needed without it making him sick) he chose the NG tube. The tube only took 5 seconds to insert(he had not had one before). But he did know that alot countries use enteral nutrition as the first line of treatment with CD in kids and it is often given through NG tube. Older kids can insert and remove the tube at will.

I think the after effects are individual as well as my son did not have diarrhea after having the test and the nausea from the glucagon only lasted a few minutes after having the injection.

I got the results of the test on Monday. Nothing was found. My GI said that that doesn't mean I don't have scar tissue from my previous surgery (clearly ) but at least the inflammation has gone down to the point where I shouldn't be in danger of a blockage at the moment and we don't have to discuss surgery again at this point. No change in meds yet. He's having me do more blood work to check my CRP as well and then we can talk about coming off the steroid/Entocort.


As for having a tube down your nose to avoid drinking nasty stuff, do whatever works for you. When I had my surgery 14 years ago they forced people to clean out beforehand and it was worse than any colonoscopy prep. I was supposed to drink two gallons of this nasty tasting stuff. I took a sip before I told the nurse that it wasn't happening (I was 17 at the time if that matters). I had a tube put down my nose instead. For me it took a while to get the tube down after many tries in both nostrils with lots of choking, coughing and gagging but it was worth it to me. My only advice is that if you have to go to the bathroom then GO. I waited out a bathroom trip cause I was on the phone with my boyfriend and I wound up exploding (vomited, urinated and evacuated bowels). I threw up the tube but luckily I had gotten enough down already and they didn't need to put the tube back in.