Capsule Endoscopy (pillcam)

[Mitchy]

I had my laparoscopy on Tuesday, which went as well as could be expected, though very sore at the moment. It again showed patchy inflammation of the terminal ileum and enlarged mesenteric nodes (what ever they are!) My GI now wants to do a pill cam to get another view. Has anyone gone through this. Did it help sort things out?

 

[mle]

Hey Mitchy,
About 3 months after my resection surgery I had a colonoscopy that showed inflamation returning to my small intestine. The doc then had me do a capsule endoscopy a month later. It basically showed the same thing....inflamation. I kinda wish I hadn't had it done because insurance is giving me hell about not covering it when they told the dr office they would. Unfortunatly, this was before I really educated myself about Crohn's and took the word of the dr as good....now I know that that guy had absolutely no idea what he was doing. I would just make sure to ask a lot of questions as to what more they will actually find out. I mean, is another view of the same problems actually going to change the treatment you get? Seems like he's already done a really invasive procedure to look at you. Plus, if you have strictures there is a danger of the pillcam getting stuck. Sorry, I don't mean to be so negative but I've just had some bad experiences with doctors not knowing what they are doing so I always have to question things. I hope it goes well for you!

 

[Kev]

Pure speculation on my part, so take it for what its worth. Even done laproscopically, my assumption is that all that would reveal is the external side of the ileum, unless they actually cut into the ileum itself. Think an external exam would be very, very beneficial... but an internal exam of the ileum via a pillcam MUST be superior to that, otherwise it would have no reason for being developed, and doctors no need to get it performed. and, sure, there are lots of less than brilliant docs out there, I have no idea what your current doc is like. If you aren't comfortable with your current doc, its a matter of finding one that you are confident in. Asking questions, regardless of whether you have a good doc or a bad one, is always a great idea. Bear in mind, that good or not, doctors tend to think/talk in a way that's extremely puzzling. for example, a test with negative results is good, whereas one with positive results is bad. The inside of the ileum is considered external to the body, yet the outside of the ileum is inside the body.
No wonder us 'uneducated' folks get all confused. Again, pure speculation, but if 'they' wanted to see if any of the ulceration in the ileum had progressed so much it had perforated, or was close to doing so, then laproscopic exam should show that.
But, how many more ulcerations or inflammatory spots there are inside the ileum, I think only a pill cam would show that. Now, that's just my 'uneducated' guess, but I wouldn't take my word for it. I'd ask the doc who wants it done what benefits it provides. Think asking things like this till you get a satisfactory answer from the 'horses' aaaaa... mouth, is probably a good habit to get into. Least, I think it is..

 

[killerzoey]

Hi Mitchy

I had the pill cam and it was no big deal for me. The best advice I can give is to shower before going in. I didn't think about it but once you get that stuff strapped on that's YOU for the day. You can't bathe, change clothes or anything. So get fresh and clean and wear something that won't be too warm wherever you'll be when the day is at its warmest, since you won't be ripping off any clothing at any time, other than maybe shoes. Of course, if you had a good friend handy, you could change your pants if need be. But you can't really bend over very well with the giant computer around your waist, nor do they want you to. So as you can see, if this is the seriousness of the advice I'm giving, it really wasn't a big deal. Mine didn't show anything, btw.