MR Enterography / Barium

[al_crohnnie]

How long does it typically take barium to pass through post procedure? At what point do you need to start getting concerned?

 

[Jennifer]

I just had one on Wednesday this week. It took about a full day for barium to get out completely. Yet I've had barium in the past that seemed to hang out for another day (that was for a small bowel follow through with barium). It commonly causes diarrhea yet it should go away.

You need to drink a lot of water to flush it out of your system.

Did you have one recently and are having issues?

 

[al_crohnnie]

I had the MRE yesterday & have been going to the bathroom, but no barium/ whiteness is present. Concerning since I drank 1350 mLs of the contrast around lunch yesterday. Could the glycogen from the procedure still be slowing the process down?

I have definitely been drinking loads of water. I guess I'll continue to do so.

Sorry for the TMIness of this post. Thanks for the timely reply.

 

[Essieluv]

For me, I usually see barium in my stool for a few days afterwards. Sometimes I have to take colace and miralax because the barium can make me constipated. It's also important to drink a lot of water to help flush it out of your system, that's what the technicians always tell me.

 

[Jennifer]

You said that you've been going to the bathroom al_crohnnie, is it solid or loose/watery?

 

[al_crohnnie]

Thanks for the response Essieluv, I continue with my water chugging.

Jennifer, definitely the loose/watery variety. The MRE was done to get a better look at a stricture. I'm worried that it must be significant to cause a delay like this. I've never had this issue with barium before. In the past, I start getting rid of it the day of the procedure.

 

[Jennifer]

The barium I drank was pretty clear-ish, not like the old chalky white stuff we used to get in the past. Was yours kind of clear-ish as well? Like a barium juice (I don't know how else to describe it )? Whitish clear I'd say with the consistency of juice.

I started getting diarrhea from it about an hour in of drinking it. I started passing the barium before the procedure actually started. At most my stool was a little lighter in color and was nothing like passing obvious white stuff in the past from other forms of barium. What I did notice though was the distinct barium smell (doesn't smell the same when you drink it when it comes out). It just has this oh so special "eew" odor. If you ever had barium before then you know the smell. That smell goes away once its passed through your system and by that time the diarrhea usually stops as well. It also produced a lot of gas for me. Did it do that for you as well?

 

[al_crohnnie]

It definitely was a clearish barium, not as heavy as other barium contrasts I've had before. The D started within a few hours. Other than the lack of whiteness I'm used to seeing with barium, I didn't notice any difference. But having read your post, maybe it is moving it's way through.

 

[Jennifer]

It very well may be and I hope that it is.