MRI Scan query.

[Grant]

Was due to have an abdominal MRI yesterday, i was told to be there for 07.30. as I would have to drink "something" 1 1/2 hrs before the scan. So got up @ 5.45. Arrived on time. One of the nurses approaches me & is about to prepare the drink & jokes "just preparing this lovely tasty drink". I replied as long as its not klear prep. Guess what, it was klear prep. Sadly I told them that I couldn't drink it as I'd vomit it up, along with Fleet I cannot tolerate it. They were very good about it & I advised them that Picolax was the only thing I can take like that.
Felt very guilty as the procedure has had to be rescheduled. Also what concerns me even more is that any liquid laxative goes through me quickly & during an MRI I've always been strapped to the table. What if I have to get to the toilets pdq.
So a total waste of time. The drink is to distend the bowel so they get a better view. Its new to me, never had to do it before it.
Rgds
Grant

 

[ronroush7]

Hi, Grant. Is there someone you could alert to your situation ahead of time? Maybe they could come up with some solution. Wish you the best.

 

[scottsma]

As to going to the toilet PDQ,I can relate to that.They put an alarm thing in your hand and you can alert them if you need to.If I have to have another MRE I'm going to request the colonoscopy prep I can do at home.I'm sure they've seen it all before,but it only adds to what is already a stressful time.

 

[Brewtowncronie51]

I threw up and had D in the machine. I pushed the button. they came with a basin. while I threw up D came out.{ sorry}

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

Well to be fair what do they expect to happen with us crohnies if they give us that stuff. Most of us have clean bowels anyhow as we poop so darn much.
If they have to clean up after us tough **** . Only chances are it wont be !!!

 

[Grant]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems a totally bizarre thing to ask a Crohnie to do doesn't it but I do appreciate they want the best view they can get.
ronroush7, tks very much. They are forewarned that I can only tolerate Picolax now.
I do feel @ times a bit of a problem for the hospital, but IMO the longer you go with this disease the more your body becomes intolerant of various things. When i get my next appointment I will be checking on the phone what they intend to give me.
Brewtowncronie51, poor you. I can relate to that totally. Once when I was still in the Royal Navy I was having a small bowel enema via an NG Tube (oh deep joy), I told the senior ranking officer using the scanning machine i was starting to feel sick to which I was told " no you're not". Informed him again a few mins later that I was now feeling very sick-was ignored. Finally threw up all over myself, the table, the floor. He very roughly jabbed me with an anti sickness syringe @ that point. If I'd have been a civilian back then I would've walked out after giving him a mouthful. Disgusting what we have to go through @ times without having to put up with people with attitude. I should've put in a official complaint but by that stage my naval career was close to finishing. Wish I had looking back.
Grant

 

[ronroush7]

I feel like the older I get the more foods I have trouble tolerating.

 

[Scipio]

You were given a laxative just before an MRI? That's very odd. With the abdominal MRIs I've had (and ones I've read about), it has been customary to drink a contrast agent an hour before the test, not a laxative.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that giving a patient strong laxatives an hour and half prior to an MRI is just asking for an accident to happen during the test, especially with a patient who is diarrhea-prone in the first place.

 

[ronroush7]

You were given a laxative just before an MRI? That's very odd. With the abdominal MRIs I've had (and ones I've read about), it has been customary to drink a contrast agent an hour before the test, not a laxative.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that giving a patient strong laxatives an hour and half prior to an MRI is just asking for an accident to happen during the test, especially with a patient who is diarrhea-prone in the first place.

Agree.

 

[Christi]

Yes i agree its odd because they give you contrast its the first i heard about laxative given before MRI , the only thing i know before i went for my barium enema they gave me laxative the day before , but not with MRI.

 

[Grant]

I'm going to ring my Specialist Nurse about it, the more I think about it the more unhappy I am about it.
Grant

 

[ronroush7]

Didn't they have any picolax available?

 

[scottsma]

They told me not to be in a hurry to leave the hospital after MRE,but to stay close to the toilets for a while.And it was advisable not to take public transport home.

 

[DaisyB]

I went for a small bowel MRI and was expected to drink Klean-Prep beforehand. Like others here, I found it very bizarre that they fill people with CD up with a strong laxative then put them in a machine.

Like you, I can't tolerate Klean-Prep. I can take Picolax but for the MRI I was given Methylcellulose which doesn't have a laxative effect, but fills up the small bowel. The difficulty for me was the volume - 2 litres - because I also have problems tolerating large volumes of food or drink!

You could ask the relevant people about possibly taking Methylcellulose Grant?

Also, after taking the laxative drink, prior to going in to the MRI scanner, you'll be injected with something that stops the bowel from spasming and slows it down. So I expect that will stop people from going to the toilet, at least for the length of time the scan takes.

Best of luck.

 

[Grant]

Didn't they have any picolax available?

Because they needed a Dr to prescribe it ronroush & they are a team of technicians.

Tks DaisyB. Duly noted ref Methylcellulose. Again thankyou very much for all the different experiences of people & MRI scans.
Rgds
Grant

 

[ronroush7]

I went for a small bowel MRI and was expected to drink Klean-Prep beforehand. Like others here, I found it very bizarre that they fill people with CD up with a strong laxative then put them in a machine.

Like you, I can't tolerate Klean-Prep. I can take Picolax but for the MRI I was given Methylcellulose which doesn't have a laxative effect, but fills up the small bowel. The difficulty for me was the volume - 2 litres - because I also have problems tolerating large volumes of food or drink!

You could ask the relevant people about possibly taking Methylcellulose Grant?

Also, after taking the laxative drink, prior to going in to the MRI scanner, you'll be injected with something that stops the bowel from spasming and slows it down. So I expect that will stop people from going to the toilet, at least for the length of time the scan takes.

Best of luck.

Best to you.

 

[DaisyB]

Because they needed a Dr to prescribe it ronroush & they are a team of technicians.

Tks DaisyB. Duly noted ref Methylcellulose. Again thankyou very much for all the different experiences of people & MRI scans.
Rgds
Grant

No problem Grant. The MC didn't taste *too* bad at all and I'm really sensitive to bad tastes! They put in plenty of orange squash for me. Maybe you could take your own and ask to add it if they won't provide it? I was offered lemon or orange so they'd both be fine.

 

[DaisyB]

Best to you.

Thank you Ron, I hope you're doing okay.

 

[ronroush7]

Thanks

 

[Grant]

Heard back from the Specialist Nurse, she confirmed this is standard procedure but understood my p.o.v & concerns. Basically thinks that I'm not really upto it & I think I agree. I've had a Colonoscopy @ the end of Sept & an Ultrasound last month so really they've probably seen all they need to & I start Infliximab on the 30th.
Rgds
Grant

 

[ronroush7]

Hope it helps.

 

[Grant]

Tks ronroush7.

 

[fuzzy butterfly]

All best wishes to u Grant. Hope it brings u relief.

 

[ronroush7]

Anytime

 

[DaisyB]

Heard back from the Specialist Nurse, she confirmed this is standard procedure but understood my p.o.v & concerns. Basically thinks that I'm not really upto it & I think I agree. I've had a Colonoscopy @ the end of Sept & an Ultrasound last month so really they've probably seen all they need to & I start Infliximab on the 30th.
Rgds
Grant

Best of luck Grant. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what was the Ultrasound for?

 

[poppypoppops]

When I had my MRI small bowel I was given Klen prep before and when I went in for the scan they injected buscipan to slow the bowel movement so they could get a good clear image

 

[Grant]

Best of luck Grant. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what was the Ultrasound for?

Hi Daisy, general abdominal ultrasound scan looking for inflammation & strictures.
Rgds
Grant

 

[DaisyB]

Hi Daisy, general abdominal ultrasound scan looking for inflammation & strictures.
Rgds
Grant

Thanks for answering Grant. Sounds like that would be a lot more bearable than the more invasive procedures we have to go through.

 

[Grant]

DaisyB, ref invasive I had a Colonoscopy in Sept. So I'm hoping they've seen enough-for now.
Rgds
Grant