Pill Cam coming up Sept. 25th - question

[killerzoey]

They said nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night prior to the cam.

I go in at 7am.

I am thinking...aren''t I still going to be full of "it"?

I thought some people mentioned having to do a prep, something somewhat similar to a colonoscopy. This would make sense to me.

I tend toward slow digestion and constipation, so I'm a bit concerned that the procedure could have to be repeated. I can't let this happen as it has to be done before the 31st to be covered 100% by my ins. That's cutting it too close for me.

Any thoughts/ advice? TIA - Jamie

 

[Kev]

Hey Jamie.. Call them. Ask for clarification.. express your concerns. I called the desk of the GI unit before my 2nd colonoscopy as they'd neglected to send instructions. I spoke with a nurse with over 30 years experience, and she was a tremendous help.

And, speaking of clarification... Aren't pill cams supposed to go down, & hopefully out

 

[katiesue1506]

Pill cams excite me. I think its so cool how you swallow a little camera. Oh its just so cool. If I had to do that, I would do it without hesitation... and I'd ask for the video

 

[Cara Fusinato]

What about strictures? If you have any strictures, the pill cam will get hung up? I wouldn't go for a pill cam. They can just do endoscopy or colonoscopy if they want some direct visualization of MY guts!

 

[killerzoey]

I think the pill cam gets pics of the small intestine, which can't really be scoped. I don't have any reason to think I have strictures so I think it's pretty safe in my case. If I did have strictures I am not sure if I'd go for it.

 

[laura2002]

I had the pill cam done, and fortunately it came out - about 4 months later. I freaked out after the first month of it not coming out, and thought for sure I'd have to go in for surgery. I actually met with a surgeon who was ready to schedule me right away because he was worried it would end up an emergency situation, and then it would be a mess. Then he was honest enough and told me that frankly, surgeons don't like to work on Crohn's patients because, 'we open you up, and never know what we're going to find. Plus your risk of infection is higher.' So that pretty much scared me out of surgery. I just kept hoping that it would come out on its own, which my GI doctor said it would eventually do, I just needed to give it time. It never gave me any physical problem other than the mental stress and worry. I had to go in every other week for an x-ray to track its progress, and all of a sudden it was gone. So good luck, and hope yours comes out quicker than mine!

 

[killerzoey]

Wow, Laura

What was the hang up? I mean, did it get caught in a particular place? That is really surprising that it could actually take that long!

 

[kskitt]

i have to say, the idea of swollowing a camera is horrible.

 

[Jackie]

Hi there. Haven't posted in a while. Just signed on to look up Remicade and saw this post. I just had a capsule endoscopy done two weeks ago. It was no big deal at all! Did liquids for 24 hours and a small prep the night before with one of those bottles of Magesium citrate - yuck! It wasnt as extensive as the prep for the colonoscopy at all. I dont do well with prep though since I tend to back up in the small intestines so I was pretty puffed up before all hell broke loose about 3am, then I was fine. Didnt have trouble swallowing it at all. The biggest pain of everything was the wires that you are hooked up to and the box/computer that you have to haul around on your waist all day. Remembering that I am slow (big time swollen ileum), mine came out about 4 days later. It was a VERY good thing that I did it. They were able to see the damage in my ileum that they could not peek at with just the colonoscopy. I could see if you had strictures or something of the sort that it would not be good. But based on a fairly clear looking upper GI series, he felt good about doing it. Those nasty Crohn's ulcers and swelling hide from the x-rays.

Good Luck to you!!!

 

[tonya_n_ky]

My GI did a colonoscopy first and then asked me about the pill cam, I haven't been back yet or decided yet. Best wishes on it. I too think it's a very cool thing. I also would call my dr and ask to clarify so you'll be more comfortable on the day of. Take care and hope you get good results.

 

[Stuffette]

pill cam

I had the pill cam and it was no big deal for me. There wasn't much prep. I have no idea when it came out of me because I never saw it but I don't think it got stuck anywhere.

I think the whole thing is cool. I felt so high tech with all of the attachments. I just wish I was able to watch the pictures in real time.

 

[mle]

I had the pill cam this past March and yes, I had to do some bowel prep but not as bad as for a colonoscopy. Definitely clarify with your doc ASAP.
You're lucky your insurance will even cover it. Mine wouldn't because I had already been diagnosed with Crohn's and they consider the pill cam to be "experimental" and not medically necessary.
I never did actually see the cam come out afterwards but they said not to worry unless I started having pain and vomiting.
The whole experience was fairly interesting although a little embarrassing to walk around with all that gear on.
Good luck, I hope it goes well for you!

 

[killerzoey]

Thanks. I'll let you all know how it goes. I look forward to having the apparatus strapped to me all day I will be sure to run as many errands as possible so I can scare the bejeezus out of people who think I'm the female Unibomber. Perhaps I'll gain some sympathy for my husband. He is Middle Eastern and he always jokes that some people seem to think he's delivering an "exploding pizza" when he walks in someplace :lol:

 

[Kev]

Hmmm, your hubby gets looks like he is a mad bomber, and you chose killerzoey as a name here... Go figure.. ;-) People can be pretty narrow minded at times. A shame!
My grandparents both served in WW I. He a soldier, twice wounded & decorated, and she his British nurse, not wounded, but decorated for bravery under enemy fire. Anyway, my grandfather... Canadian born, but of German decent.. also served in the next war, captained the boats that opened/closed the anti submarine harbour nets. This despite having only one arm. Still, some narrow minded folks, who knew no more about him than his slight German ancestry accent, pelted his house with stones, painted swaztikas on it, threw dog droppings on his walkway.. Yeah, even our little home town had neanderthals.. I would have thought that things would have improved over the past 60 + years.

 

[killerzoey]

Wow, Kev, you have quite the history of military service in your family!

I wish I could remember which book I was reading recently in which a family of German descent was tormented in much the same way you describe. Seems we do it with every war. Living in Hawaii and California the Japanese internment camps have been a recent visible reminder of our perennial paranoia. Perhaps we have evolved that it isn't worse this time around.

My husband mostly jokes and isn't often truly targeted based on his appearance. Sometimes at the airport, that's about it. Ironic, since his family on both sides was driven out of Armenia by the Turks during the holocaust of 1915, and in his view were the most passive of all the peoples around him. From Genghis Khan to the Christians...per his family's perspective every culture had its way with the Armenians!

Killerzoey was from the movie "Killing Zoe" which I had just watched when I created my first user name ever, to play Boggle online. For some reason it stuck, though I have regretted its choice over and over. It's ingrained by now.

By the way we in my family are greatly of German descent as well. Nellis and Yeager.

On a side note, MAN I'm hungry. I haven't been able to eat since noon in prep for the pill cam. I guess I can have a "light snack" 4 hours into the procedure, probably about noon tomorrow. Why did I decide to put a big pot of stew on the stove tonight? The garlic and onion smell is driving me batty!

 

[minnie winnie]

I Live In Ireland And I Have Never Heard Of The Pill Cam Being Used In Irish Hospitals. How Long Is This Method Being Used With Ye?

 

[killerzoey]

I am not sure how long it's been in use. I'm new to this whole Crohn's thing. I get the feeling it's fairly new. The equipment sure looks new. I've got the belt on right now and I'm blinking away. I haven't been out in public yet, turns out I'm too self conscious and don't want to answer questions. If I saw me I thought I was doing testing for the phone company or something.

Swallowing the camera was no big deal for me. Like taking a big vitamin, but not those gnarly chalky kind, the smooth kind. I am done in another 3 hours. No big deal at all, other than being cranky from lack of food and sleep (had to get up early to go to the hosp. and I"m NOT a morning person).