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The joys of Barium....

Just found out I get the pleasure of going through another CT scan this up coming tuesday!! MMMMmmm barium my favorite. anyone else have to go through this test every time they go out of remission? and if so what the best way to get that stuff to go down easier? I usually end up throwing it up and they have to give me the higher concentrated stuff, which tends to be worse...
 

mikeyarmo

Co-Founder
This is definately not the easiest stuff to stomach, but I find that while you need to take it relatively fast, you still need to pace yourself. I usually do one big chug and then take a bit of a break (10-15 seconds or longer depending on how stomach feels) and then another chug. I continue until I am done. I just try and ensure the nausia does not get too bad and if it does then definately take a break and maybe some deep breating can help.

Taste wise cannot help you. I at least find chugging it at first helps.
 
J

jyarmo

Guest
Barium is a mental challenge. Don't Phsyce yourself out. Pace yourself. Think happy thoughts. You will get through it!
 
After doing the barium/contrast and whatever else they have us drink..I have decided... No more for me. None of these tests has ever resulted in me feeling better, so why do it?
On the same subject, I cant seem to drink the stuff anyway. I have very sensitive taste, and gag type reflex..so the nurses usually end up with the majority of it, and my shirt.

With all the technology and science out there...they can make something better. And until they do, I will be defiant, and possibly a baby about it. But who cares ;)
 
I had a barium swallow a couple of weeks ago, i hated it. I was there for 3 1/2 hrs. The good thing was that the results were good!!
 

Karen

FRIEND 4 1 & ALL
The 1st time that my husband to go through this we were at the HOSPITAL for 6 1/2 hours gang :( the nurse told us oh you will be here for 1/2 hour to 3 hours at the most but ... give me a break 6 1/2 hours !! WOW that was a long time and so the next time that we went it only took 3 so that was a BIG CHANGE compared to the 1st time !!
 
K

Kossy

Guest
Speaking of the Joys of Berium....
Since my first chug of Berium my recal muscules never could handle it. It would hit my "end of the line" and out it came, no warning, no nothing, just the warm feeling running down my legs.
Anyways, a couple years ago I had a small bowl with "yummy yummy berium" (hey I think that would be a great commerial tag line for berium. I can see the commerial now. Two kids sitting in the doctors office. One of them with a huge smile on her face and the boy with a frawn. The girl turns to him and says "what's a matter?" "It's contrast, I hate contrast!" the boy replies. The girl grabs a dixi cup and says "Try this, it's need and improved YUM YUM BERIUM!" The boy boy takes a sip. MMmmmm. This is delicious... Then you'll have some corny music playing and at the end you see the two kids chuggin the berium down and they come up from their straws and say "YUM YUM BERIUM!")
Anyways back to my story. I had a small bowl berium thingy one morning then I went to work in the afternoon. We had a medical run of some sort... they call kind of run together. I was down on one knee taking vitals and all of a sudden I got the warm feeling.... Great I was beriuming my pants. I was a trooper and finished what I had to do.. I mean the person on the ground was in worse shape then me. So from their on I would wear depends after a liquid lunch of berium for the rest of the day. Oh goodtimes goodtimes.

Ps... sorry about all my possible spelling errors. I am crunched for time, I can't spell, and I don't believe in proof reading...Thanks, Ron
 
Kossy said:
Speaking of the Joys of Berium....
Since my first chug of Berium my recal muscules never could handle it. It would hit my "end of the line" and out it came, no warning, no nothing, just the warm feeling running down my legs.


Same for me.

That stuff is the most wonderful stuff in the world.

Haha

Jeff
 
K

Kossy

Guest
Jeff D. said:
That stuff is the most wonderful stuff in the world.

Haha

Jeff
You said it,
Wasted away in MargaritaBeriumville searching for my lost shacker of salt...Some people clam theirs a woman to blame.. but I know, it's my own rectums fault.

A little Buffett for any of you Parrothead Crohnies out there.
 
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mikeyarmo

Co-Founder
Kossy you are a riot :D. Love the commercial idea too! Sorry to hear about that story too but am impressed to hear how you remained a trooper and continued on with the work. Sorry to hear too that you also suffer from a quick release of the stuff Jeff.

When I was in the hospital I did this as well for my second time ever. The first time I took it was great (well as great as one could have it during a session with berium) as I had a dved player with me and got to watch Pulp Fiction in between X Rays. I was all done in about 2 and a half hours as well. The second time in the hospital I was alone and without anything. I think I will go into a bit more detail about the whole thing in another thread (reminded me of a funny story :)) but basically I was there bored out of my mind for just under 6 hours. I was told it would take 3, and that is what I expected based on my first experience. After the 3 hours though I kept waiting and every so often (30 minutes or so) someone would come back for me (I was left in a corner on my stretcher... it was good though cause it was quiet) and say "just one more picture and we will be done". I was starting to think that they did not realize that someone had already said that and that I really should have been let go. Finally the stuff got through me and I got to leave. The worst part is no one ever told me what the results of it were :(. For going through all that I would have at least liked to know what was found.
 
J

jyarmo

Guest
Hey Kossy, for more on Parrotheads...check out my thread in "Anything goes"....50 worst things to happen to music ;):p:)
 
K

Kossy

Guest
mikeyarmo said:
Kossy you are a riot :D. Love the commercial idea too! Sorry to hear about that story too but am impressed to hear how you remained a trooper and continued on with the work. Sorry to hear too that you also suffer from a quick release of the stuff Jeff.

When I was in the hospital I did this as well for my second time ever. The first time I took it was great (well as great as one could have it during a session with berium) as I had a dved player with me and got to watch Pulp Fiction in between X Rays. I was all done in about 2 and a half hours as well. The second time in the hospital I was alone and without anything. I think I will go into a bit more detail about the whole thing in another thread (reminded me of a funny story :)) but basically I was there bored out of my mind for just under 6 hours. I was told it would take 3, and that is what I expected based on my first experience. After the 3 hours though I kept waiting and every so often (30 minutes or so) someone would come back for me (I was left in a corner on my stretcher... it was good though cause it was quiet) and say "just one more picture and we will be done". I was starting to think that they did not realize that someone had already said that and that I really should have been let go. Finally the stuff got through me and I got to leave. The worst part is no one ever told me what the results of it were :(. For going through all that I would have at least liked to know what was found.
Thanks Mike, I try to look at the ligther side or warped of things. Sorry to hear about all your fun times. It took about 6 hours while I was in the hospital too. It was after 4 days of NPO for me so my bowls were shut down and it took them a while for them to get into gear. That might have been the same reason it took 6 hours for you....

jyarmo said:
Hey Kossy, for more on Parrotheads...check out my thread in "Anything goes"....50 worst things to happen to music ;):p:)
Jyarmo... jyarmo.... jyarmo... I live, eat, sleep, ok mostly just dream the Parrothead dream. I have to disagree with what I read. I think whoever wrote it was just jealous... yeah that's it. :D Oh well... I got a good laugh out of it.
 
R

ReeRee

Guest
Ya'll have got me just cracking up! That commercial idea...hahahahha! I'm really going to enjoy having Ron around..lol. We've got the same humor.

My tip for drinking barium? I close my eyes, take huge chugging gulps and think to myself "This is a strawberry milkshake. This is a strawberry milkshake." After drinking Go Lightly, barium is a treat.

I can't say I've ever had the "barium leaving the building" experience. What happens to me is that the barium turns to concrete the second it hits my colon. Not pleasant.

Here's another reason I love my colostomy: I don't have to drink the barium anymore, they just run it thru my stoma! Easy peasy! :D However, there will probably come a time when they want to look at things north of my stoma, then I'll have to drink it.
 
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Rogue

Guest
Ugh. That stuff is the worst. I remember doing it when they were first trying to diagnose me. It was horrible, luckily I haven't been able to do it since. Since my blood work would always deceive my doctor, she would usually just go for the colonoscopy and the prep for that is blegh. That stuff they have you drink was so gross. Still to this day, every time I think about it, I start to gag.
 
J

Janet

Guest
I was at the doctor for about 4 1/2 hours doing my barium swallow. It sucks but I tried to make the best of it by goofing around, taking pictures, and walking around the offices. The most mortifing part came in the next few days. So you know how after the barium passes, your poop is well...white? Well my white turds wouldn't go down the toilet so my mom would make me drive to McDonalds to use the bathroom! It was horrible, trying to hold everything in while you got in your car, drove to McDonalds, made your way to the bathroom, and waiting for everyone to leave (I'm weird like that). Ugh that sucked!
 
I

ianbish

Guest
I'm to have a barium meal with air to expand the small intestine and a MRI scan at the same time.
Has anyone had this ?
 
R

ReeRee

Guest
I'm to have a barium meal with air to expand the small intestine and a MRI scan at the same time.
Has anyone had this ?
No and the very thought scares me. I've never even heard of this one before.
 
K

Kossy

Guest
ianbish said:
I'm to have a barium meal with air to expand the small intestine and a MRI scan at the same time.
Has anyone had this ?
I think I had to do that a long time ago..... I think the meal are actaully some crystals that taste pretty tart.... I am probably completely off.

ps... this is the image that popped into my head when I heard meal....
 

mikeyarmo

Co-Founder
Kossy first you thought of the commercial... and now you have another product to advertise! Too funny :D.

Ianbish, I would not worry too much about it. If it is something the doctors recommended, then they must have done it before. They do not just decide to try new and crazy things for a change of pace, so I think you will be fine.
 
R

ReeRee

Guest
I think the meal are actaully some crystals that taste pretty tart..
Wait, I think I remember that fizzy stuff, but I didn't have an MRI with it. I think it was a CAT scan, or maybe just a regular xray. Yeah, those crystals are way tart, and you have to swallow them fast for the go POOF in your mouth. I remember them telling me not to burp..haha.
 
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ncgirl

Guest
I had to do a barium swallow a couple weeks ago, not because of Crohn's though. I was having problems with my throat swelling shut (sounds fun huh?) Anyway, I had to swallow the "pop rocks", then drank the barium, and they made me swallow a pill, which got stuck in my throat! I kept drinking water to help it go down and it wouldn't go anywhere! They had to take more pictures of me swallowing barium, only this time, lying on my stomach, pill stuck in my throat, and sucking barium through a straw...not a pretty picture as it was. The combination of the pill in my throat and the thick barium, started choking me and I gaged...I've never seen a nurse jump back so fast in my life! Finally everything went down and the results......NORMAL!
 
K

Kossy

Guest
ncgirl said:
They had to take more pictures of me swallowing barium, only this time, lying on my stomach, pill stuck in my throat, and sucking barium through a straw...not a pretty picture as it was.
Hey Missy... This sounds like something you'd read in penhouse Barium Forum...

Ok, that was just wrong of me. I thought it was funny.

Doesn't it stupid. During the test you were having the problem.. Then it un-swells.. and then they tell you that you're fine. Morons!

I had the problem to way back in the day, my teeenage years, but I know what caused it. It was a type of herbal.. how do you say.. something that I smoked... Well needless to say I don't do it now a days. It wasn't a fun feeling when your throat swells up.
 
N

ncgirl

Guest
Kossy said:
Hey Missy... This sounds like something you'd read in penhouse Barium Forum...

Ok, that was just wrong of me. I thought it was funny.

Doesn't it stupid. During the test you were having the problem.. Then it un-swells.. and then they tell you that you're fine. Morons!

I had the problem to way back in the day, my teeenage years, but I know what caused it. It was a type of herbal.. how do you say.. something that I smoked... Well needless to say I don't do it now a days. It wasn't a fun feeling when your throat swells up.
AND just how would you know what those magazines have in them????
 
K

Kossy

Guest
ncgirl said:
AND just how would you know what those magazines have in them????
Ha ha.. that's what I've heard... Come on, I'm an alterboy.... I could not possibly..
 
N

ncgirl

Guest
Yeah, umm...aren't you a bit old to be an alterboy? LOL Stubbling on your own words...that's guilt if I've ever read it!
 
K

Kossy

Guest
once and alterboy always and alter boy.... Guilt? Catholics don't feel guilt... oh wait.. yeah, we do.
 
K

Kossy

Guest
That's right I am avoided it. But no longer. The subject is barium... DEEEEE-lisious!
 
S

samantha

Guest
i find that taking a staw is the easiest way to drink it, I too can't keep the vile stuff in for longer than half an hour straight back out the other end and then it won't flush away yukky.
 
S

scottishgirl

Guest
i couldnt do it at all, it wasnt the taste it was the consistency!! i just couldnt swallow it, i tried a straw and just gulping but my throat just closed to it, so eventually i was taking a sip and gulping water and i hated every minute, i dont want to do it again!
 
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