Barium swallow question... warning: graphic - Digestive Disorders Message Board

moesciphish · 05-20-2006, 10:24 AM

Ok... I had a CT with contrast today... I drank 1 1/2 bottles at 9:30am for an 11:00am test... everything went fine... when I got home I had really bad diarrhea that was whitish/yellow with mixed undigested food particles (probably from my gastroparesis and sorry, I did warn ya)... Could the barium had gone through me that fast? I've been solid and regular for days before this...and I've never seen almost muscousy whitish/yellow feces like that before... infact this morning when I got up I was regular and solid...it almost looked like the barium had a colonic effect on my colon. I'm just wondering if it could go through me in say 3 1/2 hours...

stellatj · 05-20-2006, 10:34 AM

yes it can when i had my ct scan i had to drink 2 bottles then wait an hour well during that hour wait it came through me i felt like i was exploding and it was white to pale yellow then i had to drink another bottle right before the test that also flew through me in 2 hours time. good luck with your results

agurl79 · 05-20-2006, 10:36 AM

I'm confused... did u have a CT with contrast or a barium swallow? or possibly both? The contrast for the CT does cause diarrhea (I've had about 40 of them). The barium swallow will cause white stools as you get rid of it. In both tests my docs have suggested to increase fluid intake after the test to aid in quickly getting rid of it.
Hope this helps!

moesciphish · 05-20-2006, 10:42 AM

Sorry... to specify... I had a CT with barium contrast which I drank 1 hr prior to the scan and then half a bottle a minute before the scan.. and then during the scan they gave me the iodine contrast...

thanks stellatj... that makes my not worry then... I actually felt like I had to go before the exam but held it in... then when I got done.. I had to let loose

Nursegirlie23... 40??? I hope that is somewhat an exaggeration... if not, aren't you worried about the radiation? I was debating on having this one because of it... thankfully it was a helical which is like half the normal amount...

diamond79 · 05-20-2006, 11:00 AM

I had the barium swallow done to check for ulcers, etc. I had to drink these crystals that caused REALLY horrible cramps and gas. Then they made me drink the barium. After the test was done my stomach felt horrible and I had cramps. As soon as I was home the first thing I had to do was run to the bathroom. I had (sorry to be so graphic) white chalky liquid diarrhea. And that was maybe an hour after I drank the stuff. Shocked the poo out of me literally to see that in the toilet--especially after the techs were telling me to drink lots of water so it doesn't constipate me!

So I am guessing it is normal for some people?