barium swallow

[swingchickie]

mmmmmmm, tasty. i just spent my morning having another lovely test done... a barium swallow. the colonoscopy from a few weeks ago is for the lower GI tract, the barium swallow is upper GI. it wasn't as involved as a colonoscopy, but still interesting... basically i had to stop eating/drinking as of midnight last night, and go into the hospital first thing this morning. they gave me the lovely fashionable gown and all, and once i was decked out in my hospital finery, they led me into a small waiting room. there they gave me two big styrofoam cups filled with what looked like glue... a thick white, strawberry-smelling liquid (barium) that i had to drink down so that my small intestine could show up on x-rays. so i sat there watching "the today show" with 3 other women as we all choked down our barium shakes.

after about 1/2 hour, my tech came to get me, and we did a baseline x-ray (the barium wasn't that far down yet). i went back, waited another 20 minutes, then we did another one. but then the barium still wasn't down far enough, so she came out with ANOTHER cup of barium mixture for me... but this one had a really strong metallic taste to it. so i choked down glass #3, waited 20 minutes, and then back into the x-ray room. this time it worked, so they called in a really nice resident to take a look at everything on a computer screen and take some still shots. and i got to watch, which was wicked cool... you can actually see the barium moving through your system. neato.

and that was it. no pain, no sedatives like the last time... just an upset tummy that rumbles a lot and, according to them, i'm going to poo white for a few days. lovely. my manager's with me tomorrow, so hopefully the nausea will be gone and we'll have a productive day. the problem is, it looks like after both these tests, they've found nothing wrong. so what's causing these problems? i got really sick the other day again, right after lunch... was walking through the prudential center to get to a customer, and all of a sudden i got really weak and sick to my stomach, sweating, the whole bit. i just want this to be DONE already.

Comments

[naughtyboy.livejournal.com]

Ive had to drink way to much of that stuff. Last time they gave me a liter and I just pounded it straight from the bottle in one chug fest. yummie.

The best is yet to come though.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

oh god, i think i would have vomited. i downed it all in about 5 minutes... other women around me were taking baby sips and wincing. i was like, "the bigger the sips, sister, the quicker it's done."

if by "the best" you mean the white poo, it's already started. (sorry to those out there with weak stomachs.) it's actually a riot. i've been cracking up.

[naughtyboy.livejournal.com]

I thought it was pretty funny too. Others thought I was weird.