A relative walk in the park

I picked up C-difficile last October and have had alternating constipation and diarrhoea and some rectal bleeding for the last six weeks so had to have a barium enema this morning.

The worst part was the two sachets of Picolax preparation which kept me trotting back and fore to the loo throughout the night. This might be because it was the second time in 8 days that I'd had to take the stuff.

The actual procedure itself was a relative walk in the park after that. I had an injection in my arm which was to relax my colon before the procedure commenced. Then the Radiographer explained everything that was going to happen and continued with a running commentary of everything going on while it was was taking place. I'd had to have a colonoscopy last week but the procedure had to be terminated when I fainted with pain from the air they used to inflate my colon. Today, however, the Radiographer was able to see any trapped air bubbles and was able to tilt the table or get me to change position to disperse them before they got painful. The whole thing only took 20 minutes or so and most of the barium and air was extracted before I got up off the table. The Radiographer confirmed that everything looked normal and said he would send a report to the consultant who'd ordered the x-ray.

Following the procedure I was shown to a toilet next door and left to pass the remaining barium and air. Very little barium came away. A nurse brought me a cup of coffee to get things moving and told me to stay in the toilet for about 10 minutes before getting dressed. I was also advised to wait about 30 minutes after dressing before travelling home. I took WindEze with me but the nurse said he didn't advise them so I didn't take any. I travelled home by car - a journey of about 20 minutes - without any mishaps. I have eaten and drunk normally throughout the remainder of the day and have no ill effects. I am still passing some wind and small drips of barium when I go to the loo but nothing explosive, unlike following the colonoscopy.

I would say to anyone who is faced with having to undergo colonic investigations that if you are given a choice of having a colonoscopy or having a barium enema, opt for the barium enema first. It might be the more old fashioned procedure but it is by far the least invasive and in my experience the most comfortable. Of course, if the x-ray does show any abnormality such as polyps or other gremlins, then a colonoscopy might need to be done as a follow-up procedure anyway, but bearing in mind that it is the exception rather than the rule to find an abnormality, then it's probably worth going with the least worst option.

I was so grateful to find this site - not least because it's nice to know that others are going through a similar situation. Thank you to all who have contributed and good luck to anyone else who has to undergo investigations and who has found this site while browsing. [/b]

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