Just wondering about the small bowel follow through

just wondering about the small bowel follow through

Hi i was just wondering if anyone here had diarrhea from barium sulfate, i was told the test would take 6 or more hours but 30 minutes after drinking it i had major diarrhea, the whole thing only took 40 minutes, im having the test because i have all the chrons symptoms and the only meds that stop it are prednisone and asacol, iv had a colonoscopy done that said everything is fine but if im not taking any meds i go alike 40 or more times a day with cramps and bleeding, and lack of vitamins in my body, i was also wondering if anyone knows about this skin rash they say comes with it iv had this rash that comes and goes on my arms and chest that looks like small red pimples and im not sure how to get rid of it, mone more thing does anyone else have a problem of undigested food i know its kinda gross but i ate a salad and saw the whole thing come back out this happens with lots of food, thanks cj

hey cj,

crohns can be one of those fun things that doesnt show up all the time, so it may be possible that you have it, but are showing no signs visibly inside of you its a pain to get diagnosed, some of us took months and months and months before diagnosis best wishes with this part.

does the skin rash get worse with the prednisilone? that can be a side effect of those drugs.

and yeah, dont think theres many crohns people that have at some stage seen something that looks completely undigested in our poops

hey cj
yeah the barium stuff gave me major poo problems too. anything that they make you drink for testing always bothers me-one end or the other. or both.
as far as the rash, i have had a rash that was from my crohns, but it came up on my legs. from what they told me and what i researched, the rash shows up on the lower shins and ankles. ive never heard of it being on arms/chest, but i dont really have a lot of experience with that symptom.
jed makes a good point that it could be a side effect, maybe do some research or ask a doc if it is possible?
and YES undigested food is always a biggie for me. almost everything that comes out of me is identifiable, especially vegetables and leafy things.

good luck with your diagnosis! hopefully it gets straightened out for you

Hi CJ, when I had the small bowel follow through, I warned them that I didn't think it would take long. I was in and out of there in under an hour! Things have slowed down a bit for me since then, so I think the test would take longer now.

Hi CJ -

Hmm...how often do you have that rash? Have you noticed it anywhere else on your body? I'm asking because Dermatitis herpetiformis is a skin rash that is associated with Celiac disease/gluten intolerance. It can appear as little blisters/pimples, and is incredibly itchy. Have you undergone any testing for Celiac? (A blood work panel, endoscopy, or a skin biopsy taken from near the rash are common Celiac tests.)

The barium gave me D, but I didn't have a problem with a rash from it. However, if I eat something I shouldn't (I'm Celiac as well as Crohn's) I sometimes have a rash that appears.

I know how frustrating and exhausting testing can be, but you might want to mention Celiac to your GI if you haven't been tested.

yeah Cj iceberg lettuce comes out completely undigested for me :-( thats why i switched to baby spinach leaves which get digested fairly good