Question:
Why didn't the barium move through my system???

I've been having an annoying some annoying discomfort on the left side of my abdomen, not extreme pain, just discomfort. My surgeon ordered a CAT SCAN today. I drank the barium as instructed and after 2 and a half hours it was still in my small intestine, very little got to the large intestine. They even made me walk around. I'm now really concerned as I wait for the Radiologist to get back to my surgeon. (Then the weekend will catch up) What could this be? If it were a bowel obstruction I would be really sick, right? Could it be an internal hernia? Has this happened to anyone else? Please, any help would be appreciated.    — corpdiva2006 (posted on May 3, 2001)

May 4, 2001
I worked in nursing for 10+ years. I have sent a lot of patients down for GI series. Barium is like a chalk and tends to harden in the GI system and cause constipation. When the patients returned to the floor, they had a standing order for a black and white. This is a mixture of MOM and cascara. This solution worked like a charm and did not cause major diarrhea. I would not recommend this to anyone here because our systems are rewired. But I hope this helps.
   — [Anonymous]

July 11, 2001
I just had the same test it took 4 hrs 15 min to move thru My friend is a lab tech and says that that is not so uncommon.
   — Mike H.

February 28, 2002
I am a Cat Scan technologist and agree with the nurse.Traditional CT Barium can be very slow to move through the system. In the future, I would recommend letting the facility know that you have had gastric bypass surgery. There are other types of 'drink' that can be taken for the test, especially if a leak is suspected. Good Luck! Melanie
   — Melanie E.