Barium swallow to check for LPR

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Kasianni

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CharBerry! You were right, there was nothing to it at all. Even the evil Barium didn't taste bad, I kinda blocked out the taste while drinking it. The only nasty thing was the stuff they make you take prior to that, tastes like sand and I had trouble swallowing it. Wanted to throw up right after lol. I am glad I went. I did cancel the first one, I am scared of the results but better to know and deal with it then not know and wonder and wait till its too late if there is something wrong. Thanks for letting me know, I appreciate it.
 
Well I am going for my barium swallow on Tuesday and almost feel like canceling it again because I am scared! I did too much research on the internet. Has anyone had any trouble with it before? I read if a person is allergic to it that their body can go into shock and you can die, or if you don't pass it in a bowel movement that it can harden in your intestines and cause a blockage. Well how the heck do they know if your allergic to it before hand, do they just do it and wait and see??? Also, I don't know why my doctor is not sending me to a ENT because most of my symptoms are in the throat. Hoarseness since August that comes and goes, had a sore throat for months but is almost gone now that I started on Nexium 7 weeks ago, it comes and goes actually. And I hardly have liquid come back up anymore when I bend over. I am soooo nervous I don't think I want to go. Please if anyone has had this procedure let me know
 
Glad you made it ok! Not the most pleasant tasting stuff but at least the whole thing didn't last long for me. Be sure to drink lots and lots of liquiRAB now. I'm looking forward to hearing the results.

CharBerry
 
I had a upper GI where i had to drink the barium. The test was so easy. don't worry about it......the whole test lasts less than 20 min.......I had the test because of heartburn and pains in my upper abdomen...all came back normal and i had an endoscope the other day......that wasn't that bad cuz i slept through it.....The Barium is not that bad.....bride527
 
Last summer, I had a Modified Barium Swallow and Esophagram. Both tests in a row that required eating and drinking large quantities of Barium. I had absolutely no problems with it going through my system. I did drink tons of water afterwarRAB, but I usually drink tons of water anyway. I think that may have helped.

Ironically, my Pulmonologist recommended the tests when I couldn't get my asthma under control. Honestly, I thought they were going to be a waste of time and money. I knew I had reflux, but I had been on a double dose of PPI's for years and hadn't had any obvious symptoms for several years. The tests showed that even though I wasn't feeling it, I was severely refluxing acid and food. The acid was coming up and irritating my lungs and I was aspirating it some. After that my Pulmonologist referred me back to my GI doc for further treatment. He said I had to get the reflux under control in order to get the asthma under control.

I made sure all of the tests were also sent to my ENT as well. My attempt to ensure coordination of my treatments.

I hope this helps. Good luck on Tuesday.
MountainReader
 
Well, today my doctor called, not her secretary but my Doctor!!! She had always told me that she would never call with any results in less it was something serious.
Well, when I heard her voice, I had a little panic. She told me that she called because if it had been her secretary calling to make an appointment to see her, that she knew I would worry and wonder and be in a panic until I saw her so she decided to call herself. Well, I absolutely have acid reflux, she confirmed that. Its odd though I said is it LPR and she said well whats that (I am french and so is she and I didn't know how to say it in french, lol) anyways, she said that the acid reflux can burn the throat and cause hoarseness. I said how is my throat cause someone told me that the barium swallow can see how we swallow and if there are any cancers or something she said they were not looking there but my stomach. I told her that 2 weeks after starting the nexium my sore throat went away, so did the throwing up liquid when I bend over, but that the hoarseness was still there. So I don't know, anyone know if that is normal? Well that go away too? I have been on nexium for 2 months now. Anyways, something else, she was looking for ulcers too and while I don't have that, she said I have an inflammation of the stomach mucosa, or gastric mucosa, and I have no idea what that is. She was trying to tell me but it was too much info all at once. I have to loose a lot of weight. Does anyone know what this is?? I asked her if its cancer she said no, I asked if it can lead to cancer and she said no more then it could for her so I guess that's a no. But I don't know what this is can anyone elaborate? Kinda worried, but not more then that, I can't find info on it and I don't know what causes it, I think its the reflux but gosh she was just saying so much.
 
I have had several and there's nothing to it. Promise. My first test (few years ago) showed reflux but the one I had a month or so ago didn't, which is frustrating since I continue to suffer with the LPR. I've had most of the test many times but since my barrium didn't show anything, I'm reluctant to go thru the whole routine again. Barrium is usally the first test and easy. Good Luck and keep us posted!

CharBerry
 
CharBerry, thank you so much for taking the time to answer, you don't know what it means to me. I am so scared and nervous. I heard the barium can harden and cause a blockage, etc..and I have had anything wrong with me my whole life till now and its scary. My doc things I have LPR too, but when I started taking nexium, my sore throat went away after 2 weeks, and so did the hoarseness. Now, the hoarseness is back, and not the sore throat. I am scared what they well find. I thought that once I started taking the Nexium, all symptoms would magically go away. I don't understand all this. Thanks for the response.
 
It took a long time for me to get a proper diagnoses and I still sometimes wonder. Like you, I lost my voice for weeks and months at a time. When scoped I was diagnosed with GERD, chronic gastritis, bacteria H, no ulcer or hernia. I was put on Previcid, Carafate and Reglan in the beginning. My voice did improve but it didn't last. After seeing many ENT spec (and I mean many) having all the test (a lot) I continued to get the same diagnose of GERD/LPR. It took a long, long time for my stomach issues to heal but I had (and still do) have voice problems to this day. This is over 10 yrs now so I would say it's a chronic condition. For some unknown miracle (I did start drinking a juice) I haven't lost my voice for quite sometime, but I do have problems with it and chronic PND, which causes me to cough or clear my throat a lot. I have been on all the PPI's and with LPR you must take twice a day. Nexium is supposed to be the best but they all seem to stop working awhile then I'd be switched to another. Right now, I stopped them all simply because I felt what was the point. A big part of it is supposed to be your life style and eating habits along with maintaining the proper weight. I, like many, go thru perioRAB of being able to eat just about anything or seem to be in a remission like period. Unfortunantly, this doesn't last either. I must admit that I'm not good at following the rules but after this long who could. Listen to your Dr. and I wish you the best of luck.

CharBerry
 
I can relate with what it feels like to get a call like that. I had one last spring. About 2 weeks after my barium testing (one for chewing and swallowing and the other for digestion), I got a Sunday afternoon call from my Pulmonologist. (What docs call patients on Sunday?) My reflux had been affecting my lungs and breathing. He told me the test showed I had a "swallowing disorder" and that I would never get my breathing under control until I get the disorder under control. When I met with my GI doc, I learned that the "swallowing disorder" was actually severe reflux and a hiatal hernia that had developed since my previous testing a couple years ago.

It sounRAB like you were questioning the need to lose weight. Any weight you lose will result in that much less pressure on the stomach. Theoretically, less pressure on the stomach results in less reflux being pushed up. Thus, fewer symptoms.

Personally, I think it can help some, but it isn't a cure. If your LES isn't functioning properly, then reflux will still be happening.

The medications help reduce the acid enough that it just doesn't hurt as much. While it isn't a cure, you can certainly feel better when you find the right corabination of things. Often with LPR it takes two PPI's per day. Once before breakfast and the other before dinner. That helped me get things under control for several years. I've been on PPI's since 2002. Right now, I expect it will be a lifelong thing unless something new comes along.

While it does occur, cancer because of reflux is extremely rare. With regular dr's appointments, you can monitor for it.

I think your primary concern should just to be getting your symptoms under control. Work on losing the weight. Watch your diet. Avoid things like spicy fooRAB, fatty and greasy fooRAB, onions, garlic, tomato products, citrus products, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, carbonation, etc... Watch for other fooRAB that might be triggers for you. Avoid these things until you feel better. After that, you can try them in moderation to see if they are triggers for you. Although, I avoid many of them still, even when feeling better. I'm scared of triggering things worse again.
 
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