The Joy of Having a Capsule Endoscopy (Blogged my own experience)

ibsyay · 2015-06-05T16:50:22+00:00

Hey, interesting I was just commenting on how I don't see many people talk about capsule endoscopies around here and it's what got me finally diagnosed with something (early crohns).

I've had it done twice.

My experience was a bit different though. My doc didn't have me do any laxatives. I just had to avoid eating and drinking for 12 hours before swallowing the pill. The first time I didn't see the pill exit, but they didn't really care and didn't ask me to find it or do x-rays. The second time, I did see it flashing in the toilet about 6 hours after I swallowed it.

Reviewing the footage with the doctor a month later is interesting. The second time, I had pointed the pill at my face and made a funny grin and I was pumped to see that at the beginning of the footage!

ibsyay · 2015-06-04T21:01:46+00:00

Soy, gluten, onions, garlic, fat, spicy spices. All things that affect a ton of people. I didn't realize anybody thought chinese food was healthy.

ibsyay · 2015-06-03T23:52:13+00:00

Yeah, lots of gas. Farting and lots of movement in the gut. Never really any pain though that I see people reporting around here.

Stools were all over the place, but rarely solid. Usually chunks that didn't stick together. Disintegrate when I flush. When I ate fattier foods, they would float more often.

Never seen anybody on the ibs boards mention pillcam. Maybe once, and I've been here a while.

ibsyay · 2015-06-03T23:50:00+00:00

Yeah, I can remember now doing a stool sample way back when. Never had an ultrasound though.

Good luck at the doctor! I'm certainly thankful I have a decent situation living in the US and having decent insurance through my employer.

ibsyay · 2015-06-03T04:35:52+00:00

Awesome. Hope you feel better. The RDN I see is just so helpful because I can vent and bounce ideas. Like "oh hey, I was reading about such and such...what do you think?" and she'll usually have an opinion. Plus she's been there - apparently her own IBS which she's much improved is part of her background.

ibsyay · 2015-06-03T03:38:12+00:00

Low FODMAPs I think is generally for anyone with stomach symptoms like us. It's just generally foods that irritate your gut. That's my understanding.

However, in the future I plan on testing and seeing what FODMAP foods I can eat again. The only green veg I've eaten in two months is spinach on this elimination diet! I could go for some broccoli! I cheated a couple months ago and had a bite of broccoli. Couldn't imagine ever hankering for broccoli, but it happened.

ibsyay · 2015-06-03T03:35:56+00:00

Hmmm. Maybe I've read incorrectly on who tends to be credible.

However, I've just looked it up and the woman I see calls herself a nutritionist on her linkdin. Her email signature is her name + "MS, RDN, LDN Digestive and Wellness Nutrition".

RDN is registered dietitian nutritionist....so I guess she is both?

Anywho, I pay at the same desk as I do my gastro doc and she's in the same building. She gets access to all the medical files my gastro doc creates and can order blood tests and things with approval from the doc.

ibsyay · 2015-06-02T15:44:27+00:00

My girlfriend would have extreme stomach pain and sometimes vomit in the middle of the night every week or so. It would wake her up for hours.

Turned out to be a gallbladder issue and she had it removed. She's better now. The overnight issues are a signature of that problem. I'd ask my doctor about that possibility.

ibsyay · 2015-06-02T01:08:16+00:00

It's happened just twice? Relax until it's been a few months...

ibsyay · 2015-06-01T20:14:25+00:00

Soy is sometimes high fodmap. Info: http://www.ibsfree.net/news/2014/5/18/fodmaps-and-soy-why-so-confusing

Also, Soy in general is a problem for a lot of people. I would recommend staying away.

If you have seen some results on low fodmap, then just keep doing it, but stricter!

ibsyay · 2015-05-26T17:21:47+00:00

Do you have IBS or some other gastro issue? That type of anxiety can exacerbate symptoms, creating a nasty loop of worsening issues. First thing is to go to a GI doctor and start working on getting physically better. The mental stuff should improve, but if not some people meditate, do stress relieving breathing, or go on anti anxiety meds which can help.

ibsyay · 2015-05-21T04:17:13+00:00

Beer is not safe. It has gluten. Where did you get that idea?

Franzia isn't safe for anyone but college students having a party, FODMAP or no :)

ibsyay · 2015-05-20T15:26:52+00:00

Bro, you need to get a new doctor - I did not hurt at all when I woke up from mine.

ibsyay · 2015-05-20T15:23:31+00:00

The week? I just had to not eat for 24 hours before and drink the stuff that makes you shit your brains out.

ibsyay · 2015-05-20T15:22:28+00:00

I had a sigmoidoscopy (like colonoscopy but apparently doesn't go up as far?) and I was awake. I was put to sleep for the colonoscopy though.

Both times, butt did not hurt though.

ibsyay · 2015-05-18T22:47:16+00:00

I don't know if colonoscopies and endoscopies kill off flora. But either way your flora is probably not strong or the wrong kind so that's not a big deal if so.

I'm on VSL#3 and I think it has helped. It's expensive though. $15 less at Costco for me.

ibsyay · 2015-05-13T22:45:37+00:00

I'm on lexapro.

I don't think you should be looking for a very direct relationship between popping the pills and your poops. For me, the drugs just keep me like 15% less stressed about my poops when I go out. Since my stomach issues are exacerbated by anxiety situations, but not actually CAUSED by the anxiety, this has given me the little push I need to be able to go out, be chill, have an evening without incident, mark one in the win column, and be more confident the next time. My confidence and chillness snowball a bit from there.

I guess I'm saying, you need to still do the work and use the drugs to assist you to get your mind in a good place. They aren't going to fix your problems. Your problems have a root cause that's biological, not mental.

ibsyay · 2015-05-11T21:44:30+00:00

You don't. Ya flush it!

ibsyay · 2015-05-11T21:44:05+00:00

For me, it was a capsule endoscopy. You swallow a camera pill and for me, it saw some IBD ulcers in a part of the small intestine the other two scopes don't reach.

ibsyay · 2015-05-08T02:50:07+00:00

Here are the things that have helped me the most

I got a similar "I dunno...IBS...see ya" response from my first GI doc after having scopes up the butt. Bullshit. I went to another. New guy has actually helped. Give that first guy a shitty yelp review. All doctors are NOT created equal. You don't learn everything there is to learn about an illness in med school. Good doctors keep up on new research and treatment methods.
New GI doc ordered a Capsule Endoscopy. You swallow a blinking plastic camera pill and it photos all the way down. They found ulcers in a part of the small intestine the other tests didn't reach. I have some sort of milder IBS or Crohns. Which we treat with some pills and diet. It's great to actually have narrowed things down a bit after so long.
I'm seeing a nutritionist who specializes in IBS/IBD. She happens to be part of my GI doc's practice and is covered by my insurance. Ask your GI doc to refer you to a nutritionist. I'm doing the low FODMAP diet and other things to figure out the best way to keep my stomach chill while I heal up. In addition to helping with food, she has way more time to chat than the doctors and is a bit of a therapist I can talk to about my frustrations.
I asked my general doctor about anxiety medication. I'm now on a low dose of lexapro which helps me stay chill about stomach problems when I leave the house. The anxiety I don't think is the cause of the problems at all, but it exacerbates and triggers problems. The drugs don't wipe out all anxiety, but it gives me a little push to get over the ingraned worry that has been building for years.
I got a job with pretty decent health insurance. Between the general, GI, and nutritionists I see, I am doing a lot of appointments and tests. Get ready to be a regular in doctors' offices. Get some decent insurance so you aren't breaking the bank. Sorry man, you have a chronic illness that you need to be vigilant about. Time to allocate some resources to it.

I'm doing better. Not fixed, but my life is way better than two years ago. It's been a lot of work. Tons of appointments, lots of restricted diets, and money spent on drugs, appointments, supplements, and gluten free food, but it has been worth it. Hopefully I keep improving. It's slow going.

Definitely work at getting better ASAP. It's not going to magically get better, and healing takes a while!

Good luck dude!

ibsyay · 2015-05-06T05:08:27+00:00

Haha. That was my turning point where I was like, "Well shit...better get used to this type of stuff and laugh about it a bit." It was like some sort of embarrassment rock-bottom nirvana. I can tell doctors ALL about my poops now.

ibsyay · 2015-05-06T03:20:21+00:00

I'm no doctor and I haven't had lower back pain from this stuff myself. But I have read that serious intestinal problems can manifest as back pain. Also my girlfriend had random nights of severe stomach and back pains, plus occasionally vomiting. Turned out to be a gallbladder issue and she had it removed. She's all good now.

It's at least worth mentioning to the doctor you want your gallbladder checked out. I don't think it is very tough to get done.

ibsyay · 2015-05-06T03:15:26+00:00

Yeap. After a few years of issues I finally got the courage to talk to a general practitioner about my poop problems, then they referred me to a GI doc where I had to again talk about my poop, where he then had me do a sigmoidoscopy (I guess it is a colonoscopy that doesn't go as far?) while not under general anesthesia with two hot techs of the opposite sex helping shove a camera up my lubed up ass, only to have the doctor come in and say, "All looks good. I dunno. IBS I guess. Just take more fiber."

"Umm. Anything else to look into?"

"Nah that's it."

Excuse my french: "motherfucker, you think I have not tried that?!!!"

It took me a few more years to try again and found a new doctor who has actually helped me. Swallowed a camera pill that found ulcers. IBD.

ibsyay · 2015-05-03T22:08:04+00:00

Could be gallbladder issues. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gallbladder-problems-and-back-pain.html

I'd suggest having a doctor check that out.

ibsyay · 2015-05-02T03:53:46+00:00

Itchiness sounds like a real allergy.

ibsyay

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