Pill camera and small bowel

[cbear28]

Hi everyone

I was supposed to take a patency pill at 8am this morning for my pill camera test next week however I just cannot swallow it. I have tried gulping water, straws, head forward, head back, standing, sitting, laying down, taking it with yogurt, soup, porridge, honey, coating in oils, relaxing in a bath and every other way to swallow the thing for over 6 hours.

It just won't go down. Its huge! Obviously by this point it's not happening I will call hospital first thing, but just worried what they can do now to look into my small bowel. Is this the only test they can do?

Any advice to help swallow future pills also welcome.

Thanks Claire x

[FRreedman]

Although this test is the best one for diagnosis and prognosis, there are numerous alternatives, which when looked at, together, can give a relatively accurate diagnosis. Please make sure you get the name of the person (people) you speak to, at the hospital, to ensure the test is cancelled and a new one arranged.

[Valbaty54]

I often have trouble with large pills too! If you have to do this again, try with a pleasantly flavoured drink like squash. Visualise a large tunnel in your throat or maybe watch something on TV just to distract your mind as you swallow. I know the throat closing is illogical but it does happen. Perhaps they will offer you a scan instead. x

[cbear28 in reply to Valbaty54]

Thank you both. I spent over 6 hours trying to swallow the thing. Feel like such a failure because I know I need the test. Know it's mostly psychological but just couldn't get it down. I suffer from inflammation, ulcers and regular infections in mouth and throat and still recovering from my last flare so don't think that's helped either. x

[Barnclown]

Feeling for you.

Last year my video capsule endoscopy (VCE) was a bit of a shambles...the capsule swallow went so very slowly that the specialist endoscopy nurse went white with worry...like you, i’m diagnosed with inflammatory oral & upper GI conditions. but i did get the capsule down...and THEN the recorder battery ran out before the capsule left my small intestines due to my slow GI Dysmotility...the capsule finally came out 20-something days after i’d swallowed it. So, the VCE didn’t give us the views needed of my small intestine

Next my gastroenterologist decided to do MRI enterography (aka MRE) without contrast, because i hyperreact. MRE just shows the small intestine. My MRE went ok, except i hyperreact to bowel cleanse prep.

As far as i know, VCE & MRE are the 2 main imaging techniques the NHS uses to study the small intestine

Take care & good luck 🍀 Coco

[cbear28 in reply to Barnclown]

Thanks coco. I think I will most like have an Mri. I'm opposite of you with digestion. Usually see what I've eaten within 12 hours, everything just flies through my system lol x

[Barnclown in reply to cbear28]

you’re welcome 👍...funny thing is, all my life i’ve been hyperreactive to food residue + many types of food: so, when i could still digest food, either food was flying through me or staying put. Over the past 5 years, my intestinal insufficiency turned into Intestinal Failure (my small intestine can no longer digest anything) so for 2 years have survived on gastroenterology's regime of nothing but ultra low residue plain rice cakes + cartons of prescription predigested amino acids, ie EEN ( Elemental Enteral Nutrition). My consultants are trying to avoid this segueing into tube feeding. they say they don’t ‘think’ i have crohns, but my GI stuff is responding positively to immunosuppressants and this crohns-protocol EEN regime, so...🤷🏼‍♀️

i guess this is a ‘wait & see’ thing ...🍀❤️

[cbear28 in reply to Barnclown]

Have you been given a diagnosis of something else then? Or have they just acknowledged there's issues but not put a name to the problem? X

[Barnclown in reply to cbear28]

As i understand it my multidiscipline team is focusing on all gastro investigations of small intestine having so far resulted in no clear evidence of tumour or a specific IBD , but because i am a 66 year old complex patient diagnosed with several very early onset rare comorbidities, the ‘provisional’ diagnosis is crohns-like Chronic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction (CIPO) which is thought to be due to progressive mouth to a**s GI debilitation caused by my comorbidities, ie: the connective tissue disprder hypermobile ehlers danlos + the immune dysfunction diseases infant onset systemic lupus erythematosus + Primary immunodeficiency disease (hypogammaglobulinaemia).

Re my GI conditions care:

due to my comorbidities, i need joined-up multidiscipline care from my rheumatology chief + immunology chief consultants + gastroenterology consultant + gastroenterology specialist dietician/nutritionist.

Gastroenterology prescribes my daily methylcellulose for the slow transit dysmotility + the EEN (Nutricia elemental 028 extra).

Rheumatology prescribes my immunosuppression (which is damping down my GI manifestations, ie daily prednisolone + mycophenolate + amitriptyline)

immunology prescribes the meds that damp down other aspects of my GI issues (daily antibiotics that damp down the small intestine bacteria overflow + 3 weekly IVIG at hospital infusion clinic which helps with everything).

I’m seen in clinic by each of these medics approx every 6 months.

My husband has severe early onset crohns and has said all along that my GI investigations, symptoms, monitoring & meds are very similar to his. My gastro consultant specialises in IBD. I’m basically on gastro dietetics crohns protocol nutrition. So i’m here learning everything i can from this wonderful forum

Sorry if that’s TMI! Hope something in there is useful to you or anyone else under investigations for crohns, colitis etc

Wishing you every best wish 🍀❤️🍀❤️🍀

[cbear28 in reply to Barnclown]

They sound like they are very aware and on top of treatment for you which is good. We actually sound very similar again. I also have connective tissue disease (and Raynaud's and arthritis all of which have been diagnosed in past 6 months) and am waiting for a consultation on Tuesday with a bechets specialist as this is also suspected.

Unfortunately I'm only in my 20's, so keen to get on top of everything to prevent an escalation in problems.

I have been diagnosed with mild crohns in the past, however this was changed around a year ago, and since then just gone from bad to worse. So now it is suspected again due to decline since meds were stopped.

[Barnclown in reply to cbear28]

Gosh, yes, we do have things in common...inc my illnesses started when i was growing up...but back then in the 1950s-70s- the early 2000s the science on our sort of stuff wasn’t as advanced as it’s finally becoming....so my multisystem probs did have years/decades to escalate. Am definitely getting much better help from medics now! i hope your diagnostic & treatment journey moves along promptly & effectively. It’s good to connect with you 👍❤️🍀