My gastro has requested a small bowel mri and I just wondered what the prep was in the days before? I read some have to take a laxative the night before the scan the next morning to ensure clear bowels for the scan and then drink a liquid at the hospital for an hour before the scan. Some just say follow a low residual diet the day before but is it better to have a laxative the night before to ensure the bowels are totally clear for the exam?
i am in agony so I don’t want anything to mess up this test because I want it to be as clear as possible. I also have a pancreas mri and mrcp but these have to be done on a different day and only have a 4 hour starve for those so I’m less worried about that.
Any advice would be welcome and what others have done to ensure the test goes smoothly xx
Written by
MyStar86
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
thank you!! I will get the instructions soon just trying to get them done locally vs travelling to London as it’s been breaking me doing that for the other things had an EUS on Friday and the travelling adds 5 hours on so I sat up from my sedation then had to get tubes and trains hours home so that’s why the instructions have been delayed as I’ve asked for those to be done closer to home as it doesn’t need the gastro for that just the mri people.
I just wondered if it would help to take a mild laxative like milk of magnesia the night before to ensue the small bowel was totally clear for the best images and wondered if anyone else had done this. Some hospitals ask you to but some don’t that’s why I was wondering.
Thank you for the luck I’m just praying I don’t have to keep travelling for them 🙏🏻 But will find out tomorrow hopefully xx
MRI scan works different to an endoscopy scan - you will get a liquid dye to drink in the morning, (if i recall when I had) you are asked to drink over an hour, I found it necessary to empty bowels twice over this hour.
As above though, if unsure call the IBD team or MRI department, sure they will be happy to confirm.
hi I know they give a liquid to drink called Manatol it’s a bean juice which is sweet and it acts as a very mild laxative. I would ring mri or radiology and just check
About 1 hour before my MRI of small intestine (aka MRI ENTEROGRAPHY, OR MRE) the imaging staff gave me a 1/2 packet of a KLEAN-PREP bowel cleanse prep dissolved in a cup of water & asked me to walk around the room for an hour to help the cleanse expand my small intestine for maximum visibility during the scan. After the scan I had extremely urgent persistent diarrhea for a few hours, so I just hung around the hospital using the toilets. Hope you’ll let us know how you get on 🍀❤️
thank you so much for the advice and for caring about how I get on!! J will organise this week once I know if it will be London or locally then I should be given the hospital details as it sounds like they all give different nasty drinks before. I’ve had my fair share of colonoscopies so I’m used to it but I was confused by the mri. Did you get clear images from yours? Did it show inflammation? I had a capsule endoscopy years ago where you swallow a metal pill that takes loads of photos as it goes through the system that showed ulcers in my small intestines.
I will let you know how it goes but hoping to book the pancreas mri and mrcp first as that’s less prep just a 4 hour starve as drinking that bowel prep always destroys me so it’s best to save that till last now I know that’s what the small bowel mri involves so thank you 🙏🏻 Xx
Glad to have helped even a bitsounds like we’ve travelled similar NHS ‘pathways’ of GI tract investigations. No picnic, is it?!
Am 68 & been on this pathways all my life, with imaging reviews at various intervals over the decades. My mouth to exit GI issues are due to underlying immune dysfunction & connective tissue disorders, especially hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome + Systemic Lupus & its secondaries (Sjogrens, vasculitis etc) + Primary Immunodeficiency Disease
This particular lower GI review was about 7 years ago, starting with fresh colonoscopy & gastroscopy, Barium swallow & then they wanted CT with contrast of small intestine, but am allergic to contrast so they did MRE Instead. They ‘said’ did the MRE did give clear images, but that my symptoms were too severe to stop investigatiins, so they tried a video capsule endoscopy which was almost disaster out because my transit is so slow and dysfunctional generally that the capsule got stuck & wasn’t evacuated for 3 weeks! I was lucky to avoid surgery to extract the capsule. Basically, this was down to my gastro dept’s negligence because they should’ve realised my history indicated I was probably 1 of the 2.5% who meet official criteria for having ‘retained’ this type of capsule during VCE 🤷🏼♀️. So, it’s a relief your VCE went ok & showed you do have something going on in there that needs monitoring + understanding. I hope this MRE helps your consultant to help you more 💞💞💞💞
bless you that sounds horrific I can’t believe it got stuck for that long I’m so glad you avoided surgery for it though!!
I’m 35 but my journey started in 2010 when I had my gallbladder removed due to loads of stones and this was the start of a slippery slope of gastro problems and very painful ones. 2015 I got diagnosed with crohns via colonoscopy showing inflammation in the colon then had the capsule showing ulcers in the small intestine, flare ups over the years but my symptoms never improved and drugs seemed to make me worse. 2017 I had to have a repair to my gallbladder surgery. The battle continued upper right side stabbing pains but kept being passed off then found I had widespread endo a few surgeries to remove that including on the outside of my bowel and then total hysterectomy this year everything removed so I’m pretty battered. Now going up and down to London for tests with a new private specialist and possible new gallstones in bile duct 😵💫 and sphincter of oddi dysfunction. Also manged to get diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2015 which lead to hip fracture and then during lockdown whilst in hospital I collapsed and fell out of bed nhs and broke all my ribs on both sides……worst pain of my life and still haunts me. So I’m trying to step away from the nhs as the gastros have been awful to me so it’s a fresh start. Oh also been referred to a vascular surgeon as I’ve got awful problem in my legs they are purple with white spots upon standing spooo painful but don’t want more surgery that’s for sure hopefully meds can sort that.
Wow what a mess 🤣 that’s my life at 35 doctors and hospitals and a whole world of pain. Getting the mri and mrcp in London as it got too confusing yesterday but hopefully get the small bowel mri done down here just waiting to find out today.
that’s a lot🤦🏼♀️: feeling full of respect…your details are ringing bells, cause my 67 yr old husband has early onset Crohns…he survived Crohns-caused peritonitis during those big strikes in the 1970s when Hospital laundry staff etc we’re on strike (paper sheets etc) & got through a series of major bowel resections after that…💞💞💞💞
I’m also allergic to the contrast but I take my antihistamine before and don’t tell them as the contrast is what gives them better images. I learnt that after having my fair share with and without contrast so now I just dose up othereise I end up head to toe in a burning rash!!!!xx
THANKS: that’s a clever way to go about this ❣️…am v grateful…my reactions are like yours + increased/rapid heart rate etc ….so I think I’d just tell radiology that due to adverse reactions I need IV antihistamine + hydrocortisone before my IVIG infusions, so they’ll do best to give those alongside the contrast. 🍀🤞✌️
well I have my small bowel mri today and feel awful I have a terrible cold on top of my original issues and following there low residual diet I barely ate anything yesterday so I’m just having water pouring out of me already……ah well guess that means my bowel will be clean as it feels like I’ve had to do colonoscopy prep poor tummy has to go and drink the hospital nasty liquid too so I think this might take a while to recover from as the antihistamine might ward off the full body rash but not the otherside effects so I’m a little scared but never mind whatever will be will be I did as I was told and I certainly won’t mention anything jusy try to recover big time after this!!! Big hugs and I hope you are ok xx thank you for your help and support
thank you so much my lovely that means a lot!! Hoping it’s not too stressful as I worry more about being in the mri machine for ages because with my osteoporosis it’s a killer being strapped down on the hard scanner. However hopefully it will be over quickly and relatively painlessly so I can come home to my bed 🥳.
I will let you know how it goes but I will be happier once I can shake the added cold. I’m like a man with man flu as I never get colds so I’m more annoyed about that but that is life we have to roll with the hand we have been dealt.
horrific I am only just going home now left home at 11am 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 it was pure torcher I am in agony my poor back it feels like it’s broken and I’m still stuck in the car now as well. They said they got good images on the small bowel one but I made them stop part way through the mrcp it was too much for my back too long in that stupid machine jt was like laying on concrete and then strapped down with weights on me 😢😢😢😢😢 never again no more tests I’m done I will only have surgery or treatment I’ve had enough now I’m battered still haven’t eaten since 6:30pm yesterday!!! The nasty drink went through me fast I was on the loo after the first jug and dying now as I’m stuck in traffic with my mum driving dying for the loo. I just need hugs and a long bath wish we had a hot tub xxx I am going to rest and hibernate for a long time after this trauma it was pure torcher for my back I can’t even take painkillers either as I react badly to them ahhhhh I’m in a nightmare xx
thank you I just want to cry but that hurts my back so I’m resting and keeping calm. Lots of bath and arnica tomorrow 🥳. Got a week to recover before I have to travel to london 2 hours there on the train 😱 won’t think about that yet just focus on resting and drinking loads xx massive hugs
I had an MRSB and MRCP done last week at the same time. The radiology department gave instructions when I booked the appointment. For the MRCP I had to fast, but for the MRSB I just had to drink a contrast agent (that was a raspberry flavoured drink) over 30 minutes (and turn up 30 min early to do that). They recommended to me that I stay close to a loo for about 1 hour afterwards as it can cause diarrhoea so I second Barnclow’s tip. Instructions may vary so best to check with the radiology department when you book.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Anyone have mri experience?
IBD 
Crohns & incomplete evacuation 
Bowel disease ? 
Advice on IBD
