My husband was told he has to have this done because of having digestive problems.
2007-03-14 09:00:12 · 6 answers · asked by Patches 5 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
upper is threw the mouth
lower is threw the butt.
2007-03-14 09:03:46 · answer #1 · answered by skcs11 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just saw a show on this over the weekend on Discovery Health Channel. It starred Leslie Neilson and was pretty funny.
An endoscope is put down your esophagus. There's a tiny camera attached to the end of it.
A colonoscope is put into the rectum and up through the bowel about 6 feet. Once again a tiny camera lets the doctors see what's going on and can catch colon cancer early in the form of pollups.
There's also a barrium enema. Barrium is a heavy metal and allows the lower intestine (or upper GI...the barrium can be swallowed) to be x-rayed, which normally wouldn't show up because the intestines are too thin.
In the lower GI barrium prodecure, they give you an enema, then you got on this table that sort of resembles a twisted, derranged ride at Disney. It tilts you all sorts of directions so the barrium can wind its way through the colon. Then they take an x-ray.
There's also a new cutting edge technique where you swallow a camera pills. It takes 2 pics per second, then the images are downloaded, wirelessly, to a laptop or desktop computer. Then a technician can look over the films of both the upper and lower GI tracks.
2007-03-14 16:16:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it could mean one of two things.
1 - drink barium (radioactive substance), wait for it to work it's way through the system - then take x-rays.
2. Colonoscopy and it's counter part that I can't remember the name of. For the colonoscopy they run a flexible camera inside your colon from sphincter to the end of the large intestine. They basically do the same from the mouth down to the small intestine.
I've had a colonoscopy - the worst part is the prep the night before. You take a laxative from hell, you spend the evening bleeping your brains out. The actual procedure is nothing, they dope you up so good you never know what happened. You walk out as soon as you fart.
2007-03-14 16:10:27 · answer #3 · answered by Fester Frump 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HAVE IT DONE A.S.A.P. THE INITIAL TREATMENT IS STARTED BY THE PATIENT , IN THAT, THE PATIENT WILL BE ADVISED TO TAKE A CERTAIN REMEDY TO CLEAN OUT THE ENTIRE INTESTINAL TRACT PRIOR TO GOING IN FOR THE SERIES OF TESTS. THE TESTS INVOLVE SWALLOWING A WHITE SUBSTANCE CALLED BARIUM WHICH ALLOWS THE DOCTOR TO DIAGNOSE ANY UPPER GI PROBLEMS. AND THEN BARIUM IS INJECTED INTO THE RECTUM ( ENEMA ) AND THE DOCTOR CAN DIAGNOSE THE LOWER G.I. AREA. AFTER SUCH TESTS A COLONOSCOPY MAY BE ADVISED TO CHECK FOR POLYPS AND GET SAMPLES TO CHECK FOR THE PRESENCE OF CANCER. DONT BE SCARED BECAUSE THEY WILL HANDLE THESE PROCEDURES WITHOUT PAIN. THESE TESTS ARE VITAL ... JUST HAVE THEM DONE AND DONT LINGER !!
2007-03-14 16:47:29 · answer #4 · answered by woolly worm 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They clean your system out, then fill you with a gross milk shake that taste like UG! then they take x-rays to look for blockage in the upper track. For the lower GI they give you a ice cold enema and take x-rays of the lower intestines. There not pain full, so have them done soon for best results.
2007-03-14 16:10:29 · answer #5 · answered by zipper 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Radiologist will explain this all to you before he starts the procedure You can opt out
2007-03-14 16:26:45 · answer #6 · answered by hobo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋