Snaklog

The dreaded barium enema, having heard horrendous stories about the indignity’s and tribulations of the barium enema it was my turn, following a few days of a low residue diet and having to take the dreaded Picolax again I turned up at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with some trepidation.

I was taken to a small cubicle where the procedure was explained and I changed into a hospital gown, then after a short delay it was through into the main room where I had to lie down on a tilt-able bed. The barium was introduced and the table was then moved into lots of positions to fully coat the colon with barium at one point the table was tilted to such an extent that I thought I was going to fall off. Xrays were taken and then it was off the table into a side room with a toilet where I spent the next twenty minutes or so trying to get rid of the remnants of the enema, it’s a bit like sh**tting chalk.

The results of the enema were all negative apart from one small diverticula that was found. This meant the diagnosis of diverticular disease was incorrect.

A letter arrived for me from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary came explaining I was to go for a flexible sigmoidoscopy along with a leaflet explaining the procedure and some packets of a substance called picolax.

According to wikipedia

Flexible sigmoidoscopy enables the physician to look at the inside of the large intestine from the rectum through the last part of the colon, called the sigmoid or descending colon. Physicians may use the procedure to find the cause of diarrhea, abdominal pain, or constipation. They also use it to look for benign and malignant polyps, as well as early signs of cancer in the descending colon and rectum. With flexible sigmoidoscopy, the physician can see intestinal bleeding, inflammation, abnormal growths, and ulcers in the descending colon and rectum. Flexible sigmoidoscopy is not sufficient to detect polyps or cancer in the ascending or transverse colon (two-thirds of the colon). However, although in absolute terms only a relatively small section of the large intestine can be examined using sigmoidoscopy, the sites which can be observed represent areas which are affected by diseases such as colorectal cancer most regularly, eg. the rectum.

 

For the procedure, the patient must lie on his or her left side on the examining table. The physician inserts a short, flexible, lit tube into the rectum and slowly guides it into the colon. The tube is called a sigmoidoscope. The scope transmits an image of the inside of the rectum and colon, so the physician can carefully examine the lining of these organs. The scope also blows air into these organs, which inflates them and helps the physician see better.

If anything unusual is in the rectum or colon, like a polyp or inflamed tissue, the physician can remove a piece of it using instruments inserted into the scope. The physician will send that piece of tissue (biopsy) to the lab for testing.

Bleeding and puncture of the colon are possible complications of sigmoidoscopy. However, such complications are uncommon.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy takes 10 to 20 minutes. During the procedure, the patient might feel pressure and slight cramping in the lower abdomen, but he or she will feel better afterward when the air leaves the colon

My appointment time was for early evening on a Monday. The leaflet provided with my letter gave instructions on preparing myself for the examination this involved going on a low residue diet for three days and taking ‘Picolax’ over the last 24 hours. Picolax is a digusting powder that you mix with water or squash and drink, it is a powerful laxative and cleans everything out from the lower bowel. The toilet becomes your best friend for quite a while.

I turned up on the Monday evening for my procedure after signing the obligatory consent form I was taken to the examination room, lay on my side, trousers and underpants moved to ankles, knees bought up to chest and watched the whole procedure on a monitor. The tube was inserted and air blown, it was weird seeing my insides on the monitor. The procedure was uncomfortable rather than painful, but luckily nothing untoward was found.