Thanks jr,
Yet another hard bm this morn. It still has white lumps in it so it still isn't all out of me yet. Can't believe it is taking this long! Hopefully it's got to be gone now!!
I have also come down with a stinking cold!!
On a positive, I saw my youngest sons nativity this morning. It was beautiful and bought a tear to my eye.. And I didn't think of my butt once!!!
OMB x

Worrying update.... I have just been to the bathroom and noticed blood on my underwear... I have never bled like this a few hrs after a bm before. Looks like I am REALY messed up from the barium.

owmybum wrote:Worrying update.... I have just been to the bathroom and noticed blood on my underwear... I have never bled like this a few hrs after a bm before. Looks like I am REALY messed up from the barium.

So sorry to hear that, owmybum, we all know how disturbing can be to see blood after a bowel movement even if we are familiar with it.
Hopefully is just temporary, but remember to call your doctor and ask questions, stress can slow healing too.

That barium can be nasty!!

Glad to hear ur sister is better but so sorry the barium messed you so bad. Ur in my prayers Omb! Why does it always seem after each doctor's visit or procedure we are worse then when we first went in? Hope you start feeling better real soon.

Yes Fernie, you are so right...every time I am messed with by a dr I always suffer a set back of sorts.
Well..... Today's update..... I think it's finally out!!!
Sorry if its t.m.i. But the first bit of bm was difficult and rock hard, but then the rest was a lot easier and softer. Small amount of blood..pain level just the same.
I must admit I was terrified to go this morning... The anxiety has returned.... But hopefully I have turned a corner bm wise.
So... If I was to summarise the proctogram experience... I would say..the actual process is absolutely fine BUT DO NOT have the barium... Refuse it.!!
OMB x

Barium, no matter how it goes into the body--drunk (I've drank it 3 times to have my stomach x-rayed), inserted into rectum via barium enema, or whatever--is just a literal pain in the *ss when it exits.

Thank You for sharing your experience
I've got to have one of those next Monday & absolutely dreading it. Still am but it helps to know a little about what's going to happen & hopefully they'll be just as reassuring with me.
I've been suffering with a fissure since about June, started with a perianal abscess which healed after antibiotics but I was still in great pain which turned out to be a fissure which became infected twice. Was referred to see a colorectal surgeon and in November had a MRI & then a EUA where the confirmed a fissure. Yesterday I had my follow up appointment & as I thought I was finally starting to heal was hopeful I'd get discharged only to be told I need further tests because as well as the fissure I also have some kind of prolapse going on in my bowel. I was told this 8 years ago after having a colonoscopy but I was discharged soon after & presumed everything was now ok but apparently not :(
So they want to do further tests so they can examine the way everything is functioning before deciding on what treatment I need.
Part of me wants to cancel the appointment as I feel I'm not really having problems, well apart from when I got the abscess & the fissure but since I'm no longer in pain like I was & I've never been constipated either I think 'why bother prodding around more now I'm nicely healing' but then again since the stools I'm producing are very soft & I still develloped a fissure I'm wondering if it's connected to my prolapse & how my muscles work/function?
Despite been soft it still does hurt when passing, although not as severe as when it was like passing glass & I'd be in spasms for most of the day. It still feels quite tight & in order to go reasonably comfortably I need to apply vasaline first & also squat whilst on the toilet.
Hopefully they'll allow me to still do those things in order to proceed with the test.
Although I'm wondering how it feels to stimulate a bowel movement & how different it is to my 'normal' bowel movement which I've got down to a routine so by the time I'm due to have the test done my bowel will be already emptied of my usual stuff. And since my fissure seems to be healing I don't want them retearing it again.
That's the first test I'm having done they said theirs 3 in total. Although I did have to have a blood test done yesterday so part of me is hoping that is included in the 3 tests so that means I've only got this one & another to go.

Hi lifelines,
Please don't worry about the actual test... It doesn't hurt in any way.... And everyone is very kind and considerate about your privacy.
It is very hard to evacuate your bowels of the barium they insert into your back passage.... I managed to get a bit to come out... But luckily they were able to see enough of what they wanted. It took a couple of hours for the rest to come on out in bits and bobs though.
They were perfectly happy for me to put my feet up onto a couple of cushions and I took my Vaseline with me and they were happy for me to coat everything with it!
What I would like to warn you about though is the barium that you have to drink before the procedure. Make sure as soon as its done, to start drinking lots of water... Up any stool softeners you may be taking and eat carefully for a couple of days after... It's like pooping bricks!! I don't think I was fully prepared and a lot of damage was done with the first couple of bms.
What other tests are you having? I have to have 3 also. The proctogram, an anal physiology test.. Which I had yesterday... Not pleasant... And an anal ultrasound, which I am waiting for an appt for.
Are you in the uk?
Try not to worry.... Just be prepared for the after effects and it should all go ok for you.
OMB xxx

Thank You for your reply.
Those are the other 2 tests I'm having done too I think. I mistakingly thought the proctogram was the same thing as the anal physiology.
I was told one would be were I have to do the same prep the day before to empty my bowels like what I had done for the colonscophy in the past except instead of sticking the camera up my bum are looking at colon via a x-ray instead so I wonder if that's the anal ultasound.
They've already confirmed I have some kind of prolapse so confused as to why I need further 'invasive' tests done. Said something about needing them doing before deciding on what treatment to give me
Relieved they let you use the vaseline, a must for me & which had me in tears when I wasn't allowed to use it when I was told I had to have an enema before my EAU. Despite saying I didn't need one as I'd made sure my bowels were empty first, as I thought that way I wouldn't have to go through more pain, except I was told despite me saying I was empty I still had to have it done or they'd refuse to go ahead with the examination. I guess I could understand but I wish I'd known in advance as I had to go through that pain without been allowed to apply my vaseline before inserting the enema into me which when I then went to the toilet, as my bowels were already empty, all I had to to evacuate was the liquid.
What does the anal physiology involve & how does it differ to the proctogram. I thought the two was the same thing & tell hem the same thing about how the bowels work.
Thanks for the advice though, shall 'try' & relax & make sure I stick to my usual high fibre diet & plenty of water afterwards.
x