Barium Swallow Test

Hi. I went for my Barium Swallow test today. During the procedure the doctor said I had ate something but I haven't (even after the test) ate anything or drank anything for almost 20 hours! Why would they say I have ate/drank something when I'm withering away here? Is there a possiblity my food has not digested yet?

[FurballsMom]

I had the Barium tests done years ago myself.  I didn't have any problems with the Barium Swallow test, but the Barium Endoscopy was miserable to say the least.  The colonoscopy was far superior.  I don't really know the answer to your question, but from what you're saying, I would assume that your digestion is really slow.  That doesn't really surprise me a whole lot because my IBS tends to be the kind that is mainly constipation.

Are you seeing a naturopath?  I am fortunate that both my conventional and my naturopathic doctors believe in integrating their efforts.  Many are not so fortunate to have doctors from either side willing to work together.  I'm saying this, because I'm wondering if you need digestive enzymes, but I'm wondering if you need a specific kind.  And, you will probably be told to take probiotics as well.  My naturopath explained that those of us with the constipation problem have slow colons.  Those with the opposite issue have colons that work too fast.  Neither is good.

Other than looking for a good naturopath for this problem, I don't know what else to suggest.  I don't think Western medicine is the complete solution for GERD/IBS sufferers.  The tests we go through, only to be told that the doctors can't find anything that explains the symptoms aren't necessarily bad medicine, because they're useful in ruling other issues out for the digestive tract.  When I had the Barium Swallow Test, it was clear that I did have inflammation of the duodonim (sp), which shows up with gastritis, and explains that awful pain that I was getting before.  

Much of what we need is only found with natural medicine.  Not only that, I ended up being allergic to the pharmaceuticals that I had been using, and without much success in the first place.