Barium swallow(sp?)

[Anonymous]

Hey,

My daughter Kate is still having trouble so our THIRD ped(that’s been fun)wants to do a barium swallow test on her next week at children’s hospital. Any idea what this is, what it involves, and what it will determine? I could go through books to find out but you all are much more honest, easy to understand, compassionate, and reliable. Also, her poop is still such a huge issue because she still as diahhrea(just a stain in the diaper-Big stains) and I can’t figure out why so is there some kind of allergy test they can do to figure out what in the world she’s intolerant to? I’m going on day 7 of no dairy or soy. Could it still be in my milk? Thanks.

Claire

[Anonymous]

Hi Claire,
Bryce had a swallow study done when he was younger. Basically what they did was had us feed Bryce different consistencies of barium to see how well he swallowed them and if any aspiration occurred. We first tried liquid barium, and then barium mixed with baby food. The whole time they were watching with an x-ray device. They were able to see Bryce refluxing significantly and they saw that he had some problems swallowing food down (dysphagia). They also determined that he was not aspirating during reflux episodes.

Hope that helps! Good luck with the test.

[Anonymous]

It’s possible that they are also just talking about an upper GI. That’s what Kaelyn had, but several people at the hospital referred to it as a barium swallow.

It can take 2 weeks for milk proteins to clear your system, but I would think that you would have started to see some improvement by now. Have you thought about cutting anything else out of your diet? I ask because I cut milk and soy while breastfeeding Kaelyn, but it never occurred to me to cut wheat which turned out to be a major allergen for her.

[Anonymous]

Hi Claire,

Like the others said, many doctors use the term “barium swallow” interchangeably to describe either a “modified barium swallow” which is what Heather described and an “upper GI”. Neither test is intended as a diagnostic test for reflux, but sometimes the person conducting the test will see that reflux is occuring as an incidental note during the procedure.

The modified barium swallow is usually done by a speech-language pathologist, basically the way that Heather described. In really young babies they often just mix the barium into a bottle of formula and have you bottle feed as you normally would (if you use a bottle). The test is intended to indentify swallowing problems or feeding problems (such as delayed bolus formation and aspiration of liquids into the lungs).

The upper GI is intended to diagnose any structural malformations along the GI tract. They strap the baby to a table and then have them drink a barium solution from a bottle while they take pictures as the solution moves through the GI tract. Hailey had this done and did pretty well… she already had a feeding aversion at that point and hated breast-feeding (or bottle feeding) but sucked back the barium from a special syringe like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted.

After the test, they usually have a really strange poopy diaper until the barium is out of their system, and it can also cause constipation.

Good luck.

[hellbennt]

any chance you have OALD over active let down? OAL:Gaining, Gulping, and Grimacing?
http://www.wiessinger.baka.com/bfing/trouble/gulping.html

what color is the ‘stain’ I’m guessing you mean it’s watery/liquidy?

green?

could be OALD, could be a protein in your diet- the most likely culprit is milk and/or soy proteins…I’d give having it out of your diet for a solid 2 weeks at least and then perhaps do the Total Elimination Diet (TED)…

[Anonymous]

I also think they are talking about an Upper GI. We found the WORSE thing was that your LO will have to go without food that morning until they get to drink the barrium in a bottle. Otherwise, it wasn’t bad at all for us.

[Anonymous]

Hi again

Her poop varies with every diaper in color. Usually some sort of mustardy color, sometimes a little green but not really. Yesterday it was just liquid, liquid, liquid, and a LOT of it. Besides the eating problems, she seems okay I guess. It’s so hard to tell these days. Anyway, I think I definately have OALD so I’ve been feeding her on one side only per feed, holding her upright, taking her off when my milk lets down etc… It doesn’t seem to have helped much. I’m thinking I just should do TED. Is the thread about what you can eat etc… in the intro part to the forum? I was trying to hold off doing it but at this point I don’t care if all I eat is potatoes, pears, turkey, and rice. I just want Kate to feel better!!

[hellbennt]

there’s info/links from

‘groupie intro’ (introduce yourself forum)

‘mspi page’ (mspi forum)

and there’s a TED forum- look for ‘reiudun’s story & gathered info’

[Anonymous]

Thanks Laura for all the links and help! I really appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

Good luck with the test. Keep us posted.

[Anonymous]

I’m new here but wanted to add that my 5 1/2 mo son just had a barium swallow w/a lower bowel follow through on the 19th and it wasn’t so bad during the test. He drank some sweet chalky stuff from a bottle and they did xrays while he drank it and then every 1/2 hour until it reached his lower bowel. He was quite the happy camper considering we were at the hospital for 4.5 hours.

However, no one told us that it blocks you up and my DH and I were p*ssed at his gastroenterologist b/c the poor little guy whimpered for 4 days as each time he beared down to poop he was in pain. On the fourth day I actively tried to help him go by massaging his bottle and I could see inside him when he would bear down and there was this big white clog…suppositories couldn’t even get in and melt to help out. We ended up giving him diluted prune juice and 1tsp of milk of magnesia every 4 hours that day…finally on Wed, 5 days after the test he poops out what looked and felt like drywall. It was awful.

I’m saying this to scare you but to give you the heads up about maybe adding something to your diet/his to make sure he doesn’t get as constipated as my son did.

[Anonymous]

Giving them some water to drink after the test can help with that consitipation issue. The nurse or rad. tech should tell you that, but I know they often do not.

[Anonymous]

Hi Claire,
If you are still on here I am just interested how things have gone and what you have found out. My daughter is having an Upper GI on Tuesday. Also, we have the very liquid poopy. Did you ever discover what that might be? Is it for sure a food allergy? Just curious how it is going and what you have discovered since we are going through the same thing.

Thanks,
Carol

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