Barium Swallow Test

Since I've been on soft foods, I've been having problems with sickness, regurging and chest pain when eating and drinking.

The hospital arranged for me to have a barium swallow in the x-ray department and I have to admit, I was feeling rather nervous because I was worried about the taste of the barium and liquid and the amount of liquid I would have to swallow.

I had to remove my top and bra and was given a gown to wear.  In the room was a mechanised table with a footboard attached to it. The table was in the upright position and I was asked to stand on the footboard and face another piece of machinery.  I was then given a plastic cup of the barium liquid to take sips from.
 
When told, I had to take a sip and swallow whilst standing as still as possible.  The liquid wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - it had an artificial sweet taste to it but was palatable.
 
They took a few images of me sipping and swallowing so they could look at the swallow going down into my stomach.
 
Then I was given a marshmallow which had been dunked in the barium liquid. I was told to chew it and when ready, give a thumbs up and wait to be told to swallow.


I became very embarrassed because it took me ages to chew the marshmallow into small enough pieces and I was very aware that everyone in the room was waiting for me to lift my thumb!


Finally, I was ready and the marshmallow went down very easily.
For the reflux test, I was told to hold onto the sides of the bed and they rotated it backwards very slowly until it was horizontal.  I then had to turn over onto my stomach with my head turned to one side.


I was given another cup with a straw in it.  The cup was filled one third full with barium liquid and when instructed, I had to swallow the whole amount using the straw.


This test was the most difficult as my chest and stomach immediately rebelled and the liquid began to come back up again.  I re-swallowed as much as I could but eventually, I had to spit it out into the cup.

I don't have the results yet, but they said something about my stomach not emptying properly or emptying slowly and also having a reflux problem, but I need to wait for the consultant to contact me and give me a full diagnosis.