Question:

I wish I had some of Trish’s wonderful words to use. Dang, gee whiz and consarn it are about the best I can come up with (and still use on the ng), I have to have an upper GI done on Friday. Anybody been there, done that who can tell me what to expect? The best thing about it is that I also have to get an abdominal ultrasound done first and then there will be about an hour wait in which to do some stitching. Kim in SW Fl

Dear Kim! Try ‘Oh. Bl**dy h*ll!’ I find that very satisfactory in moments of extreme chagrin! I’ve had an upper GI done and it was nothing! They gave me twilight sedation and told me I’d be awake but I wouldn’t remember anything. Well, I was determined to remember *all* and made a point of noticing…. zzzzzz…. I didn’t recall a darned thing about any of it! They asked me whether I had any crowns or porcelain facings on my teeth and after that I have no idea what happened. They told me my throat might be tender afterward, but it wasn’t. I woke up relaxed and ready to stitch (I had St Frantic with me in my little basket) until I was released to go home. No problems! My DBIL had one recently and he was *petrified*! Afterward, he told me he felt really silly for being so worried. So, don’t you worry! Just take your stitching and relax! Let us know how you get on, won’t you? — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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Trish….I think you probably had a gastroscopy done, where they put a tube down the throat to the stomach to look around…..for an Upper GI you have to drink the barium and sure couldn’t do that in twilight sleep! When I had the barium they had chilled it and it was much easier to swallow.  Do drink tons of water after it though!  Helps ‘thin’ it out so it passes through the system easier! Good luck Kim! Lori – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’ve had an upper GI done and it was nothing! They gave me twilight sedation and told me I’d be awake but I wouldn’t remember anything. Well, I was determined to remember *all* and made a point of noticing…. zzzzzz…. I didn’t recall a darned thing about any of it! They asked me whether I had any crowns or porcelain facings on my teeth and after that I have no idea what happened. They told me my throat might be tender afterward, but it wasn’t. I woke up relaxed and ready to stitch (I had St Frantic with me in my little basket) until I was released to go home. No problems! My DBIL had one recently and he was *petrified*! Afterward, he told me he felt really silly for being so worried. So, don’t you worry! Just take your stitching and relax! Let us know how you get on, won’t you? — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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Trish….I think you probably had a gastroscopy done, where they put a tube down the throat to the stomach to look around…..for an Upper GI you have to drink the barium and sure couldn’t do that in twilight sleep! When I had the barium they had chilled it and it was much easier to swallow.  Do drink tons of water after it though!  Helps ‘thin’ it out so it passes through the system easier! Good luck Kim! Lori

Oh! Yes, I did! But I’ve also had the other, which we call a ‘barium meal’ not an ‘upper GI’! Sorry for the mix-up! The barium meal was fun! They put me on a revolving operating table affair, which tilted me every which way to coat my stomach (on the inside). I thought I was going to burp barium all over the little nymphette who was tilting me! And she’s standing there going ‘Now, don’t burp, whatever you do!’ and turning me upside down and then swiftly right side up again. It really puts you off, though, to see a real-time image of yourself in the act of burping while semi-upside-down! Doesn’t hurt or anything, though. It just takes a good while to – ah – eliminate the barium. I’d feel sorrier for your toilet if I were you! Just remember not to burp (heheheh!) — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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A woman i know Made her Stones Into a Pretty String she Often wears !!! mirjam

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A woman i know Made her Stones Into a Pretty String she Often wears !!! mirjam

Hmmm…. might make an interesting conversation piece ;- — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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Maybe that’s why I’m having such trouble completing this piece: I recall the *awful* pain of gallstones every time I look at it! — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

I know exactly what you mean. My panda needlepoint PFH was started while my husband and I were separated. Even though we are happily back together and things are fine now, I can’t stand to look at the thing…it has way too many sad memories attached to it. However, I have seen St. Frantic in needlework catalogs. I don’t think you need much of a reason. That leaf border looks like a real pain. Good luck! Lollee

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Trish said: I’ve had an upper GI done and it was nothing! They gave me twilight sedation and told me I’d be awake but I wouldn’t remember anything. Well, I was determined to remember *all* and made a point of noticing…. zzzzzz…. I didn’t recall a darned thing about any of it!

Ummm, Trish? You did *not* have an Upper GI. What you had was an EGD (Esophageal Gastric Dilatation) where they put a fiber-optic tube down your throat and into your stomach to have a *look around*. An Upper GI is an x-ray examination where you drink barium while the radiologist looks at you with fluoroscopy and checks your swallowing mechanism and stomach for abnormalities. No sedation needed. (unless you are fighting us and then very nasty things can happen to you!) <g Suzy (Registered Radiologic Technologist for more years than I care to mention!)  

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Before you ask, they gave me my gallstones in a large, wide-mouthed bottle. They were very pretty: sort of pearly grey! However, no one had bothered to clean them, so they had bits of – well, gall bladder stuck to them. ‘Oho’ I thought, ‘I’ll just wash them a bit to make sure they look nice’. Now, I *know* this is a silly thing to think, after all it’s not as though I wanted to stitch them to anything like a Mill Hill bead or a quartz crystal charm! But I leaned over to swish them in some water and one hopped out of the bottle and smakk onto St Frantic, who was reclining in my basket beside the bed! Well! What could I do? I *had* to get up and run some cool water on St Frantic, didn’t I? I got the – er – bulk of the stain off, but the mark is still there! Shouting ‘J’accuse!’ So you be careful, won’t you? — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia Trish, Is the stain on any stitching or just on the cloth? What color is the fabric? Sometimes a little hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab can get out ….erm…biological stains.  You would need to test this on a scrap of fabric first. And of course, rinse it out well after. If not, have you ever thought of adding a bird or falling leaf or something to cover the stain? I hate to think of you going through life looking at your innards on a piece of inspiration stitchery! Lollee

It should be OK, thanks Lollee. The stain is far enough into the margin to be covered by a matt board when I finally come to mount and frame it. I was lucky not to get anything (well, so far!) on the business part of the fabric. Actually, I hadn’t thought of peroxide: I’m going to try that! Thanks for the excellent idea! Maybe that’s why I’m having such trouble completing this piece: I recall the *awful* pain of gallstones every time I look at it! — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Before you ask, they gave me my gallstones in a large, wide-mouthed bottle. They were very pretty: sort of pearly grey! However, no one had bothered to clean them, so they had bits of – well, gall bladder stuck to them. ‘Oho’ I thought, ‘I’ll just wash them a bit to make sure they look nice’. Now, I *know* this is a silly thing to think, after all it’s not as though I wanted to stitch them to anything like a Mill Hill bead or a quartz crystal charm! But I leaned over to swish them in some water and one hopped out of the bottle and smakk onto St Frantic, who was reclining in my basket beside the bed! Well! What could I do? I *had* to get up and run some cool water on St Frantic, didn’t I? I got the – er – bulk of the stain off, but the mark is still there! Shouting ‘J’accuse!’ So you be careful, won’t you? — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Trish, Is the stain on any stitching or just on the cloth? What color is the fabric? Sometimes a little hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab can get out ….erm…biological stains.  You would need to test this on a scrap of fabric first. And of course, rinse it out well after. If not, have you ever thought of adding a bird or falling leaf or something to cover the stain? I hate to think of you going through life looking at your innards on a piece of inspiration stitchery! Lollee

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says… Well, I had my abd. ultrasound, upper GI and small bowel study today and it was awful. If it would have stopped with the upper GI that would have been fine, but after that I had the study where you drink about 2 cups of barium and then they take x-rays every 10 to 20 minutes. The x-ray tech called us the people following the barium trail. I gagged on the last couple ounces of barium and almost upchucked, the lady who came after me did. Anyway, my stomach and intestines are okay, but I do have gall stones, no wonder I’ve been having pain. Just think, when I have my surgery I’ll have a couple of weeks to stitch. I was working on a bookmark for my dd’s teacher out in the hall in between xrays and several people stopped and said how pretty was and asked what kind of stitching it was. Kim in SW Fl

Thank goodness I didn’t have to go through all that to find out I had gall stones!  I just walked into the emergency room (well sort of did the Quasimoto thing really) doubled over in pain, with DH and 8 week old sleeping DD in tow and off they wisked me to the nice nurse with the Darvocet needle and the doctor who asked just where the pain was?  See me pointing to my right side just under my ribs? He says ‘gall bladder’ and schedules me for surgery before I go home. Came back two days later (after eating NO FAT at all to get the inflamation down) and had the whole gall bladder removed laproscopically on my DH’s birthday.  They didn’t give it to me, alas.  I was back at work within a week.  Hope your results are as good. I don’t miss it at all!  And they say labor pain is bad… Kathy p.s. apparently lots of postpartum women have the same problem…. according to my doctor, about 90% of the gall bladder ops he does are on women who have had babies in the last 2-3 months….they sure didn’t mention THAT in the pregnancy books!

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Well, I had my abd. ultrasound, upper GI and small bowel study today and it was awful. If it would have stopped with the upper GI that would have been fine, but after that I had the study where you drink about 2 cups of barium and then they take x-rays every 10 to 20 minutes. The x-ray tech called us the people following the barium trail. I gagged on the last couple ounces of barium and almost upchucked, the lady who came after me did. Anyway, my stomach and intestines are okay, but I do have gall stones, no wonder I’ve been having pain. Just think, when I have my surgery I’ll have a couple of weeks to stitch. I was working on a bookmark for my dd’s teacher out in the hall in between xrays and several people stopped and said how pretty was and asked what kind of stitching it was. Kim in SW Fl – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Hi Kim I went for an upper GI this morning and it was not bad at all. You have to take these flakes like alka seltzer and drink a bit of water, doctor says this is to make your stomach swell. Cannot burp, and guess what the first reaction is! After that  you get to drink this small glass of thick white stuff, did not taste as bad as I thought. whole procedure only took about 15 minutes. Sure felt good when I got out and the big burp came . Had hiatus hernia and gastro something or other a few years ago and had to take pills for a long time. It seemed to have gone away for a while but looks like it is back. But if it is the same as before treatment is not bad, just a pill before bed, raise the end of the bed a bit, no eating before bed. the hardest part will be the losing weight that the doctor attributes part of it to. Enjoy the stitching time Pat

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Well, I had my abd. ultrasound, upper GI and small bowel study today and it was awful

Glad it’s over with for you Kim!  Get to feeling better soon. Candi

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well, I had my abd. ultrasound, upper GI and small bowel study today and it was awful. If it would have stopped with the upper GI that would have been fine, but after that I had the study where you drink about 2 cups of barium and then they take x-rays every 10 to 20 minutes. The x-ray tech called us the people following the barium trail. I gagged on the last couple ounces of barium and almost upchucked, the lady who came after me did. Anyway, my stomach and intestines are okay, but I do have gall stones, no wonder I’ve been having pain. Just think, when I have my surgery I’ll have a couple of weeks to stitch. I was working on a bookmark for my dd’s teacher out in the hall in between xrays and several people stopped and said how pretty was and asked what kind of stitching it was. Kim in SW Fl

Dire warning: *Do* be careful not to get any bits of gall bladder on your WIP! I got a chunk of gall bladder on my St Frantic and it’s still there, shouting ‘J’accuse!’ at me every time I look at it! Before you ask, they gave me my gallstones in a large, wide-mouthed bottle. They were very pretty: sort of pearly grey! However, no one had bothered to clean them, so they had bits of – well, gall bladder stuck to them. ‘Oho’ I thought, ‘I’ll just wash them a bit to make sure they look nice’. Now, I *know* this is a silly thing to think, after all it’s not as though I wanted to stitch them to anything like a Mill Hill bead or a quartz crystal charm! But I leaned over to swish them in some water and one hopped out of the bottle and smakk onto St Frantic, who was reclining in my basket beside the bed! Well! What could I do? I *had* to get up and run some cool water on St Frantic, didn’t I? I got the – er – bulk of the stain off, but the mark is still there! Shouting ‘J’accuse!’ So you be careful, won’t you? — Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

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The bad news is that you have to drink a fairly awful barium solution and have a series of x-rays taken of your stomach and small intestine. Hope nothing serious

is wrong. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. And if they give you the stuff for checking for reflux, *don’t* burp!!!  You have to take more of it!!! :)  Actually, I think the upper GI is a lot less *painful* than the lower GI!! Also, hoping nothing serious is wrong. Candi

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Hi Kim I went for an upper GI this morning and it was not bad at all. You have to take these flakes like alka seltzer and drink a bit of water, doctor says this is to make your stomach swell. Cannot burp, and guess what the first reaction is! After that  you get to drink this small glass of thick white stuff, did not taste as bad as I thought. whole procedure only took about 15 minutes. Sure felt good when I got out and the big burp came . Had hiatus hernia and gastro something or other a few years ago and had to take pills for a long time. It seemed to have gone away for a while but looks like it is back. But if it is the same as before treatment is not bad, just a pill before bed, raise the end of the bed a bit, no eating before bed. the hardest part will be the losing weight that the doctor attributes part of it to. Enjoy the stitching time Pat

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Hi Kim! Better the upper than the lower (according to DH who has had both!) My youngest son had to have an upper GI when he was about 1 year old – he just drank some stuff then had pictures taken.  I stayed in with him when they were doing it, and it was pretty neat watching the barium move around in his body! — Andrea Mommie to Matthew (6yo), Benjamin (3 1/2yo) and Christopher ( 2 yo)

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I wish I had some of Trish’s wonderful words to use. Dang, gee whiz and consarn it are about the best I can come up with (and still use on the ng), I have to have an upper GI done on Friday. Anybody been there, done that who can tell me what to expect? The best thing about it is that I also have to get an abdominal ultrasound done first and then there will be about an hour wait in which to do some stitching. Kim in SW Fl

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Oh! Yes, I did! But I’ve also had the other, which we call a ‘barium meal’ not an ‘upper GI’! Sorry for the mix-up! The barium meal was fun! Trish {|:OI} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Fun????  It doesn’t take much for you to have fun, does it?!!!! :)  The only thing I think that’s worse it the lower GI or sigmoidoscopy.  Yuk!!  I wish I had been in twilight land!! Candi

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I have to have an upper GI done on Friday. Anybody been there, done that who can tell me what to expect? The best thing about it is that I also have to get an abdominal ultrasound done first and then there will be about an hour wait in which to do some stitching. Kim in SW Fl

Kim, The good news is that this isn’t the worst test in the world. The bad news is that you have to drink a fairly awful barium solution and have a series of x-rays taken of your stomach and small intestine. The barium coats them so they show up really well on the x-rays. The abdominal ultrasound is very similar to the ones they give pregnant ladies, but they’re looking at your stomach, pancreas, liver, colon, etc. Hope nothing serious is wrong. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Lollee(nurse for 12 years, nurse practitioner to be in six months)

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Kim, The good news is that this isn’t the worst test in the world. The bad news is that you have to drink a fairly awful barium solution and have a series of x-rays taken of your stomach and small intestine. The barium coats them so they show up really well on the x-rays. The abdominal ultrasound is very similar to the ones they give pregnant ladies, but they’re looking at your stomach, pancreas, liver, colon, etc. Hope nothing serious is wrong. Will keep my fingers crossed for you. Lollee(nurse for 12 years, nurse practitioner to be in six months)

Thanks Lollee, I’ve been having some abdominal pain radiating around to my back and the doc wants to make sure it’s not gall bladder or an ulcer. To be honest I think it’s just gastritis and I went to the doctor thinking I would be just getting some medication. It’s good to be cautious, a coworker’s wife had a lower GI done last week and had surgery the next day, turns out it’s cancer and it’s already spread to the liver and kidney. She’s only 49, has been having blood in her stool for quite a while and put off going to the doctor. And she’s an orthodontist, should have known better. Kim in SW Fl

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<snipped Kim’s post Kim, The good news is that this isn’t the worst test in the world. The bad news is that you have to drink a fairly awful barium solution and have a series of x-rays taken of your stomach and small intestine. The barium coats them so they show up really well on the x-rays. The abdominal ultrasound is very similar to the ones they give pregnant ladies, but they’re looking at your stomach, pancreas, liver, colon, etc.

And if they tell you to drink plenty of water after the test is finished, DO IT!  IIRC, when I had one done about 30 years ago, they told me I would have miserable constipation if I didn’t drink lots of water.  I thought I drank plenty.  It apparently was not enough.  :-( Arliss

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I wish I had some of Trish’s wonderful words to use. Dang, gee whiz and consarn it are about the best I can come up with (and still use on the ng), I have to have an upper GI done on Friday. Anybody been there, done that who can tell me what to expect? The best thing about it is that I also have to get an abdominal ultrasound done first and then there will be about an hour wait in which to do some stitching. Kim in SW Fl

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