A barium enema is a common method of diagnosing problems in the colon (large intestine). The barium enema exam uses barium sulfate (a thick, chalky liquid) and a fluoroscope, which is like an x-ray video camera, to take pictures of your colon. It is a safe procedure and our staff will do everything possible to make you comfortable during the exam.
Before your barium enema, purchase a 10 oz. bottle of Citrate of Magnesia (or MiraLAX), 3 Dulcolax tablets and a Fleet Enema Kit from a drugstore.
The day before your appointment, follow these instructions:
Breakfast: Normal Diet
Lunch/Dinner: Clear liquid diet such as, clear broth, bouillon, cranberry, apple, grape juice, gelatin, or plain Jell-O, coffee, or tea (without cream or milk), popsicles, ginger ale, 7-up, and water.
1 pm - Drink one full glass or more of water or above liquids.
3 pm - Drink one full glass or more of water or above liquids.
5 pm - Dinner
6 pm - Drink 10 oz. bottle of Citrate of Magnesia (cold or with ice) or two doses of MiraLAX (per MiraLAX directions)
7 pm - Drink one full glass or more of water or above liquids.
8 pm - Take 3 Ducolax tablets with one full glass of water.
9 pm - Drink one full glass of water or more of clear liquids.
10 pm - Drink one full glass of water or more of clear liquids.
The day of your appointment:
Do not eat or drink 4 hours before your scheduled appointment. 2 hours before your appointment, use the Fleet Enema Kit. Medications can be taken 2-4 hours before your appointment.
The x-ray technologist will position you on your side on the examining table. The technologist will then insert a lubricated enema tube into your rectum. As the barium enters your colon, you may have cramps and feel a strong urge to use the bathroom.
As the barium fills your colon, the radiologist takes x-ray pictures. The radiologist may reposition you or push on your abdomen to make sure that all the loops of your colon fill with barium. The technologist will put air into your rectum to make the colon more visible. This may give you a cramping feeling, but this feeling is normal and will go away.
The entire procedure usually takes about an hour.
Once the exam is completed, you will be allowed go to the bathroom and expel the barium. The remaining barium usually passes out in small amounts over the next few days. You will be able to resume your regular or prescribed diet and medications. Eating normally and drinking plenty of fluids will help remove the barium from your system.
It is normal for barium to give a whitish color to your bowel movements for a day or two. Watch for signs of constipation. If you have not had a bowel movement two or three days following your barium examination, it may be necessary to take a laxative.
Rochester General Health System will send the results of your exam to your physician so that he or she can make a diagnosis and explain to you what the findings mean.
