Does The MRI Gel Need To Appear In The Stool?

Posted on Mon, 23 Apr 2018

Question: I had an "inconclusive" MRI defecation test . U didn't pass the gel injected in my rectum and never saw signs of it in my stool. Are there any complications caused by not defecating the gel?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (14 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
no

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome. No, there are no possible complications since this is gel made of natural ingredients and this is dissolved soon in rectal lumen. If if some of this is left, there is no harm.
If all tests are fine, you should do anal manometry more and do tests for sacral nerves functions. As last hope, surgery can be recommended and it includes resection of limited length of colon which is hypomobile. This is done in refractory cases but may be the only successful option. WIsh you good health. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (30 hours later)

Another therapy prescribed by my PVP was to hold my nose to prevent swallowing. The reason being that if I held my nose, I would be unable to swallow therefore I couldnt swallow air. I did this three separate times holding my nose for 8 -12 hours. During that time I salivated continuously and had to use a bath towel to spit all the saliva into. I did not eat during all the hours I held my nose so I wouldn't swallow. The reason I was told for this was that my digestive system was out of sync and needed to be reset. In a subsequent swallow test with a marker, I overheard the assistant say in slow voice "things are going backwards" . The technician mumbled mumbled something inaudible to me. Could holding my nose to prevent swallowing complicate my problem with constipation, uncontrollable bouts of belching and straining to have bowel movements 4-6 times per day?

Another reason for the holding the nose question is that when straining for shower movement, Just before defecation , a lot of saliva wells up in my mouth from my throat. Also just before defecation I urinating doesn't empty my bladder. When I do defecate it is usually a small amount, sometimes a sticky, the consistency of peanut butter, sometimes wattery. The battery stool U assume is from the Miralax I take daily with stool softeners and a probiotic. An Xray done about a year ago ruled out an ileus and constipation, (which I'm sceptical of because I know when I'm constipated), by the X-Ray tech but my PCP said she noticed quite a bit of feces in my stomach when viewing the X-Ray. The sensation I feel is that my body is constantly in the elimination mode, never feeling relived after a bowel movement. Could this indicate the possibility of diverticulisis, since 2 of the last 5 colonoscopies indicated the presence of diverticula?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (46 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
probably not

Detailed Answer:
Hi and welcome back.

Well, this method with nose holding to prevent swallowing is useless and there is no medical support for this. But this could not cause issues that you mention.

We cant avoid air swallowing but it can be reduced by avoiding quick eating and avoiding carbonated drinks and alcohol. Also, food that causes bloating should be avoided such as bean, fried food, pasta, oil, red meat, chocolate, etc.

Your symptoms are indicating certain digestive problems.
Belching issue may be explained by a hiatal hernia or GERD but if you had upper endoscopy that this is ruled out.

Secondly, some food allergies or coeliac may lead to food intolerance and consequent defecation difficulties, bloating etc. So food allergy testing and biopsy of small bowel mucosa may be necessary to rule out these.

Diverticulosis should not cause such difficulties.

If laxatives, dietary and other methods were not successful then anal manometry should be done and if this is abnormal, local injections of botulinum toxin into anal sphincter may be attempted.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee