# Gastric Emptying Scan



## 13885

Has anyone had one of these tests? I'm scheduled for one on Monday, January 8 and have some questions if you ever had one.When I searched on the internet, I found that if "1/2 of the food stays in the stomach after 2 hours that is a sign of gastroparesis". When I called the Nuclear Medicine Department to ask for details they said they use scrambled eggs for the test and to expect to be there for 90 minutes. How can they let you go after 90 minutes if what I read above is true? Also my instructions only say that I can't eat or drink anything after midnite. Do you think I should be careful about what I eat on Sunday during the day so my stomach is not hurting or just the reverse?thanks in advance for you thoughts.Sue


----------



## 19652

I'm not sure about that either but I had that test done twice. The first one they had me sit around for 90 min. The second one they had me walk around for 90 min. I think walking would show a more accurate reading. They do have you eat scrambled eggs with a little drink.


----------



## SpAsMaN*

Ask your doctor if constipation can cause slow gastric emptying.I BELEIVE IT COULD.


----------



## 19652

I tried to eat just what I would normally so they would get a more accurate reading.Good luck


----------



## flux

> quote:When I called the Nuclear Medicine Department to ask for details they said they use scrambled eggs for the test and to expect to be there for 90 minutes.





> quote:The first one they had me sit around for 90 min. The second one they had me walk around for 90 min.


Generally, the typical study lasts four hours, though the test can be stopped once you've reached your 1/2 point. If they really intend to let you go so soon a priori, you should what result they get at 90 minute point. It does sound suspicious a bit.


> quote:I think walking would show a more accurate reading.


Actually, you should _not_ be walking.


> quote:I tried to eat just what I would normally so they would get a more accurate reading.


No, does not matter.


> quote:Ask your doctor if constipation can cause slow gastric emptying.


No, constipation is just a symptom.


----------



## 19652

Actually is was the Cleveland Clinic that had me walk around for the motility test. They told me it was more accurate then sitting because most folks don't just sit around all day. I really don't know.


----------



## flux

> quote:is was the Cleveland Clinic that had me walk around for the motility test. They told me it was more accurate then sitting because most folks don't just sit around all day.


Joel Richter used to be GI section chief over there and now that he's gone, who knows who is running things over there.For that to have real validity, they'd have to do a study of what people do after they eat meals.


----------



## 13885

thank you for all your replies. I will post back on Monday and let you know what happened.


----------



## SpAsMaN*

> quote:No, constipation is just a symptom.


Listen Flux,Dr.McCallum told this in a conference:


> quote: A brilliant doctor ask his student to retain their stools for one week.ALL of them got slow emtying.


I'm sure you remember this quote rigth?


----------



## SpAsMaN*

I mean it totally makes sense that the stomack is somewhat paralize by constipation.That's why people throw up naturally.


----------



## flux

> quote:A brilliant doctor ask his student to retain their stools for one week.ALL of them got slow emtying.


I don't follow. Are you saying he recounted a (semi)voluntary experiment in which subjects were asked to force themselves to withhold their BMs for a week to see what effect it had on their gastric emptying? I don't remember any strange story like that









> quote:I mean it totally makes sense that the stomack is somewhat paralize by constipation


It is common for people to have problems at both ends, but it doesn't mean one caused the other. More likely, there is a common underlying mechanism.


----------



## SpAsMaN*

> quote:withhold their BMs for a week to see what effect it had on their gastric emptying? I don't remember any strange story like that


Yes Flux







I'm listening to the 05 Bedford meeting rigth now to find it.But it is most likely from the world meeting in MTl that year.


----------



## 18651

greetings to all...it has been awhile. i fired my gastro after he told me that he had no clue why i was so bloated and distended all the time. went to a new gastro last week who gave me a script for aciphex and scheduled an emptying scan for friday 1/12. i am completely miserable. this distension has been going on for one year now and i am the worst i have ever been, now i have pain as well.sue1420, how did it go?


----------



## SpAsMaN*

annilady,i have bad bloating too,mostly link to trapped gas in the cecum and descending colon.Apply heat in these area in the meantime and let us know how it goes.


----------



## 18651

thanks spas. i apply a warm cornbag every night to lower ab to no avail. today i am so constipated that i drank a bottle of citroma.


----------



## 13885

Hello MissAnnnie!So sorry you're feeling so badly! I'm happy that you fired your Gastro and found another! I just did the same thing. I've been battling IBS (supposedly), erosive esophagitis and GERD. I'd been seeing my GI since Feb 2005 and had an long list growing in my head (including Inefficient and rude office staff, his refusal to do the paper work to convince my insurance company to allow me to continue on 2 Nexium per day, and his continual suggestion that I just take an SSRI) of why I should find another GI doc. Since I belong to an HMO I then needed to convince my GP to give me a referral to someone else specifically to a GI associated with one of the bigger teachig hospitals in Boston instead of a local GI. Finally in november I took the plunge, asked and got a referral and saw someone new on November 28. I was pretty impressed with the new Doc. She did a very thorough exam including a rectal exam with stool sample (former GI never did that! go figure!) and she put me back on 2 Nexiums, sent me for a colonscopy and the gastric scan and is reviewing my MRI films from the past year for an indeterminate liver lesion with a liver specialist. (Old doc said that we didn't need to follow it anymore because it was stable even though we didn't know what it was. I didn't like that opinion.)Anyway I don't have any results from the gastric emptying scan but I can tell you what it was like:Nothing to eat or drink after midnite. Had to eat a crumpled up hard boiled egg - I asked for water and the tech gave me about 3 ounces to wash it down! Had to lie on a very narrow table that my arms didn't even fit on-they were resting at my sides on an armrest that pulled out from under the table. Table was pushed back under the machine - sort of like a very large doughnut and the table went trhu the hole. Not as bad as an MRI because my head/face was not under the machine but pretty close - my chin was practically touching the front of the machine. It took exactly 90 minutes - 90 very long minutes because all you do is lie there completely still. Best part is that you didn't have to get undressed! Tech was in and out of the room - i kept ansking him for time updates and eh finally got the hang of it and just gave me an update without asking. At one point I mentioned how slowly time was passing and how it would be easier on the patient if they could listen to their ipod or a walkman and he said he could put the rasio on for me. DUH!!! Why didn't he suggest that at the start? I am really getting fed up with some of the people I am meeting in the health care world. They are not as compassionate and caring as I thought they would be. My recent colosncopy experience was awful because of a cetain nurse.Well I hope that your scan goes as well as mine did and that it brings some resolution to your problem. I look forward to hearing your results!Take Care!


----------



## 18651

thanks sue1420. i think there is a blockage in there now but i dunno


----------



## 18651

well after eating the world's groSSest soft scrambled egg and two pieces white bread, it took 3 hours for my stomach to totally empty. the techs were great and i was able to take my walkman in. the techs said that was an unusually long time but to wait for my doctor, of course.


----------



## flux

> quote:it took 3 hours for my stomach to totally empty.


Hmm, that doesn't seem too long.


----------



## 18651

greetings once again. i was supposed to see my new gastro today but he called to cancel the appt. he wants me to REPEAT THE GASTRIC EMPTYING SCAN. yuck. of course he won't tell me why. any ideas? so that is scheduled for the 31st. in the meantime, i am enormously bloated and very constipated with a weight gan of 6 pounds.


----------



## 13885

Missannie - that's a bummer that you have to do the test again and that your appointment was cancelled. I hope he had a good excuse. did you get a chance to talk with him or did the nurse or receptionist call with the news to do the test again? If he didn't call you himself, I think you should call the office back and ask to speak with him or ask for an explanation from whomever. Maybe the test wasn't accurate? Did you get a copy of the actual test results? Maybe that could help you understand. Sorry you feel so uncomfortable to boot.


----------



## 13885

A quick follow-up on my gastric emptying scan...I got a copy of the report and it says: "there is no evidence of delayed gastric emtying" however,a "gastric lag phase of 12 minutes, followed by continuous and complete distal passage of gastric activity into the small intestine.Half-time clearance: 35 minutesGastric clearance at 90 minutes: 75% Does anyone know how to interpret this?


----------



## flux

> quotef course he won't tell me why. any ideas


You should ask.


> quote:the techs said that was an unusually long time but to wait for my doctor, of course.


For one thing, why did the tech your apparently normal numbers are not normal?


> quote:"gastric lag phase of 12 minutes, followed by continuous and complete distal passage of gastric activity into the small intestine.Half-time clearance: 35 minutesGastric clearance at 90 minutes: 75%


Sometimes, the test is done for both liquids and solids and these numbers look normal numbers for liquids. If it were solids, then you have _rapid_ emptying.


----------



## SpAsMaN*

Flux,if the intestine is full of gas,it makes sense that the stomack won't empty.


----------



## flux

> quote:f the intestine is full of gas,it makes sense that the stomack won't empty


Huh?


----------



## 18651

sue- the receptionist called, never the doc. could not talk to me, just reschedule the test. so the appointment was cancelled until after the second test. luckily, i got in for the test on the 31st, and doc appt on feb 3rd.flux, of course i asked to speak with the doctor, and was refused. and the tech did not say my time was not normal, they said they felt it was an unusually long time in comparison to the others they've done.


----------



## 14486

Annilady,I'm fairly new to the forum and I see this post was from a couple of months ago, but I'm just wondering how things turned out for you. I had three different gastric emptying scans done. The first one was a 2-hour one and it was normal, the second was a 4-hour one and it was delayed. The third was a 2-day one (6 hours the first day and 30 minutes the second day) and it was normal. So, my GI doctor has determined that medications I take are affecting my motility. Have you changed any medications over the period of time that you've had these problems. Medications can either slow down or speed up motility.


----------

