Why are xray barium examinations becoming less common? Which proceedures are less common? Have you had one?
464254
I agree with Kammy, but I'd just like to add...\n\nWe don't use barium where I work for CT contrast studies - it creates a lot of artefact on the images.  For GI studies, we use Gastrograffin.  We have replaced barium enemas with CT virtual colonoscopies, which use air as the contrast medium.  In fact, the only time we do a barium enema is after a failed (regular) colonoscopy.  \n\nWe still do barium swallows quite commonly, as they not only show the anatomy of the area, but the function of it as well.  CT can't replace the functionality of the barium swallow.\n\nSmall bowel follow throughs were never particularly common at my work - more often than not, they are done for therapeutic reasons rather than diagnostic.  Again, we prefer to use Gastroview, because mostly they're done where there is a suspicion of a perforation.
203982
A radiographic exam of the lower GI is called a BE (barium enema).  It has mainly been replaced by colonoscopy.  The only time my facility is doing a BE anymore, is after a doctor attempts a colonoscopy and cannot thoughouly examine the colon.  Reasons for that would be a very long colon (it happens!) or a colon with many loops in it (redundant colon).  If you want to know more about a BE, check out these links:  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003817.htm\nhttp://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/lower_gi.htm\n\nFor a colonoscopy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonoscopy\nhttp://www.webmd.com/hw/colorectal_cancer/hw209694.asp\n\nFor an even easier exam of your colon, think about virtual colonoscopies with CT:  http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/ct_colo.htm
280975
I have one too...gotta get an ex-ray next week...doc said something about a spur on the bone. Feel free to contact me next wednesday and I'll let ya know what he says.
699324
I dropped them years ago when it took them 3 months to diagnose my daughter with Crohn's Disease.  She suffered horribly and lost 25 pounds.  They told me she had some kind of "virus," and even possibly cancer.  It was the most stressful time for all of us - my other kids were terrified their sister was going to die.  As soon as open enrollment came at my job I dropped Kaiser and enrolled in a PPO, which is more expensive but has totally been worth it for the kind of care she received.  With a PPO you don't need a referral to a specialist, so when my knee was killing me I just made an appointment with an orthopedist who did an MRI that week and surgery within the next three weeks.
396830
Most people with gallstones are asymptomatic (they don't know they have stones).  Pregnant women make more gallstones.  In the facility where I work, we always check the mother's gallbladder when we do an OB ultrasound.  When we do find stones, most women had no idea the stones were there.  They were not experiencing ill effects from it.  If you are not have health complications from the stones, leave them be for not.  If you develop symptoms, you can always have it removed later.  By the say, they do not just remove stones, but they take out the whole gallbladder.
416145
No.  The reason it seems to be increasing is because we have better ways of diagnosing it and catching it early now.  In the not so distant past, most women didn't know how to do self exams or couldn't afford or didn't even know about mammograms.  Birth control pills have hormones that are naturally present in a woman's body, esp. during pregnancy.
1152896
Geeze, I don't know. Barium is used for imaging tissue that wouldn't be seen on an x-ray or CT without it. Iodine 131 is used for treating thyroid cancer. I've never heard of Barium 131.
621143
Please go and get an X-Ray done instead of looking for your answer in here. Things can be very fine or also very serious so medical daignosis is essential.
908447
No it is not common.  Continued 'attacks' mean 1 of 2 things - either the gallbladder was not the cause of the attacks, or the remainder of the duct is blocked or otherwise not functioning properly.  You should consult your surgeon.
229911
First...ultrasound is using high frequency sound waves whic are sent into the body through the probe. these are bounced back as they hit different density parts. they then show on a screen in real time. An x-ray is where radiation (x particles) are blown into the body and straight through. the xrays then make a print on the film. These are no longer real time as the film needs developing. Both need to interpret their product. Advantages for both are evident with the ultrasound able to be repositioned quickly to get another view and the xray has a film which can be studies and transported easily time can be taken to diagnose a result. Ultrasound is also very safe where xray is very dangerous.
1170326
Sounds to me like a Doctor visit is definitely in your future, thats not normal, unless maybe you broke open a hemmoroid during a bm.... and you should still see your Doc to be on the safe side.
497112
First of all, the material usually isn't barium anymore but a different contrast material.  This contrast material stays inside the intestines and allows the radiologist to distinguish intestine from other soft tissues in the abdomen.  Often, IV contrast is also given to highlight blood vessels and other structures with high blood flow.
664263
Cause the MRI is the best Equipment in medical imaging to have high contrast images to soft tissues\n\nand these images cant be done by Xray and CT cause X ray beam have very high attenuation to bones .... the used more in image the skull and bone structures
944155
I think your Dr. should send you for an xray. I hate it when they think that is what it is. Tell him you want an xray.
500879
not sure..what is most common instead of it?
560690
A barium meal, also known as a barium swallow or an upper gastrointestinal series is a procedure in which radiographs (x-rays) of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum are taken after barium sulfate is ingested by a patient. Barium meals are useful in the diagnosis of structural and motility abnormalities of the foregut.\n\nThere are two varieties of barium meal, these being single and double contrast meals. A single contrast meal uses only barium, a radiopaque (or positive) contrast medium, to image the upper gastrointestinal tract while a double contrast meal uses barium as well as a radiolucent (or negative) contrast medium such as room air, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. The double contrast meal has the advantage of demonstrating mucosal details and is much more useful as a diagnostic test allowing the detection of small mucosal lesions such as diverticula or polyps.\n\nEsophageal cancers grow from the wall of the esophagus into the opening of the esophagus, creating a tumor or bump inside the esophagus. A barium swallow test can show irregularities in the normally smooth surface of the esophageal wall. Barium in liquid form is used to coat the esophagus wall before the x-ray is taken, allowing the x-ray to show the esophagus clearly.\n\nA barium swallow test is often the first diagnostic test in people with trouble swallowing. It can be used to identify both early and advanced cancers, although early cancers (before symptoms occur) are often found by accident while having the test for another reason. In the barium x-ray, early cancers can look like small round bumps. They also can appear as a flat, raised area called a plaque. These masses will cause the barium to coat the affected area of the esophagus unevenly. Advanced cancers look like large irregular areas and cause a narrowing of the width of the esophagus. A barium swallow test cannot be used to determine how far a cancer may have spread outside of the esophagus.\n\nA barium swallow test can also be used to diagnose one of the more serious complications of esophageal cancer called a tracheoesophageal fistula. This occurs when the tumor destroys the tissue between the esophagus and the trachea (windpipe) and creates a hole connecting the swallowing and breathing tubes. This leads to frequent coughing and gagging, and can be repaired with surgery or an endoscopy procedure.\n\nThere are six tests that are performed on the blood when assessing a patient for thyroid cancer. They are:\n\na. T3\nb. T3 resin uptake\nc. T4\nd. thyroid scan\ne. TSH\nf. TSI\n\nA search of endoscopy facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico turned up at least six hospitals.
284803
X-rays should be avoided in the 1st trimester, if at all possible.  Cells are dividing at such a rapid rate, there are more chances of mutating them at this point.\n\nFor a 7th month pregnancy, the risks are not as great.  It is not much different from a newborn getting an x-ray.  BUT, I have rarely done an x-ray on a pregnant woman, other than in trauma situations, when a diagnosis could make the difference between life and death.\n\nHere is what some "experts" say:\nThe fatal cancer risk is not measurably elevated by the chest x ray during pregnancy. The American Cancer Society provides comparison data for cancer incidence. The Society estimates that the lifetime risk of developing invasive cancer at any age in an American today is 43.48% in a male and 38.34% in a female. The probability of developing cancer as a result of the chest x ray is not known with certainty, but is extremely unlikely to be greater than one in a million. It may also be as low as zero. The lifetime risk of developing invasive cancer in the exposed offspring would be less than 43.4801% in a male and 38.3401% in a female. Since the spontaneous risks in unexposed individuals are not known to that level of accuracy, then any cancer arising from the chest x ray would be so rare as to be undetectable.  http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q996.html\n\nA chest X-ray is not usually done during pregnancy because the radiation could damage your developing baby (fetus). If a chest X-ray is necessary, a lead apron will be used to shield your baby to decrease exposure to the X-rays. http://www.webmd.com/hw/heart_disease/hw205975.asp\n\nWhen you receive a chest x ray at qualified facility, the exposure of the x rays is to your chest, not to your embryo. The "scatter" that might reach the embryo would be extremely small and would not represent an increased risk for birth defects or miscarriage to your embryo. If you are healthy and young and have no reproductive problems or family history of reproductive problems your risk for birth defects is 3% and for miscarriage, 15%. Neither you nor I can change that risk. Good luck with your pregnancy.  http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q1327.html\n\nHere is my take on it (and I have thought about it for the last 15 years).  The probability of damaging a fetus, in utero, with a chest x-ray (or any x-ray) is very small.  BUT, how will you feel if something is wrong with your baby at birth?  It very well would be for some other reason, but will you spend the rest of your life wondering if that x-ray caused it?