After my gastroenterologist noticed my elevated liver enzymes near the end of 2017, she had me to a capsule endoscopy to get a good look at my entire digestive tract. In this post, I share all about my experience, including how I prepared, what I was and wasn’t able to do with the PillCam inside me, and how I celebrated the end of this procedure.
What is a Capsule Endoscopy?
If you’re familiar with a traditional endoscopy, you know it’s when you’re under anesthesia and the doctor sends a probe with a camera down your mouth and into your esophagus, and small intestine.
A capsule endoscopy, in my opinion, is so much cooler!
Essentially, you swallow a large pill with a camera inside it. The camera takes two pictures every second as it travels down your entire digestive tract: mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, toilet.
Capsule endoscopies can get into parts of your small intestine that are harder to reach with a traditional endoscopy.
Why Did I Need the Capsule Endoscopy?
My doctor wanted to try another method to make sure I don’t have Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s is similar to ulcerative colitis, but it can cause inflammation anywhere in your digestive tract, while ulcerative colitis is restricted to your large intestine.
Also, as a bonus, these powerful cameras simultaneously scout for intestinal bleeding, catch cancer, monitor celiac disease, and screen for polyps. With my strange elevated liver enzymes, we wanted to examine everything possible.
How To Prepare for a Capsule Endoscopy
The downside of swallowing this cool little capsule is that your system has to be completely devoid of food. I had to stop eating 24 hours before swallowing the capsule.
The Night Before
The night before swallowing the camera, I also had to force down one round of the disgusting, potent, sour laxative, called magnesium citrate that you probably remember me talking about in the blog post about my first colonoscopy.
But that meant I got to miss two days of work—the day before swallowing the capsule (because no way was I going to deal with the effects of a laxative in the workplace) and the day of the swallowing (due to being fatigued from not eating.)
What the PillCam Looks Like
I had to swallow the camera pill at my doctor’s office because they also had to set me up with the proper equipment.
that will light the path and make the photos visible
Heads up: It’s not a small pill. It was about the size of the tip of my thumbnail to the first thumb joint. If you have a hard time swallowing pills, I’d suggest talking with your doctor about ways to get it down easier.
I swallow countless pills each day, so I downed this one with no problem!
As you can see in the photo, the center of the pill is the camera lens and the rectangles around it are the mini-flashlights so it’ll light the way as it swims down my intestines.
What is this PillCam Equipment I Had to Wear?
Before swallowing the camera, the technician placed this sick fanny pack type thing around my waist. This pack held the antenna that communicated with the camera inside me and transmitted the photos to the data recorder, which I also wore on my body. There was a hole in the middle that had to center around my belly button at all times.
The technician also placed sticky electrode sensors on my abdomen; they were connected to the data recorder.
Yes, I got to wear all this gear all day! To me, this was the coolest part of the whole process!
HOW NEAT IS THAT?!
This monitor is where the photos are transmitted to! Unfortunately, it’s not like I could look down at it throughout the day and say “Oh hey, camera capsule, you’re inside my rectum now!” We had to put it on sleep mode so the battery wouldn’t run out.
This outfit is another reason why I took the day off work. I worked in a professional office environment where wearing a fanny pack and a strappy camera like a tourist wouldn’t have met the dress code.
Can You Eat After Swallowing the PillCam?
After swallowing the pill, I had to wait a few hours before I was allowed to drink any water. At this point, I hadn’t eaten for 24 hours and had my guts cleared out by a carbonated lemon laxative so I was naturally a bit hangry. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything for another eight hours, once I pass the capsule.
Avoiding Electronics Throughout the Day
Another downside to this intriguing procedure is that electronics can mess with the capsule and the sensors I was wearing. That meant I wasn’t allowed to use my phone or laptop all day!
At first, I wondered how I would ever get through the day. But then it occurred to me that I’d probably be too weak and hungry to want to do anything productive, so I should probably conserve my energy by watching TV or napping.
After the Eight Hours Are Over
At the end of those eight hours, I had to drive all the way back to my doctor’s office to return the cool gear.
By then, it was about 4 p.m. and not only was I hangry, but I was weak and lightheaded. It was nearing about 32+ hours without food.
I returned the belt and recorder and was craving sodium and protein. So naturally, I drove to the nearest Panda Express!
Overview of my Capsule Endoscopy Experience
Overall, my capsule endoscopy experience was fantastic. I had no issues with the electronic gear and didn’t experience any pain.
The only downsides were the hunger, lightheadedness and fatigue, and the need to miss work. If you don’t like anesthesia or invasive procedures, you’ll probably appreciate this easy procedure.
If you have one coming up, I hope it goes well! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message or comment below!
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