i've been radioed

So I was in the hospital the whole morning today. I went through yet another test.. for like the umpteenth time.. it seems endless and I'm beginning to feel like a lab rat! I've just gone through a small bowel radiography.. another probe to find the cause of my anemia. It's an X-ray examination of the upper gastrointestinal system. As opposed to the more invasive tests like the endoscopy and colonoscopy, this one was a walk in the park.. well I was sitting/lying down most of the time, more like.

All I had to do was to swallow a few cups of a contrast material called barium (a water soluble iodide).. kinda resembles an unappetizing milkshake - chalky-ish taste laced with vanilla flavour, to make the intestines show up clearly on film. I was then asked to lie on the X-ray table while the radiologist took pictures of my small bowel.. various films were then taken at 15 minutes intervals. The test is over once the liquid barium has passed through the small intestine.

So my morning was basically spent flipping through magazines in between posing for the lens on the table - "nice".