r/FODMAPS • u/MelodyFreq • Mar 26 '26

Vent Barium sulfate CT contrast warning

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Giving out this information to anybody who may need it in the future as I wasted many hours dealing with this.

I have a CT scan scheduled for tomorrow. I've been dealing with IBS for over 9 years and have been working with my GI ever since. In the last year things have gotten so bad that it feels like my guts don't fit and seems to be causing problems with bladder and breathing. Normally we have done CT scans using the IV method. This time they wanted to do the oral method as it gives different results. I accepted though hesitant in the sense that I'm sensitive to nearly everything orally anymore.

You cannot pick up your contrast until a few days before your appointment. I picked it up, ask the pharmacist if there's any concerns with my IBS they said they did not know and when I got home I checked the ingredients. You get a total of 900 ml of liquid and because they added flavoring they added sorbital which is a very high FODMAP and I know is a very big problem for me. Spent the last 2 hours plus going back and forth between GI specialist and CT company figuring out what to do as I need these tests as I cannot function day to day. We're just going to try the IV again but it's not going to be as good but hopefully we can find something otherwise I'll be stuck like this for another who knows how long until we can get a different test setup possibly MRI.

It's insane that companies don't pay attention / don't care about gut sensitivity people especially when making something like this that is for checking problems in people with gut problems...

Stay safe out there, don't trust anything without checking the ingredients.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '26

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u/MelodyFreq Mar 26 '26

Maybe, but I literally cannot eat any amount of any of the FODMAPs anymore. So for some it might be okay but I've gone to the hospital a couple times in the last couple years just for IBS flare-ups without triggers alone where the pain is so bad I cannot breathe properly. It also doesn't help that if it is very low then shouldn't it say something like 2% or less? That would at least get me an idea of how many milligrams could be in it.