I was scheduled for my first ever barium enema because of some persistant pain in my abdomen. The prep had been a gallon of golytely - which had made me so nauseous I could not finish the solution.
I assumed all would be well since I had spent a whole evening on the toilet and went to the appointment at the radiological clinic the next morning. I sat in the waiting room, the only male in a room full of hugely pregnant women who were there for ultrasound. The receptionist called out through her window in a loud voice "Mr.Hyde, for the barium enema, step through the door to the left." Every eye turned toward me and more than a few grins could be seen on my pregnant audience.
The female X-ray tech asked how the prep had gone and I told them about the nausea and they said I should have called and they would have given me an alternate prep. They suggested I cancel and repeat the prep but I neither wanted to repeat the process or lose another day of work.
She conferred with the doctor and they agreed to do the preliminary X-ray to determine if the bowel was empty, and if not she would administer an enema if I agreed. I did not want to come back again, so I agreed.
Of course I was not clear enough and they said I would need a tap water enema. I thought that I might be in for an adventure, but instead they led me in my backless gown to a bathroom in the hall and told me to wait. Shortly the tech returned, knocked and entered carrying a very full Fleet bagenema.
She hung the bag on the clothes hook next to the door and asked if I had ever had an enema. I told her I had, but it had been when I was a teen, many years before. She said, "well, just remove the green tip, insert this in your rectum, bend over the toilet, and slide open the clip. Take as much as you can, then empty into the toilet. Keep doing that until the bag is empty. When you are done, just call me - I'll be just down the hall. If you're not running clear, we may have to reschedule the appointment."
She left and closed the door, so I bent over, inserted the tip, and started the flow. I was feeling very full and was about to stop when the door flew open and a frantic pregnant lady and another female tech were in the doorway. They said, "Ohhhh, sorry, we thought the bathroom was empty." Meanwhile I am bent over, tube up my behind, bottom facing them with half a bag of water flowing into me. They didn't leave until I am sure they got an eyeful of my predicament. They closed the door and left me to endure my embarrassment.
After a couple of fills, the enema was over and I sheepishly stuck my head out the door and called my tech. She asked if everything had come out alright and put the empty bag in the trash can. She apologized for the intrusion and said they make the ladies drink and drink for their ultrasounds and their bladders are ready to burst by the time they were allowed to go to the bathroom. She told me not to feel bad, the techs give barium enemas all day and had seen it all.
Little comfort; since the lady who saw me was still in the office after my visit and grinned as I did the walk of shame through the waiting room.
Remember it like it was yesterday!