Questions re CT Scan of abdominal / genitourinary

[Qooty]

Hi folks,

Husband of an IC Board member hollyd here asking if anyone knows of the form CT Scan takes when done for renal / abdominal / bladder area. Getting conflicting reports of :
- intravenous versus oral application method of contrast material
- water versus other form of contrast material

If anyone's had such diagnoses, we'd appreciate any info! Also as holly has prolific frequency issues, any hints for managing lying there for so long? Any hints for dealing with the discomfort of not being able to pick and choose the least painful position to lie in. Is it basically a big narcotic day?

I may have had other questions but have forgotten them for the moment. Any assistance greatly appreciated!

Kev

[braykittie]

Hi
When I was in the ruling out stage I had a CT of my abdomen, it was a piece of cake. I also had frequency (about every 15 minutes) and worried the procedure would be a problem--it wasn't.
Here's how they did it: The tech started an I.V at a very low rate--coz I told her I had frequency issues and when I needed to go I can't hold it!
She took a set of scans without contrast, which tookl about 5 to 10 minutes (much faster than I thought it would be) and then she injected a contrast dye into the I.V.. She told me it might give me a metallic taste in my mouth and I might feel a warm rush throughout my body (like I was voiding), which I did on both. Then she took another set of images and that was all. I got dressed-no side effects- and went home. Oh one interesting thing was I got to see the images as she was doing them --that was really cool.
I was very nervous before the procedure--fearful of all the things we IC'ers worry about, along with having no control. But none of my imagined worries came to pass. It was quite the easiest procedure I have had to date--it way easier then a pap test.
Eveything will go well, but it's second nature to worry. I hope this helps. Take care, and the best to both of you.
Jane

[Qooty]

Thanks for the response Jane that's quite reassuring! Wife has also learnt thru phone calls today that they will be doing both water scans and contrast scans. Also that she is apparently going to be able to interrupt if the need arises for a visit to the facilities, as many times as needed. Holly doesn't have urgency, only frequency, which is a blessing of sorts.

Thanks for your help! I'll try to remember to post our experience with it as it sure helped us to have heard from just one person!

Thanks again,

Kev

[Qooty]

Well holly has been and returned from her scan and it was all far less scary than she had envisaged. I thought I'd drop back in and add our report on this.

Issues of note :
- It was a pretty good hospital we went to, so I can't guarantee that this is the norm.
- Its bloody expensive! Luckily over here in Australia we have a nifty medical subsidy program which allows us to only pay a comparatively small gap. As holly is from the USA, she has enlightened me to the fact that you poor folks in the states may be hit harder financially by the scan.
- You're going to have to wait in a waiting room for an hour, drinking cold fluid, not having eaten for hours. You might end up feeling pretty cold. Handy to ring ahead and ask the hospital / centre whether they can help you with this! Holly went and asked and they brought her a heated blanket.
- The one thing we're concerned about is a possible after-effect. holly is right this moment struggling with pain, that had been lessened recently. We have two major candidates for the cause of the current pain increase. One is a meal she had last night where we were guaranteed nothing nasty was included, though either that was false, or she's also unable now to eat garlic (its a "cusp" food right?). The second possibility is the fluid they gave her to drink at the hospital. She reckons it tasted like it had a little bit of a lemon flavour. This might have been a citrus-based flavouring! We never thought to mention the dietary needs to them. We're gonna call 'em on Monday and ask "what do you folks put in that stuff?".

So after all this, everything was fine. The scan was very short (3 minutes for both scans). The needle not too nasty, and apparently the sensations from the contrast not yucky at all for her. Home by taxi, I went back to work, and holly was pretty much ok until about midday the next day!.

In summary, those having a cat scan, I recommend :
- Try to get a good centre or hospital (obviously, its better if they're people you feel you can trust.
- Be prepared for the cost, and try to get some cover for sae.
- Ask ahead to ensure they can get you a warm blanket for while you're waiting.
- Ask ahead to get details of what's in the drink they give you. Maybe they have an alternative? <--- I'll update this point once we've spoken to them.

Overall, it wasn't much of an issue whatsoever.

Thanks braykittie for your reassurance, it helped stem the anxiety on the way in!

Cheers,

Kev

[braykittie]

Hi Kev & Holly
Thanks for the update, I was wondering how things went. I would bet the drink is the culprit causing Holly's pain--for the most part they all have or are citurs based. Not all hospitals have a CT scanner, so the hospitals that do are fairly well staffed with qualified technicians. I think the worst part is just the anticipation and doing something out of our control. I hope Holly is feeling better and no more studies for a while or ever.
Take care.
Jane