CT Scan necessary?

[Jennah ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jennah]

Hi everybody!

I have a problem here. I have a new health care provider (Kaiser Permanente) and I had to go in to another gynecologist than my own because of pelvic pain and back pain. She did a psychical check and sent me to take an ultra sound of my pelvic and asked me to leave an urine test, as well. The ultrasound of my pelvic was fine but it was a little blood in my urine so I went in for another urine test and there was still some blood but you cant see it in the urine by eye. The urine was otherwise clear. Now she wants me to get a very expensive CT Scan of my kidneys. My problem here is, as a Interstitial Cystitis sufferer, that there can always be a little blood in the urine because of the disease. Specially when you have a flair and I think the flair caused the pelvic pain. Isn't there any other cheaper test which can be done to figure out if there is some problems with the kidneys. The doctors always want to go with the most expensive test at first :help

[Pammylynn8 ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pammylynn8]

My PCP tapped the my back right on the kidneys semi-hard. I felt no pain. I think that is how they ruled out kidney related problems. Did your dr at least try this test before ordered ct?
Maybe the amount of blood was substancial enough to warrant a CT scan also?

[nineteenwinters No longer active Find all posts View Profile Close nineteenwinters]

While ultrasounds which are cheaper usually can find some things like large stones and obvious masses a CT scan is the best definitive test. I had to have both ultrasounds and a CT scan to rule out small Kidney stones and Ovarian Cysts. Since IC is a diagnosis of exclusion usually I think most doctors want to make sure it is nothing else first.

I hear you though, I had mine done when I had to go to the ER for exhaustion and the price of the CT scan sucked. Oddly enough the most costly things were the dye I had to drink and the dye the gave me before the scan.

Drinking the dye is a miserable experience but it did lead me to an IC diagnosis.

[ICNDonna ICN Staff Find all posts View Profile Close ICNDonna]

I also had an ultrasound of my kidneys, followed by a CT scan. The ultrasound found two small dark spots; the CT identified them as cysts --- so no action needed. It can be a very important test.

Donna

[Jennah ICN Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jennah]

CT Scan necessary?

Hello!

Thank you very much for your response. I guess I have to go to through the CT Scan of my kidneys. After that I have reached my deductible so i might do all other tests, as well on this side of the year. I haven't had my yearly check yet with this new health care provider. They are probably asking me to do that also at least in the beginning of next year so why don't do them in the end of this year. These health care costs are terrible. Specially when you happens to suffer from something that is not so well known as IC