Has anybody had a CT scan?

[midhvac]

Just wondering what they do and what it shows them.

I've been sick for about a week with a bad pain in the lower abdomen about 3" below the navel and a fever. They did a sonogram yesterday and blood tests the day before. The tech who did the sonogram said it wouldn't show anything in that area. Tuesday they're doing the CT scan.

[Wild Leg]

They usually will inject a "contrast media" so that they can trace fluid flow.
Or you might drink it.

It's a kind of x-ray.

Sorry to hear your feelin' poorly.

Gall bladder?

[Edited by bwal2 on 03-26-2005 at 10:37 PM]

[mike3]

I had a CT over in december and they didn't use any tracing fluids. It was for pain in my forehead and the machine just rotated over my head.

[bootlen]

Yeah. The worst part is drinking the stuff so they can see what they want to see. The first glass went down ok but I got about 1/3 way through the second and I thought I was gonna pop. She made me drink the whole thing. Felt like I weighed 500 lbs.

[duc dowg]

Originally posted by bootlen
Yeah. The worst part is drinking the stuff so they can see what they want to see. The first glass went down ok but I got about 1/3 way through the second and I thought I was gonna pop. She made me drink the whole thing. Felt like I weighed 500 lbs.

I know the feeling

[fat eddy]

Hey I don't want to sound like a doctor here , but isn't that the first symptoms of a bad appendix

[duc dowg]

Eddy I knew that you would be around to tell us all about it.

[fat eddy]

My nephew, just had his taken out and that is exactly how it started, he had pain just below his navel for a couple of weeks then it moved to his right lower abdomen, and bam he had it taken out and that was it. not trying to be a know it all.

[duc dowg]

you always have the answers

[pabull]

It's a painless proceedure.
Hope its nothin serious. Good luck.

[wolfdog]

The procedure is painless and fairly quick.. They will ask you hold still for a few seconds at a time.

Depending on area of interest they may use IV or Oral contrast solution to show up on the xray.


The machine takes a series of xrays 360 degrees perpendicular to your horizontal axis. A computer compiles these images and allows a computerized view of organs from the horizontal axis.

Basically it allows a view of your internal organs.

[Hroper]

Did the pain start in your back and work it's way down, I had a stone that got stuck on the way out, That's a real pain.

[AllTemp]

Todays CT Scans are pretty nice compared to what they use to do. I had several, the type that had the tunnel, they slid you inside feet first and the dam thing hammered like hell for about 20 minutes.

Todays CT Scans all have open apendures ike an open C easy in and out...

Hd my share of MRI too dam things are awesome.

[hearthman]

There's a zillion things it could be. Being male shortens that list.

As a retired paramedic, I'll share with you about appendicitis: your appendix is located at McBurney's Point, which is on a line btw your umbilicus (navel) and the anterior superior iliac spine of the pelvis about 1/3 of the way from the bone. Kidney stones are usually felt in the lower back radiating down into the bladder. As for belly pain, you have all sorts of things like diverticulitis, colitis, Chrone's Disease, spastic colon, etc. that are uncomfortable but won't kill you. Belly pain is hard to diagnose.

CT scans are with and without contrast media. While MRIs have replaced a lot of what we used to use CT for, there are still many applications where it is better. For instance, MRI doesn't show bone where CT does.

Just follow your MDs advice. Don't eat any goofey foods until you get this diagnosed and treated. Ask your MD what foods are gentle. You'd be surprised what isn't.

Good luck Middy,

[RoBoTeq]

I've had several for different reasons over the years. I am uncomfortable in crowds which falls under the term "claustrophobic" and I have had no problems with this X-ray taking technique. The older ones could be a bit disorienting if you kept your eyes open while it was moving around you. It also made all kinds of clanking noises as it did it's job.

These scans are slightly different depending on the reason you are getting them. I have had them done for my heart attack, for when I flipped and rolled a truck over an embankment and for kidney stones. Each type of scan was looking for different things.

[MikeJ]

Ya, all temp, I went in the tunnel once for a lower back scan. Spooky, noisy, and took about 20min. I fell asleep too. Tech said, "You ain't supposed to sleep in there!" I said, "Been in pain for weeks and I felt good in there, can I go back in?"

[gustavhorna]

you confuse CT with MRI... CT is Xray imaging, MRI is nuclear resonance imaging.

[poppa]

16 years?

[Restaurant Mech]

Had both CT and MRI. In both instances the answer was the same.
They treated me like a 20 year old Goodman system.
Said I'm not worth fixing

[Poodle Head Mikey]

I am pretty sure that the M is for magnetic - not nuclear.

Why are we interested in a 16 year old thread?

PHM
-------

you confuse CT with MRI... CT is Xray imaging, MRI is nuclear resonance imaging.