Ct scan.

[Treed12]

I have a CT scan next week. Can anyone share their experiences? What is it like? What does it show? Many thanks.

[Hidden]

With both arms beneath your head, You lay on a bed which has a Polo mint shaped tube over it, The tube moves over your chest, stopping and starting as it scans. A disembodied voice tells you when to breathe and hold your breath. It takes photos of slices of your lungs.

youtube.com/watch?v=uHu9aa0...(Not working as expected?)

[Treed12 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply. Do you know how long it takes? I find it hard keeping still for an xray. And if im told not to move i cant help but move! Lol

[Hidden in reply to Treed12]

I had my CT scan 10 years ago, I think it was about half an hour I'm afraid.Perhaps you could ask about having a sedative before hand.

[Younie]

A couple of minutes is all it takes. Not long at all

[Hidden]

You don’t have to keep still for that long. You get moved into the position they want, you’ll be told to hold your breath and keep still (for not that many seconds), and then they might move you to another position.

[LDloveslattecoffe]

I had one yesterday. It is painless for the scan and the scan takes less than 10 minutes depending on what they are after. Its less claustrophobic than an MRI.

The only problem I had was they wanted a contrast scan. This means they put a dye inside you to make it clearer than it would be without. There are different types of dye depending on where scan is. There is one they put in a juice you have to drink thankfully didn't have that one.

I had a Thoracic and abdomen with contrast CT which meant they had to do intravenously. The first part to insert the cannula?? Thing which they attach the tube to pump dye in.

This bit took the longest for me because they always struggle to find my veins to take blood so took a Dr over half hour to get a vein.

When the thing is in arm to have scan they took one scan without dye going in and one scan with dye to contrast the scans. They warn you when dye going in they say get a metallic taste (didn't get that) can feel like wetting self but you don't (felt that). Certainly warmed me up can make you flush (I'd been freezing before so was a nice feeling for me).

When I came out I had to sit for ten mins to make sure no allergic reaction to dye. They then take the thing out arm and went home.

The only nasty effect was the bruising for the cannula thing put in my arm.

A computerized tomography (CT) scan combines a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around your body and uses computer processing to create cross-sectional images (slices) of the bones, blood vessels and soft tissues inside your body. CT scan images provide more-detailed information than plain X-rays do.

Hope that helps. I get my results from consultant on 12/03/19.

Not too much to worry about and if you are to have a normal CT without contrast you'll be in and out in 10mins no fuss no pain.

[LDloveslattecoffe in reply to LDloveslattecoffe]

Ps it might have even been less than 10mins -

No dye, take deep breath in hold then let out and breath normally.

Dye in repeat

Done.

Had MRI in past not as noisy as an MRI and not as claustrophobic as not enclosed