Ct Scan

[DD13]

Hi All,

Had a phone call from Hospital today. They had a cancellation for me to have my ct scan tomorrow afternoon. No coffee 12 hrs before, no food 4 hours before. Can anybody tell me, as I did not think to ask! Do I have to take of rings etc, and wear clothes that have no metal on them? How will the dye affect me? And can I still take all my pills for my heart, as I do every morning? Can I drink at all as long as it has no Caffeine?

Regards Denise.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

You need to remove all metal - leave at home for security. The only medication that can have a bad effect is Metformin - the two together stressing the kidneys - on the day it is a no no! If you can hold off your meds till 9:00 and ring them to double check. Avoid too much tea as it also contains caffeine. You will probably receive a spray of GTN to open the arteries and a beta blocker to slow the heart (better images). I would advise you not to drive yourself as some people are somewhat nauseous and headachey after. Don't worry it's really not too bad and an excellent diagnostic tool.

[BigT2013]

Clothes with zippers on and under wired bra if u wear one are best to leave. They may just give u a gown or scrubs.

CT (Computer tomography) does not cause an issue with metal although it does show up on images. It's basically a very detailed Xray.

Think u may be confusing it with an MRI Scan. Magnetic Resolution Imaging.

Which ALL metal/metallic items must be removed as it uses giant powerful magnets. And can cause serious issues.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to BigT2013]

I was given a gown. The no metal did not really make sense but is probably an imaging department default when I had one. The covering letter was very much so!

[cgcookie]

I was asked to take my bra (metal boned) off. I don't wear jewellery, so can't specifically remember, but I'd guess so. I was asked to have my arms above my head, and only chest area in scanner, so rings I'm not sure about. All my possessions were in the room with me at the hospital I attended.

As for the dye, I was told it might feel like I'd wet myself, and possibly a strange taste in my mouth. I had both of these and a warm feeling.

Good luck

[Curlyanne]

Hello I had my ct scan as an inpatient.

All jewellery off, meds as usual, wore a gown they provided, just pants on.

The dye makes you feel warm, and yes as if you want a wee, but don’t worry you won’t. It passes quickly. I did feel sickly and faint afterwards but they lay me down for 5 minutes and I was fine. Good luck with the scan and results.

[gal4God]

I’m had issues with a mri dye med so now they use a different med for mris and ct scans. No metal on ur body at all including on ur clothes. That one I’ve struggled wiv as I didn’t realise wat metal was n my clothing. E.g zips, poppers, etc. I wasn’t told anything about eating and drinking but was awake during it.