any advice for pelvic

Question

hello, Experienced Ones - i've been diagnosed with borderline ovarian cancer - or rather what was thought to be a dermoid was removed laporascopically and came back bordeline ovca.  i am scheduled for pelvic and abdominal cat scans on wednesday to have a look before surgery in september.  i think i'll have both an i.v. contrast given as well as an ingested liquid contrast.  does anyone have any tips to share with me about preparing for this?  i think i read something about drinking the contrast with a straw to bypass (somewhat) the tastebuds. is that right? are there worse flavors than others?  will i have a choice about that?  any tips and info would be greatly appreciated.  thank you!

sk2006a · Answer

you might want to ask if the technician can inject the iodine slowly.  "for this type of test they don't need a fast reaction."  it makes your body's reaction to the iodine a bit more gentle.  i had some difficlty swallowing during my first CT scan with the iodine and wasn't sure if it was an allergic reaction.  when i told the tech, he thought it was probably just anxiety and gave me a slow injection to be careful.  it was much easier to take!

Jane39 · Answer

You can do it, you will have no problem at all.  Like the other girls said, you get the warm feeling all over and yes it did feel like you wee weed yourself  :) and it was very short lived, and I felt kind of silly afterwards getting so worked up about it, but hey it was my first one, now I know what to expect.  And just think of that yummy drink, as a pina colada while you are sitting on the beach.  The only other problem that I had (and this was the PET/CT scan- which is longer I believe), which I forgot, is you have to lay there with your arms over your head, for me, my shoulder sockets started to get sore, then numb, and by the time they were done, my shoulders and arms were in so much pain.  It was weird.  I know I will have to have another one of these when I am done my chemo, and that's what I dread the most, is my poor arms falling asleep.

You'll do great.  Let us know how it goes!!

Barney22 · Answer

The iodine injection makes you feel very hot for a few minutes - quite odd but not too frightening if you are expecting it and I was warned every time by the radiologist.  You can feel it coursing through your veins, but its quite short lived.  I've had about 4 CTs now and they are not too bad really.  Good luck!

seraphinite · Answer

thank you so much - that really helps.  i can handle something like less-than-pleasant contrast to drink, but i'm pretty skittish about injections and toxic-looking stuff going inot my veins.  it's funny that hearing that a stranger (you!) got over her panic attack about it makes me feel like i can handle it too.  thanks for your two cents.  hope things are well for you.

Jane39 · Answer

I've had two, one regular CT Scan and a PET/CT Scan.  The first one in my life was the regular CT scan.  To be honest with you, the stuff you had to drink, is OK, it's nothing you want to drink on a regular basis, but I did not have a choice on flavor, I think both times it was some type of Berry flavored.  The straw definetly helps to get it down.  It's best to be, how shall I say it, thirsty (you'll drink it no matter what).  The only way I can describe is it's like Milk of Magnesium (looks and taste).  I think on the regular CT scan I had to drink one bottle, and if I remember corretly it was 450ml, on the PET/CT scan I had to drink two bottles, and that was pushing it with me.  The thing that freaked me out with my first CT scan was the injection I got, not the drink.  I was absolutely terrified of the stuff they injected you with (iodine I think), why I don't know, it just did.  I had no problems though, and my panic attack went away quickly.
Hope that helps.  Good Luck.

any advice for pelvic

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