doc wants to do a ct scan

[testdeprived]

so my doc who i really like is still trying to rule things out. if the ct comes back negative she is going to send e to the hematologist,and if we can;t find out why my platelets are low we are ust gonnna try trt to make me feel better and help with muscle building.

anyway..im so scared of having a ct scan it is for my abdomen btw...i keep reading it will give me cancer!
is their any advantage to having a ct of the abdoman over an mri
i am 21.

ive had a colonoscopy and an upper gi..as well as a stool sample, and celiacs..and have even tried vsl numb 3 probiotics.
all my previous tests were engative and the probiotics didnt work
if the previous tests..mainly the comlonoscopy and upper gi didnt show any stomach problems...then why would the cat scan????? im scared of doing this....im reading everywhere that i might get cancer

[patient915]

Yes, zofran doesn't work for me, but it works for so so many other people.  Just because it doesn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you.  Even though many people see an effect from zofran on their first dose, you can't give up on it after one dose.

[testdeprived]

alright thanks for the reply man. just one thing im confused on. in the first sentence  u said i  needed to give it mroe than one day to say it doesnt work..but in the second to alst u say zofran just doesnt work for me.

[patient915]

You need to give zofran more than one try before deciding that it doesn't work. Zofran works for some patients on chemo, but not all.  Just because it doesn't work on you doesn't mean you have something serious.  People's bodies are different and zofran just doesn't work for your body.  Zofran doesn't work for me either.

[testdeprived]

took my first dose of zofran today 8mg...and didnt feel any better.... i took the dose at 3pm...and i idnt eat my first meal till 7:30 pm today..and still had no appetite for it....does this eman zofran wont work for me either?


if zofran works for cancer patients on chemo...i must have soomething serious for it not to work with me

[patient915]

Zofran is not a chemotherapy drug.  It is an anti-nausea drug.  It is very commonly used WITH patients who are getting chemotherapy becuase the chemotherapy makes them nauseous and zofran helps with the nausea.  Zofran is for the most part safe and side-effect free and it usually works very well for nausea.

I don't know what your doctor is trying to look at with the CT scan/MRI and it depends which organ you are looking at as to which will be better to see things.  MRI's of the abdomen are rarely done just because they don't show things as well.

[testdeprived]

that's a good idea, but  idont have any reports of the procedures..nor the biopsy studies..i just showed him the pictures.

anyways, when  i went to him he prescribed me zofran(i wanted to wait to take t until after my mri on wednesday)
i looked it up and is it a chemothrapy drug!?!??!?!?!/ no way ill take that????
also he made it sound like it was pretty much side effect free...would you agree for the most part it's safe? i need to put weight back on !!!!

as far as your lin is concerned, it says an mri with contrast is at least if not better than a ct with contrast, so im still confused why you would thin the mri will miss things

oh one more thing. i booked my test on a 3t mri..the stomach is a fat area, and the 3t can cut through fat better. you thin this was a good choice?

[patient915]

I wouldn't really go off the pictures, because as you said it could be the printers.  I would ask you new GI doctor if he can look at your biopsies from your old endoscopy (they usually save the slides) to see if he can see anything that the other doctor missed.

[testdeprived]

yeah, i had the endoscopy last august...as you remember since  i almost backed out lol.
they took one, they said for the upper gi there was mild chem gastropethy....and as far as my terminal illeum there was some lymphoid aggragates.

but i have always thought the pics looked red..and apparently this new gastro thinks the upper gi ones do too...although he said the colonoscopy looked fine.
i lied this guys bedside though.

ill look at your link

[patient915]

http://www.thumbmri.com/mrivscat.asp

Here is a good thing for you to read (if it shows up).  It is not safe if you get many many CT scan's but 1 CT will not hurt you.

Did they take a biopsy during the endoscopy?

[testdeprived]

i still dont understand why a ct would ever be better than mri.....
als since  iwasnt getting the ct since there are many sites stating it is not safe, it was the mri or nothing so im happy with my decision...although i appreicate the input.

i had an endoscopy and the new gastro feels it looks iritated(which i suspected) he wants to be sure it';s not just their printers

[patient915]

I think that yes you did make the wrong decision, but I'm not sure what organs your doctor wants to look at but I think that a CT will be better.  I believe that an MRI will not show things as well as the CT.  I thought you already had an upper endoscopy along with your colonoscopy?

[testdeprived]

doc ordered memri ofabdomen/pelvis w/w/o contrast.
did i make the wrong decision? will an mri show thing just as well as the ct?
he also wants to do endoscopy(upper) not looing forward to it.


i really like him though...better than my old gastro

and no need to be mean

[patient915]

I will answer your questions honestly but I'm not going to go over the same things over and over again.  If a colonoscopy/upper gi didn't find your issue, then yes, this most likely not either but it is a good idea to check.  Yes, for most organs in the abdomen, an MRI will not do what the CT could.  I don't think that the site you found is reputable, accurate, or trustworthy.

Here are quotes from the NIH (national institute of health)

"CT scans and other x-rays are strictly monitored and controlled to make sure they use the least amount of radiation. CT scans do create low levels of ionizing radiation, which has the potential to cause cancer and other defects. However, the risk associated with any individual scan is small. The risk increases as numerous additional studies are performed.   The benefits of an abdominal CT scan usually far outweigh the risks of radiation exposure."

[testdeprived]

and also it says younger patients have a much higher risk....im 21

[testdeprived]

thanks for the reply,
so i f a colonoscopy/upper gi didnt find my issue will this most likely not either?
idk if she is doing it with barium meal, contrast etc...she just said she wanted to get my gall bladder, adrenals, and everything else checked out..for an adrenal disorder called mens or something lol.
so you are saying an mri will not do what the ct could? because if it could, i would rather get the mri as they have no known side effects.
also i read tere is no regulation dose of radiation for ct scans so they can overdose me

http://www.naturalnews.com/028621_CT_scans_cancer.html

[patient915]

I don't know where you read that statistic but that is wrong.  I think that you should get the CT scan.  You need to realize that somewhere around 25% of people will get cancer in their lifetime, and a lot of these people have had CT scans for some other reason.  1 (or 10 or 20) CT scan will not cause you to get cancer.

[testdeprived]

thanks, although from wat im reading the risk is 1 in 1000 which is pretty high and im prone to health issues

wat shud i do

[patient915]

It depends on what type of CT scan you are having.  It is a lot more than just cost and time efficiency.  If you are having the type where you get contrast in an IV or you drink some liquids or both, then this is a very large advantage over the MRI.  MRI's of the abdomen are much much less common than CT scans.  As PA_S said, you are not going to get cancer from 1 CT scan.  Cancer becomes a concern when you've had hundreds of CT scans.

[PA_S]

Don't quote me on this, but a MRI might actually be a better option for looking at the spleen and liver (two sites involved in the destruction of platelets). MRIs are generally better for soft-tissue organs, tendons, muscles; however, CTs scans are usually ordered for cost & time efficiency.

[testdeprived]

mris ive had are for diff things(brain, and back

[testdeprived]

ive had many mris in my time.
primary care dr is looking for the source of my clinical symptoms...she wants to do the ct to check my liver, spleen, gall bladder etc
idk if an mri would do it in the same way as a c

[PA_S]

Rest assured; a single CT scan of your abdomen is not very likely to cause you cancer. The primary advantage of CT over MRI is cost and time efficiency. I'm not sure what they are looking for, other than internal abdominal bleeding--a lot of the tests they've put your through seem aimed at trying to identify a source of bleeding. Nevertheless, if you feel strongly about not having a CT scan, you can call your doctor and tell him or her that you want an MRI instead of a CT scan. But be aware that your insurance may decline to cover the cost of the MRI since CTs are the standard for a 21 y/o male patient.