Just stopping by to say good morning. I hope Spring has arrived in your neck of the woods and that you can get out and enjoy the day.
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Good morning, itās a beautiful Sunday here, spring kind of appeared yesterday when we were away from first thing, not coming home until after dark. Yesterday when I opened the curtains I looked out on winter, snow covered everything. This morning I open them and the snow has goneā¦just like that.
Thinking of you, as are many hereā¦
Yes it is finally nice. and supposed to stay that way. But it looks like the end of March with bare trees and nothing blooming, compared to the end of April. Things will sprout fast this week.
Me, Well I have stalled. Have had many things to think about, not really ready to talk about it.
Hopefully I will have the money to do the CT scan this week. Thanks for thinking of me guys.
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I would like to send you a little something in the mail if thatās ok with you? I donāt have your address
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Sannois, many of us think about you frequently. Take your time to process what you need to know, learn, understand, Ask questions both there and of others. Look for local to you support groups (theyāre out there). Look for a patient advocate.
When youāre ready to talk, weāre here to listenā¦
{{Sannois}}
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I tried to V but it said your box is full. Kim
My inbox is permanently broken
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Oh of course! So sorry, I definitely wouldnāt expect you to share her personal address-thought there was a P.O. created. No worries!
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Got it! I think they are all going that way, >I cannot delete anything out of mine.
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I came home after working in the exs yard this afternoon, gorgeous day. 70. And there sat another box at my back door.
I cannot thank her as her box is also a wreck and cannot message her, but I am pretty sure I know who sent the lovely pottery mug. I adore that line of pottery and have not seen it in years.
The woman who owned a barn that I managed in the 80ās had the complete set of all the dishware. Never have I seen them since. And I am down to my last Mug, I broke the 3rd one a month ago, my lovely 4 piece Faltzgraff dishes. But I seem to have butter fingers with the mugs. I love itā¦
on a bit of news, I got a very sweet phone message from the docs Nurse today, I just love her. she is so genuine.
She said doc was worried about me, and did not want me to fall thru the cracks.
I gave her the go ahead to schedule the CT scan, and she is having it at my local hospital.
Then we will go from there.
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Good for you.
How nice, even your weather is cooperating.
First steps first, get the CT scan and see what that shows.
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Good Sannois! They really sound like a caring office. Thatās rare. I had the CT with and without contrastā¦it didnāt take too long. They put me into a ālarge donutā, a computer kept saying āHOLD YOUR BREATH!ā Then āBREATHE!ā
They said it shows a lot. (I was having my kidneys scanned, but it scanned from just under my boobs to my thighs. More than what was requested)
Good luck- one day at a time, one hour, one minute.
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CTs are easy peasy compared to MRIsā¦ the scans are much faster 
Sannois, let us know when you find out when your appt is please so we can send some extra strong energy thoughts on that day for you.
{{}}
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Did you have to drink anything? I think she said before I had to drink some yucky stuff for the contrast?? Bleck~
I am curious? what exactly does an MRI show as opposed to a CT scan?
Sannois, I did a quick Google and came up with this .
They show ādifferentā information for the radiologist and your treating physicians to look at.
Many Drās will use CT but will be mindful on how often to repeat as the CTs do use x-rays while the MRI does not (when you read about how an MRI works, theyāre kind cool as they polarize components of cells to line up (IIRC)).
Iāve had both MRIs and CTs for both my spine and kidneys. For kidneys not as much MRI but more CT and even more ultrasound
Ask about the contrast. In my limited experience iodine is inject into your bloodstream, not something you would ingest. But, ask Maybe for the procedure with contrast you will be having done, you will need to drink something. Your Drās office sounds awesome with caring for you and making sure you donāt get lost or drop through the cracks.
A: Many patients ask about the differences between a CT (Computed Tomography) scan and an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan: āWhich is better?ā or, āShould I have one over the other?ā While the machines look similar, what occurs is quite different.
A CT scanner sends X-ray beams through the body as it moves through an arc taking many pictures. A CT scan sees different levels of density and tissues inside a solid organ, and can provide detailed information about the body, including the head (brain and its vessels, eyes, inner ear, and sinuses), chest (heart and lungs), skeletal system (neck, shoulders and spine), pelvis and hips, reproductive systems, bladder and gastrointestinal tract.
Advances in CT scanning include increased patient comfort, faster scanning times and higher resolution images. As scans become quicker, X-ray exposure has decreased, providing better images at lower doses. The average CT scan today exposes patients to less radiation than what airline passengers receive on long flights. That said, anyone having a CT scan should talk to their doctor about the risks from radiation exposure versus the benefits of early diagnosis.
Unlike CT scans, which use X-rays, MRI scans use powerful magnetic fields and radio frequency pulses to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and other internal body structures. Differences between normal and abnormal tissue is often clearer on an MRI image than a CT. And while there is no radiation involved in an MRI scan, it can be a noisy exam and takes longer than a CT. A specially trained radiologist can interpret either scan, helping to achieve a quick and accurate diagnosis.
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PS. If you have a computer system at home with Windows, ask for the DVDs for all your scans. The application to display the scans is stored on the DVD along with the scan data so you can pop the DVD in your home computer and look at the imaging. For me, pretty cool even even if I didnāt know what heck I was looking for or at.
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I just had one done for my spine and they injected the contrast solution.
It feels like you get very, very hot for a little, then it goes away.
For another CT scan a couple years ago, I had to drink some thicker liquid and I was offered a choice of strawberry and other, donāt remember what, banana, maybe?
The strawberry was good, donāt worry, is not something icky as that used to be.
If you prefer, ask for a straw, but then it takes longer to get that down.
All that imagery is wonderful, because they can see your innards without going in there, helps make any surgery shorter and more precise.
Most times, the surgeries themselves are not so bad, is your body for a few days trying to get rid of the anesthesia that can be harder to get over, so the lest time under, the better off everyone is.
I would not worry at all about all that, they do it every day, many times a day, is routine to them and they have seen it all.
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This is my routine for CT scans of the chest, abdomen, pelvis. Tech brings out a couple of cold lemonade flavored containers (think fast food 16 oz). They will tell you how fast to drink it, for example, drink 1/4 of it every 10 minutes, etc. I do not find it bad tasting. After that has all be drunk, they will take you in the back to put in an IV and will draw a blood sample from that. It will be to check your kidney function to make sure it is okay to give you the IV contrast. Then go back to waiting room for a bit. Take you back to the CT area. Put on a gown. If your pants donāt have any metal, you can keep them on. At my center, they hitch up the IV to a machine that will automatically give you contrast if your blood tests are good. They will take a few scans and then they will inject the contrast. They will tell you that you can experience a metalic taste in your mouth (I never have) and then as the contrast works downward, you will feel a warm to hot wave. They say it feels like you have to urinate, but it doesnāt feel that way to me. Just an extremely warm wave which doesnāt cause any pain, etc. Yup, the machine will tell you to hold your breath for a few seconds and then exhale. Then youāre done. They can talk to you and listen to you while in the machine. Not sure, but there might even be a little camera in there due to a comment made to me once while in the scanner.
Probably too much information on the CT scan procedure. I was terrified for my first one and had a wonderful technician who explained everything.
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