Pre-Scan
On day 2, the injection of radioactive gallium citrate, called the tracer, had
This pamphlet was so kitschy I could hardly stand it. Love it!
made its way through my body. I explained to the tech that I am a patient blogger and my fellow patients were also fascinated by the lead encased syringe. The department now wants to check out my blog.
I was dressed comfortably in preparation for the test but was not told I also needed to have no metal on my clothing, similar to MRI requirements. So for day 2, I wore a hospital gown but could keep my pants on. For Day 3, I wised up and wore a long sleeve shirt with no buttons and comfy pants. My shoes were not removed either day and it was okay to keep my hearing aids in place.
It is my understanding that the metal in the Gallium Scanning process is more of a problem for ensuring accurate images rather than anything to do with magnets as in MRIs.
The Scan
I lied down on a somewhat narrow board with a pillow under my head and under
The scanner that scanned me. The top came down very closely to my body.
my knees. The board moved me closer to the camera. It was a very gentle motion. The machine was so quiet that I could hear other people from other rooms screaming. They were all elderly. My guess is no other patient in Nuc Med was under the age of 60. Nuc med often includes heart, bone, and other scans. It’s my understanding that some nuclear medicine scans hurt. The Gallium Scan didn’t hurt at all.
The camera looks like what you rest up against when getting a chest x-ray. As you are lying on the board, the camera moves in different positions around you and all the way down your body for a full-body scan. You must lie completely still. Valium helped me with this aspect.
Day 2 lasted for about 60 minutes. For about 15 of those minutes, I had to hold my arms out to my sides. The nuclear medicine technician helped me move my arms to a platform to rest them during this portion.
Following Day 2’s scan, I was told by the Radiologist/Nuclear Medicine Technician that things looked good and the I received the worst, most unclear (look! an anagram of nuclear) medical instructions ever.
- Eat lightly for the rest of the day.
- Begin drinking 8 ounces of water every hour until bedtime.
- Drink 10 ounces of magnesium Citrate when you arrive home.
I asked questions but didn’t really get answers. Drink the magnesium citrate
I recommend sticking with the Lemon Flavor.
when I get home from work at 6pm? Start the water before then? Either way, it worked out. I drank all of the Magnesium Citrate by about 7pm and my colon was pretty empty by my 10:30am scan.
Day 3
The department was delayed about an hour. Day 3 scan was much longer. It is my understanding that it can take a few days for the tracer to build up in the body tissue so Day 3 is an ideal time to get lots of images. The hardest part of day 3 was keeping my arms raised above my head for what seemed to be an hour. With my lovely arm weakness and neck muscle spasms, my body was hating me more than usual. Luckily, when I had the opportunity I asked for lots of blankets. If there is one thing a reader can learn from this blog – always ask for blankets during any exam!
The technician told me the Radiologist/Nuclear Medicine Doctor wanted to do two series of 360 degree pictures of my chest and head. I asked if this had something to do with the findings with my salivary glands. The technician said, “With your thyroid?” and in typical Queen fashion I said, “I already know I have a tumor on my thyroid. It’s not cancerous. Is something else going on?”
I got no reply.
When all of the scanning was done, I met my husband in the waiting room and it had been nearly 3 hours! I was told it would be about 1 hour 45 minutes total. Wow! No wonder my arms got weaker and weaker. I still managed to make it to work.
I asked for results, pictures, etc. and was told there were none available. If it wasn’t so busy, I probably would have pushed the matter. I don’t like to leave appointments without some info in hand. This is my health, my life, and I’m the manager of it.
So there!
And there you have it. A Gallium Scan. I now have a pocket card stating I am radioactive for 30 days. This is for if I want to cross the border or take a flight. Sad thing is it says the reason I am radioactive is for tumor localization. Gallium scans are often used when lymphoma is suspected.
Really?
We’ll see what comes.
I always love hearing from you.
Best,
-Q
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | gallium scan, nuclear medicine, patient point of view, Sjogren's Syndrome, undiagnosed chronic illness
Grrr on their refusal to give you any images on a disc. I *hate* that.
I also hate when they won’t answer your questions, or confirm/deny that they’re concerned with something you already know about. That’s just nasty, leaving you with extra worries beyond the normal ones.
Can I just say that I find it really scary that you could hear people screaming? It just boggles my mind that if the procedure is painful, why aren’t they medicating people for them?? I guess it’s possible they had been given Versad or something like that so the people weren’t aware of the pain they were in, but could still moan and scream … but still!
I had a radioactive injection once, long ago, for something unrelated to my current health problems. I’m not sure if it was Gallium they used or not … but they definitely didn’t scan as much of my body as they did yours! I told a lot of people afterwards that I was “glowing.”
Have I mentioned how radiant you are?
When will you hear from the new neuro what the test showed? Soon, I hope …
Hang in there, Q! Hopefully, you’ll have some answers very, very soon!!
I hate the wait and lack of info sooo much. And it just seems so out of line with the rest of our worlds. A person can carry a Poken, a small toy that can high five with another small toy and transfer electronic information, particularly social media contact info. Yet patients have to beg for bad quality photocopies of reports and labwork let along images. I want a medical Poken that auto updates my current meds and recent reports. Have you seen these things? http://www.poken.com/about I realize HIPAA would be all over a concept like this but seriously, there’s got to be a better way.
My internist just told me the key to getting copies: Tell them before they start a scan that you’re going to need a copy on disk because you have a bunch of doctors who want to see it and some aren’t part of the particular hospital the test is being done at.
I just was told today that I need another brain MRI, and that’s what she told me to say, in a pretty please kind of way. In past experience, it’s also helpful to have the name of a doctor to give them for their records. Some places apparently require them to note which doctor needs to see the images. It doesn’t even really have to be a doctor you see, or one who is going to care about that particular set of images.
I’ll let you know if this trick works for me! I’ve never had luck getting a copy of images from this particular hospital, so I’m hoping my internist is right about the magic words to use.
Do you have one of those Pokens? I saw them for the first time on a blog last year. I so want one, but since no one I know has one, I’m not sure I’d really be able to use it very often.
Hi Aviva, is your next MRI soon? I’m usually successful in getting my records but this urban hospital was so incredibly busy that I dealt with so many different technicians and physicians that by the end, the original people who helped me were no where to be find. I hope it works for you!
I don’t have a poken and am not sure what I would do with one but it sure seems like if something like that can be created, we should have an easier time accessing our med-related stuff. I’d like one that would list all my meds so I don’t have to fill out one of those forms all the time!
I had a gallium scan years ago. I don’t remember going 3 days in a row – I think I went 2 days. Had the injection very early in the am, then went back for the first scan later the same day. As for being radio active, after my Iodine isotope treatment for Grave’s disease, I remember being told to eat with plastic utensils & then throw them out! other fun stuff too.
Sharon
Hi Sharon,
It’s always nice to hear from you. With your iodine isotope tx for Grave’s did you have lots of things you had to avoid? I heard recently that I woman had to live in a hotel away from her family during tx. Yikes!
Yay, you finished! Sounds like that last one was a marathon – that stinks. I’ll definitely remember about the blankets though, thanks for the tip.
I don’t mind waiting a little bit. Especially if it’s busy. I want a good reading, not some hassled, stressed, on the spot impressions. I do expect (and demand) my own copy of the results once the report’s been sent though.
Also, in my head is a song from the 80s called “radioactive”. The Firm…I can’t listen right now, but I looked it up and I think that’s the one.
That song has been going through my head, too, Laura!!
The gallium scan was to check for “occult ” things whcih I presume was cancer (didn’t get much info in those days).. Nothing was found. this was after over a year of being sick & months of frequent sinus & respiratory infections, daily fevers, & several months of fainting episodes.
It was a few years later that I developed the thyroid problems, ten later dxed as Grave’s. Had the treatment after a couple of years on meds as I thought (or was led to believe that it would be simple & fix the problem). hello massive hypothyroidism.
I think if they said you shouldn’t be with small children. not for a whole month though. And probably stay in a separate room for a while. It was kind of scary I’ve been through so many illnesses & stuff that memory fades.
Sharon
Sharon, I think as patients, we go through so much that is traumatic in many ways – it’s like we move on and the memories fade so we can deal with the next challenge. Grave’s is horrible – are you still having many symptoms? **hugs*** -Q
Glad that the testing went well-although it took so long!Here is hoping that you get answers quickly and hopefully the neuro will get you a copy of the scan to keep..can you call before your appt for the results and ask them to have one ready for you to take home that day?
I also say that just for fun you should have that card matted and framed for the wall at the end of the 30 days.Not often you are radioactive
..well hopefully not.
Hi Kimberly, I’m hoping I can get some sort of report/results soon. I don’t know when and if I will be going back to this neuro… the appt ended with them saying they probably wouldn’t see me back in that setting. I was aa little overwhelmed at the time that I didn’t ask for clarification.
Hahahahahaha I think of framing a lot of my medical stuff and/or generally making it into art. Sure I haven’t been to Europe but I’ve had more medical tests than the average person!
I am one of the old ladies, 65, who have had a lot of tests and a few gallium scans.
I am in a medical family so more tolerant of shortcomings in medicine…personnell are overworked, understaffed and reimubursement for complicated expensive procedures isn’t 1/10 the cost of running the test.
That being said, I am so darn frustrated and mad about recent treatment and lack of any information before the gallium scans I have been having last 5 days.
I have reoccurring MRSA staph infection in bone,spine/hip/retroperitoneal cavity etc and am now had a return of all symptoms–experiencing increase in pain, fever, sweats etc…all signs that infection has reappeared. (once infection in bones, it can always reappear..just came back in lungs 4 months ago.
So the test was to pay special attention to abdomen, spine, hips etc.
No instrtucitons ever given to me…Just appear at 9:00 at Nuclear Medicine (Metal was just fine in my test…wired bra etc. tech said just leave everything on.
After first day it was clear that FOS (bowel was Full of S—) and had naturally absorbed a great amount of the isotope and because of this blocked the area the docs wanted to see clearly.
No directions were given to deal with this. Just come back next day.
Went this way for 3 more days. A tech at that time recommended pineapple.
Requests to see doctor or get some more direction on best laxative in this situation met with blank, no answer and no doctor. As someone not familar with laxatives, I didn’t know what to do except to maybe try prep for colonoscopy. But would really have liked to talk to the doctor for their recommendation, but techs protect the doctors and act as the guard of their limited time and therefore decide what questions/ patients are important enough to take their time. I obviously had neither question or important enough to get dr. attention.
4 day same thing. The thing that is maddening is you tell them you have not had a BM but they still put you through the whole test and tell you at the end that the bowels are preventing them from seeing area they need to see. I could have called that in and saved the 5-6 hours of driving to and fro and the test. Test is indeed painless, unless you have a lower spine infection affecting legs. That table is hard and hurts and holding legs in straight position for an hour is very painful (definitely not painful for most person,just for person who feel like they are laying on knife with referred pain made worse by having legs straight) So if I know the bowels are still going to block the area, why do I have to go thru test 4 times??????
Seems ridiculous and totally unreasonable. Not allowing a patient to see a doctor or not to have any instructions/pamplets for help in these situations , makes the unnecessary repetition of f est by techs who just run test by rote, rather than brain, completely unnecessary!
Finally, my brother-in-law who heard me complaining to my sister after that 4th night , brought over a bottle of magnesium citrate. He is a cardiologist and has nothing to do with my case or this hospital.
After a difficult night with this, I was cleaned out wtihin 10 hours and no sleep, 8 showers and washing floor and walls, and ceramic all night long, i was ready for the scan.
So 96 hours after injection, I had first scan in which bowels did not block area the docs wanted to see. The tech said the reason the last test went so slow today is because the isotopes were much weaker at this time and took longer to do something or other.
I have no idea about results etc.
I only know it was a totally inefficient and unprofessional way to have a gallium scan! How this will affect results, I do not know. But a recommendation of a bowel cleansing treatment at the beginning (or anytime) would have been helpful!
Having to get information from a brother in law removed from case is no way to give a patient the best treatment .
Was my brother-in law right?
Why do “they” not give you an idea of what needs to be done and prepared for test?
One thing I know for sure. If it has to be repeated because of poor testing protocol, I and my insurance will be paying. Plus I will pay in time wasted,pain from laying on such a table with my spine limitations, and time wasted
Trying to get correct diagnosis on this type of infection took 4 years last time. But that was before they had such fancy gallium scans that could be run with noone overseeing test and no doctors avialable for consult.
is this progress?? I guess i will know in a couple of days (or weeks…slow slow, slow, slow followup)
Well, at least i was still perky in my wire bra throught the scan and had my metal belt buckle in full display!!
Hi Ann, Wow! To say you have been through the ringer is simply an understatement. Sounds like the techs were really “off”. Geez. I don’t know much about the accuracy of Gallium scans but I still have a hard time believing that mine showed no inflammation whatsoever. Unless I am misunderstanding, by definition of my symptoms, they are composed of inflammatory processes. I hope you find out something soon that can help you get better. My goodness – you have already been through so much.
Take good care of yourself,
-Q