Going for bone scan on monday as have lst chemo this friday and ue to aching bony pains i’ve been getting during chemo onc just wants to double check for spread. Just wondered if anyone else on here has had one and can tell me wha it involves as have had mri scans in past and always find them a bit claustrophobic. Have to arrive at hospital at 9am have injectionj then rturn 3 hrs later for scan, if tis sounds familiar to anyone else would really appreciate some advice on what to expect. Many thanks christina xx
Sorry meant to say last chemo this friday not first, keyboard not working properly sorry !!!
Hi Christina
I have had several bone scans - they are fine - I get claustrophobic too but they are nothing to worry about. After the injection you can’t go near any pregnant women or children as you are radioactive for a period of time. When you go back for the scan itself you have to lie still on a bed/table and the scanner moves up, down and around your body. They repostioned the machine half way through to get a different angle. My scans took about 30-40 mins in total - the worst thing is lying absolutely still if you have got a few aches and pains but the staff are really good and make sure you are comfortable.
Hope all goes ok for you.
Smartie x
Dear Christina
I had one a few weeks ago and it is fine. You just lie flat on your back and keep very still for about 40 minutes while the scanner moves over you. You don’t have to undress and you are never totally enclosed although there are a few moments when it gets close to your head. The worst thing is staying so still! You want to scartch and move but my hospital help by putting your arms in a sort of large elastic holder, and tying your feet together! It will be over before you know it, and you get to look at pictures of your skeleton, which is fascinating.
Good luck and hope it goes well
Dilys
Hi Christina,
Just to add to Smartie’s comment. You have to drink an awful lot of liquid after the injection. It’s quite hard to remain still but apart from that, no problem.
Margaret
hi christina
Please do not worry, i had 1 last week it is totally pain free, you only have to drink liquid in between having the scan and the injection so they can get a clear picture and even then it isnt loads !! and it isnt uncomfortable, good luck with the results .
love galen xx
Hi Christina,
I had a bone scan last Friday, we often imagine such procedures to be worse than they are
My worry was claustrophobia, also the fact that I had a CAT scan the same day.
The scans were booked at different hospitals.( a bit of a rush)
I had two types of dye for the can scan , one orally and one intravenously.
Knowing I was to have more dye intravenously , I had the for-thought to ask that the cannula be left in place.
It made the whole procedure less stressful, and saved the radiologist having to put another in (my veins are not very prominent, always a worry).
As Dilys stated is all over before you know it , it does feel rather weird when the scanner is over your head. it will not touch you.
You are asked to close your eyes , my coping strategy was to sing “Over the Rainbow” to myself.
My feet were free but I did have a rubber band to keep my arns in position, that was fairly comfortable .
You will be radioactive for a while, but you can use the three hours between to do what you like, as long as you don’t have close physical contact with pregnant ladies or young children.
You are having Chemo,. Have you had surgery? sorry to ask but I am rather confused, diagnosed 17th July…
My scans are to determine whether Surgery or Chemo, I get results tomorrow!!!
I will be thinking of you on Monday , all will be OK.
Rosamund x
I imagined I was on a plane! That really helped.
Cecelia. x
My scanning room was freezing so wear something warm.
I didnt drink anything for my bone scan (i had to drink for my CT Scan) -had an injection at 9.30 of dye then came back at 12.30. I was told for a bone scan it is important to have an empty bladder so they will ask you to go to the loo before you start
try to avoid wearing stuff with zips as that can interfere with the scan. Also take off your jewelry before you go in
You do not have to undress
It takes about half an hour for the scan the scanner moves slowly down your body. Once it is past your head you can move it and i chatted to the radiographer. She put music on for me which helped. My legs were loosely bound around ankles to avoid movement.
Its fine -i preferred it to the ct scan which distressed me quite a bit
Jools
The bone scan and the CT scan were a breeze compared to the MRI, that one I didn’t like as it was so bloomin noisy and you are well and truly stuck in a tunnnel thing.
The bone scan was same for me as the other ladies said, had injection of radioactive material, went to Sainsburys (I know how to live it up!) then came back 3 hrs later for the scan. To start with there is a plate quite close to your face, but that gradually moves down your body until it gets to your toes (if you are having full body scan). Took about 30 mins I guess.
Hope it goes OK for you.
Ali
x
Hiya,
I fell asleep!!! Certainly beats worrying about not moving!! My boyfriend even said he could hear me snoring from where he was sat outside the room (god I hope he was winding me up though, how embarrassing!)
Hope it goes well,
Kelly
-x-
TO ROSAMUND, yes i had mastectomy in jan of left boob and am due to finish my cmf chemo this fri after 6 months of the awful stuff. You will be absolutely fine and really proud of yourself for getting through what lies ahead. Just remember whatever you have to go through in the months ahead it does come to a end and they are working really hard to save your life. Best of luck to you, if i can offer you any morte help or encouragement as i am the biggest coward alive just ask. Love christina xx
tHANK YOU ALL YOU EX
Thank you all you experts yet again you have come up trumps wit your advice and made me feel much better about what i have to face on monday. One final question when do u get results do you have to wait to see onc or do they tell you on day whether there is any sign of spread or not?
Thanks Christina,
believe me you are no coward.
the bone scan will be nothing compared to what you have been through.
Thank you for your support and kind words.
hope your results are clear.
Take care
Rosamund x
Hi Mounties -
the bone scan is not at all like an MRI scan I had - I am not normally claustrophobic, but I just hated being in that small tunnel with my head almost touching the top of the tunnel. When I had my bone scan, during chemo, which was normal practice at my hospital as my cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and they wanted to be sure it hadn’t spread to my bones. I had to use a special toilet in the nuclear medicine suite.The scan itself is not frightening or painful. The hospital is miles from anywhere, so couldn’t go out to eat or shop, just had to stay in the hospital. It was over a lunchtime, so had to eat in the hospital restaurant, which my disabled husband could not walk to from the scanning area - seemed like a couple of miles and he can only walk 30 yrds.
You will be absolutely fine - never heard of anyone having a problem with the bone scan. I got my results at my next chemo treatment, some 2 weeks later - everything fine, but since have had a DEXA scan (bone density) and it shows decreased bone density, most probably due to 30 yrs of steroids, but exacerbated by Arimidex, which does not protect the bones like tamoxifen does, but it sure does help in preventing a recurrence of bc.
Hope all lgoes okay.
Liz.