[hopeful27]

PET scan - what to do to prepare, what to expect?

by hopeful27 on Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:41 am

My mom is getting her first PET scan does this week. Does anyone have any advice, or is this a pretty simple procedure or there really isn't anything to do to prepare?

[NStewart]

Re: PET scan - what to do to prepare, what to expect?

by NStewart on Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:59 am

There really isn't anything to do to prepare other than any instructions that your mother may have been given already. She will be given something to drink that has radioactive isotopes in it in preparation for the scan. Then she will have to wait about 1/2 hour, if I remember correctly, for that to be absorbed by the cells of her body. The scan is done in a tube similar to an MRI tube, but without all of the loud noises.

The only problem I had when I had one done is that the room was very cold and I was shivering. I had been given a blanket to cover up with, but it wasn't enough. The tech told me that I had to stay still, but I told her that she needed to warm up the room so I wasn't so cold and shivering. Ap­par­ently they have to keep the room quite cool.

A relatively benign test to go through as long as you can lie still on your back for an extended period of time.

I hope all goes well for your mother,
Nancy in Phila

[gmarv]

Re: PET scan - what to do to prepare, what to expect?

by gmarv on Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:56 pm

I always had to wait an hour after drinking the juice. The scan was / is a piece of cake for me. I fall asleep in it every time.

[Multibilly]

Re: PET scan - what to do to prepare, what to expect?

by Multibilly on Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:40 pm

With my latest PET/CT, there was no milk shake with a radioactive isotope (FDG) given to me. Instead, they simply gave me an injection of the FDG and asked me to drink some water. But you still have to quietly relax and wait around in a comfy lounge chair while your body absorbs the FDG.