Every Ounce Counts

Hi, all! As some of you may remember, back on 12/10 I had an IVC filter inserted to trap any potential blood clots (post-surgery) before they can reach my lungs or heart. It's a retrievable filter, but in case I did have a blood clot and it's sitting in the filter, Dr. Aranow doesn't want the filter removed because then the risk of the clot breaking loose during retrieval is greater than the risks involved in having a foreign body (the filter) left inside of me forever. The way to find out if there is a blood clot there is to have a CT scan. In the inimitable wisdom of HealthNet, there was no requirement for pre-certification before inserting the filter or before scheduling the retrieval, but they do require pre-certification before scheduling a CT scan. When Lois first requested it, they turned her down, so Dr. A. had to talk to one of the medical directors at HealthNet and explain why the CT scan was necessary, then they finally approved it. I had the CT scan done on Thursday. I was told to arrive 1 hr. early to have time to drink a bottle of barium solution. Luckily it didn't taste nearly as bad as I thought it might, since of course I had to sip it over the course of the hour. One thing I made sure to do was to look at the label on the bottle to see how much I was drinking. You can be sure that those 15 oz. are listed on my food log and I counted them towards meeting my fluid goal for the day! Who else but one of us would do such a thing? Now I have to wait for the CT scan results. Dr. Takahashi was the radiologist on duty and was reviewing the CT scan. Since he's the one who inserted the filter and would be the one retrieving it, I'm glad that he's the one deciding if it's safe to do so. Dr. A. is away for a few days, so I won't know until Tues. or Wed. if I'll be having the retrieval done. If so, it'll be the following week. Debby

Hi Debby, I am so happy to hear you finally were able to go for the CAT scan. I'm been thinking of you ever since our dinner conversation monday night. By the way, I had a great time and I'm glad we got together ever if it was only us 3 souls. I hope they get back to you right away and you can get past this with no problems. ... and these days you gotta get your fluids wherever u can... Keep smiling, Everything will be ok. Your definitly added to my prayer list. ~Julie~

I hope everything turns out well with the CT scan. The fluid isn't that bad, but not good either! I remember being told I had to drink an entire quart! I had a fit, but everything turned out fine in the end! Good luck and let us know what happens! Carmen