*please read* anyone had a ct scan in first trimester? going out of my mind!!!!

[lynne192]

on friday i was rushed into hospital after taking seriously ill very quickly.

after being in a&e for hours they thought i either had bleed on the brain or minigitis. so was sent for a ct scan.

the doctor said the risks were minimal. they protected me with lead and didn't use dye and were quick so minimum exposure. radiologist said it would be a miricle any radioation would get through?

i then had a lumbar puncuture which showed viral infection so was sent home as they said there was nothing they can do so best be at home.

anyways there seems to be alot of horror stories online about this some i think is pure fear mongering

has anyone out there had ct scan what happened afteward? how soon after the scan were any problems found?

any healthy babies born after ct scan?

thanks xx

 

[lynne192]

anyone please i am losing my mind!!

 

[ke29]

If the medical staff said there wouldnt be a problem then I wouldnt expect there to be a problem! The main worry I would think would have been with the dye which you didnt have. If you were wearing a led apron as well to protect from radiation then the risk would be zero!!

 

[septemberbaby]

if the tech said you'll be fine, I'd trust him. they know best and I'm sure they don't want to be sued if something goes wrong, so they wouldn't take any risks.

On a lighter note...I'm also due in September and in Glasgow! there seem to be a lot of Glasgow folk on here...

don't be too worried, baby will be just fine! hope you get your results soon!

 

[lynne192]

just reading the stories online i was told before CT scan there was minimal risk of miscarriage and such but they said there was no studies showing that these were caused by the CT itself, i am trying to get a clear picture on what is going on and talking to other mum's who have had CT scan's but had healthy babies you know? some people have been told to abort after having a ct scan because of the risks but my ct scan was on my head and i was protected etc....

i dunno what to do or think or how soon after a ct scan i would likely notice any problems.

 

[ke29]

Ignore news stories and look at medical research! The website ive just looked at says that even if you were to have a CT Abdo with no protection there is a minimal risk of miscarriage so if yours was to your head and you were wearing a lead apron the risks are negligable. CT scans are very low dose radiation nowadays anyway. (The equivalent of what you will be exposed to in the atmosphere anyway over 1-2 years not including the extra precautions they took).

 

[lyndsay49]

I have no experience of this but I agree if the medical staff said there was no risk I would go with them, they wouldn't be allowed to say that if it wsn't true. Also as long as the scan wasn't to the pelvis or abdomen I cant see it causing a problem. Hope you are feeling better and try not to worry

 

[ke29]

Ok finally found a good comparison. 'It would take 500 chest xrays to cause any kind of birth defect during weeks 2 and 15 of pregnancy, after 16 weeks it would take the equivalent of 5,000 chest xrays to cause any damage' To compare to CT heads, chest xrays are 4x more radioactive .

 

[lynne192]

my doc said ct scan was that of 300 xrays at once.

 

[Weesha]

Hello, CT technologist here. Ke29, CT scans carry much higher doses of radiation compared to xray. Lead shelding, has both benifits and risks, there isn't a lot of research able to be done on how much radiation is actually blocked by a lead shield. Theoretically, the lead should prevent radiation from passing though, however radiation when passing through a patient absorbs, bounces off or passes through. The deflected radiation can become trapped between the lead shield and cause more radiation damage, in others theory. That being said, radiation doses are lower than scans of past, listen to medical professionals ONLY not google or opinion, limit your radiation exposure. There isn't strong proof that says radiation during pregnancy will cause miscarriage, but to be safe it should be avoided when not medically needed.

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

I had an Xray during pregnancy but i didnt know i was pregnant. Baby is now a teenager