Ct Scan Tomorrow...Have to Drink Contrast?

[Indianamom2]

I'm having an abdominal/pelvic CT scan tomorrow morning. Apparently it is done with contrast and I have to drink a huge amount of this white stuff, one bottle tonight and one tomorrow morning. It's not the stuff they give you before a colonoscopy...I think it's some sort of barium.

Anyone ever had to drink this? How bad is it really? Any way to make it better? Thanks!

[mom2binsd]

It's chalky so be prepared.

Try chilling it, other than that it's not tasty stuff.

[jse107]

It's not terrible. Not great, but not terrible. When I had one doen, I had an orange flavor. It sort of tasted like a creamsicle, but thicker. My grandmother just had one and hers was vanilla. Apparently there was also banana too.

FWIW, it wasn't THAT much to drink. Maybe 8 oz. per bottle.

[MSWR0319]

I thought it was gross, but tolerable. It gave me some stomach cramps afterwards if I remember correctly. I was having a CT for possible appendicitis/kidney stone/ ovarian cyst and had so much cramping the night before (after the first bottle) I was sure my appendix had busted before the scan. The technician told me its just a side effect. I doubt it happens to most people but thought I'd warn you.

[megs4413]

use a straw. make sure the stuff is chilled. drink it quickly. make sure there is a bathroom nearby for afterward.

good luck.

[Katigre]

Do you have to do the CT scan or is there another diagnostic option? I'm more hesitant about CT's, especially abdominal ones, due to how much radiation is used (see this site for a chart - abdominal CT with contrast is equivalent to 10 years of background radiation: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/mobile/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_xray ) It's a site developed by the American College of Radiology and has a lot of good info.

[wendibird22]

When I did my abdominal CT in the fall I had to drink about 32oz of contrast about 30-60min before and then they did an IV contrast during the CT. The drink wasn't bad, other than being filling and a lot of carbonation. I didn't have any negative after effects (D or constipation).

Good luck! I hope everything turns out fine.