Uncharterd Waters

Well, I did ask for prayer about the PET scan yesterday...I think you all prayed the machine away! It broke down overnight and all my tests and Dr. apt.  were canceled. I am rescheduled for Thursday.

In the past, doing this test in particular has triggered severe migraines. In preparation for the impending event I wanted to try some proactive measures to see if they would help.

I began by asking questions from my medical team including my neurologist. For this test you are told no caffeine, sugar or exercise for 24 hours prior and nothing except water past midnight. Unfortunately, because I do drink coffee, this, combined with the lack of food triggers a rebound headache that turns into the migraine. So, here were some questions/ideas I asked about;

~ "what is the minimum amount of time I can eat and drink anything besides water prior to the scan. The answer was 4 hours. I plan to eat something light with a cup of unsweetened coffee 4.5 hours prior. 

~ can I receive a shot or an iv for pain/ nausea IF I need it? The answer was no because it would be another charge for the infusion center and my insurance would be billed. OK, isn't that why I have insurance, so IF I get really sick while at the hospital I can be taken care of? As of now this option is out but I do plan to ask my Doc. about it tomorrow.

~can I take any medications before the tests to help with pain or nausea? The answer was yes. Now that I know I can eat a little something earlier I will take Advil and something to help with anxiety as well.

~ I thought maybe my neurologist may have other suggestions. He said I can also take phenergin ahead of time even if I am not nauseated. He asked for a report back to see how these preventative measures work out with the migraine so if in the future they have a patient in a similar situation they can suggest this if it works.

~ So, here I go into uncharted waters..let's hope and pray it works! I hope this information may be of help for someone else and welcome suggestions if you have been through something similar.  

Will post again after tests and results. Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts and prayers.