bone scan | Arthritis Information

 

I have had a nuclear bone scan, last december. It went ok, I fell asleep during it. only part I did not like was the injection of the "radioactive" stuff and having to wait 3 hours for it to be absorbed by my body. Yeah... I was scared they might find something bad on mine too, nope nothing just moderate uptakes of where my RA has been.

joonie2008-05-23 10:48:01I had the radioactive junk put in at 10:30 and i am waiting until 1:30 to get the scan.  anyone know if i will the have a for sure diagnosis of ra either way after?nope, not sure. I just know uptake, which is where the raidoactive stuff is seen on the scan, will indicate where your effected at. Hi reegie.  The nuclear bone scan is fairly easy.  The injection is just like any other in terms of what you experience, you wait, and then they do a scan where you lie on a table, and/or then they sit you so they can do your feet and hands.  The hard part for me was staying still so long in positions that were awkward for me because of my back pain (not necessarily for the average person).  I took pain meds right before the scanning part to be sure.  Tell the tech if you need a break to move around.  The whole scanning part took nearly an hour for me.

 

The test doesn't give a yes/no answer on the RA, just shows the "hot spots" areas where there is new bone growth because of RA or another cause.  The radiologist's report will tell your doc how much activity there is (i.e. mild, moderate, severe) in each area.  That, along with your blood work and any x-rays or MRI's, will help your doc make a diagnosis.

I wonder since most of my nuclear bone scan report said "moderate" if that means they would classify my RA as moderate? I think I am moderate in the RA department. But then again I just guess it depends on your RDs criteira for what is mild, moderate, or severe.

just got back, my scan didn't show anything which i guess is a good thing, but my rd said because of my bloodwork and symptoms he wants to treat me for ra.  is that an actual diagnosis or just an i don't know whats wrong with you so lets try this?
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