hope for stroke survivors and their caregivers
CT Scans
Since I stroked in November '08 I have been to the ER several times because of headaches. I take Darvocet for headaches but that doesn't always work and if they get too bad my blood pressure goes up and when that happens I go to the ER. Once they take my history and find out I had intracerebellar hemorrhage in the past the first thing the ER dr does is give me something to get my BP down and then he orders a CT scan. About 4 months after my stroke I was visiting the ER about once a month...why does this always happen after regular office hours and on the weekends when my regular doctor isn't in???
Anyway one of the last times I visited the ER the dr asked me if I wanted a CT scan. He went on to explain to me that if I felt there was something wrong he would do one but since a Ct scan is the equivalent of 200 x-rays directed towards the brain and he didn't want to do it unless it was necessary. Now that's 200 x-rays times how many trips I've had to the ER and he was the first one to tell me this? This kind of worries me and I wonder why we are not better informed about the risks as well as the benefits of these sorts of tests...
Anyway one of the last times I visited the ER the dr asked me if I wanted a CT scan. He went on to explain to me that if I felt there was something wrong he would do one but since a Ct scan is the equivalent of 200 x-rays directed towards the brain and he didn't want to do it unless it was necessary. Now that's 200 x-rays times how many trips I've had to the ER and he was the first one to tell me this? This kind of worries me and I wonder why we are not better informed about the risks as well as the benefits of these sorts of tests...
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