HIDA scan: anyone have one? experiences?

[zumbergc]

Wondering if anyone has had a HIDA, its a gallbladder function test?

I read about it online. Sounds like they inject dye, then take pictures to see if the dye moves thru. Does anyone know if I'm lying down still the whole time, or is it a take a pic, go wait, take another, etc.

Thanks,

 

[englishteacha]

They inject you with a radioactive dye. You lie on a table and they roll you under a camera. You must stay still while it takes the pictures. The test was what showed that my gall bladder didn't work, and 2 weeks later I was gallbladderless.

 

[nursetink]

Depending on how quickly your gallbladder empties, it may be over an hour of lying still. Sometimes they even have to give you a dose of narcotics to stimulate the gallbladder to empty. You may also experience gallbladder attack symptoms while they are infusing isotopes. It can be uncomfortable. My six year old had one in December. Hope you feel better soon!

 

[zumbergc]

thanks for the info. I'm hoping its not to painful...
at least i'll get to find out if the gallbladder is the culprit.

 

[pbharris4]

My best friend has this done and the narcotics gave her so much pain. Her gallbladder got removed and she was still having terrible pain. She ended up with a diagnosis of Sphincter of Odii. Her gallbladder was barely functioning at all.

 

[pbharris4]

They inject you with a radioactive dye. You lie on a table and they roll you under a camera. You must stay still while it takes the pictures. The test was what showed that my gall bladder didn't work, and 2 weeks later I was gallbladderless.

Did you have any problems after having it removed?

 

[brandylouwho]

My husband just had a HIDA scan done today to check his gallbladder function. He was there for a little under 2 hours...all lying flat on his back on a board. They position the camera directly above your abdomen. They had warned us that it could take up to four hours (if the dye didn't move all the way through properly).

They injected the radioactive stuff, watched as it slowly progressed through his liver, gallbladder, bile ducts & intestine. Then they gave him something else to stimulate the gallbladder. This did cause discomfort--causes the gallbaldder to contract (the pain was like he has been having for the past week, hence the gallbladder test). The tech took notes about where he felt pain & when, if he felt nauseated, etc.

Fortunately, or unfortunately his appears to be in working order. We were told if it is working properly, the gallbladder should look about half as big in the last pics as it did in the first pics.

So, he is lying here, still undiagnosed, in much pain (when he doesn't take his percocet), missing more work...very frustrating.

I had my gallbladder removed about 6 years ago. My gallstones were very apparent on the ultrasound though (thankfully). Recovery was pretty fast. I felt good after a few days and great about a week later. I don't think I've had any real complications or changes after the surgery--at least that I have noticed. Although I got pregnant a few weeks after the surgery, so maybe there was some bodily adjustments and I blamed them on the pregnancy instead.

good luck!

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

When I had mine done, I must admit while it wasn't pain, the dye of uncomfortable for me in my system. Plus I had a bad back and the staying still was a killer for me. When all was said and done, I was unable to get off the table because of my back. They had to lift me and I was in a wheelchair for a few weeks til it was back to normal. The test itself is not bad...

 

[akayek31]

I had mine done in 2006 and it did hurt a little. It showed that my gallbladder was not working very well and less than a week later I had surgery. I hate pain so maybe that is why it hurt me Hope you feel better.

 

[tsd1202]

my Mom had one a month ago and then had to have her gallbladder removed. She said the worst part was lying on the table for so long. I say go sleepy, maybe you can take a little nap???? She did not have much pain or anything and I hope you do not either. I don't believe everyone does have pain. Good Luck.

 

[Disney Doll]

I dozed off during mine. The room was dark, quiet and cool. Didn't have any problem with it at all. I recall lying on a tablep probably about 45 minutes or so.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I fell asleep during mine as well. Mine stopped functioning (well it was at 20%). Like others say, they inject you with a dye, make you lay on a table. Once the dye moves into the small bowel they inject you with something else to make the gallbladder work. That stuff made me nauseous (I can never spell that word) and thought I was going to be sick. I wasn't. I think the test was a total of 2 hours.

I fell asleep during the first part but was awake for the second. I had my results the following morning. Only delayed the surgery because I had a WDW trip planned. Of course I was sick during part of it but at least I was sick at Disney.

 

[ols386]

I had gall stones, and they were diagnosed with ultra-sound. I never had the hydascan, thankfully. I've known a couple of people who had it, and it made them extremely nauseous, both during the test and afterwards for a period of time. But after reading this thread, it doesn't sound like it has the same affect on everyone.