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Posted

At 4, I have an ultrasound for my liver and gallbladder, which means I have to fast. I'm okay with not eating but the not drinking is proving rough. I drink a lot during the day. I've never stopped to figure the amount of liquid I drink in a day but it's probably pretty high. I have dry mouth so I'm constantly reaching for something to soothe that. If I don't have a drink, then I have a mint and today I can't even do that. Not even gum. It's making me crazy. I don't know why they don't schedule fasting ultrasounds first thing in the morning when you've already been fasting all night. They only schedule the type of ultrasound I'm receiving at the end of the day and got the first one of those. I'm ready for this to be over.

  • Sad 13
Posted

I am so sorry, that sounds miserable. 
 

I have low blood pressure and my doc always has me schedule fasting procedures early morning. I’m sorry the facility doing yours didn’t provide that option. 
 

Hope the test gives you solid information to get you feeling better overall!

  • Like 1
Posted

They didn't schedule first thing?  I get one of those every six months and I insist on an 8am (ish) ultrasound.  Did they tell you you had to stop eating and drinking since midnight last night?  That's tough!  I'm really sorry.  

  • Like 1
Posted

They only schedule these at the end of the day?!?!  That is stupider than stupid.  I'm an ultrasound tech and we don't like to schedule any fasting exams later than 10 am, unless the patient assures us that they are a late riser.  Part of the reason for fasting is to minimize bowel gas that can obscure the liver and gallbladder.  But talking and swallowing (and gum) can increase gas in the intestines so this makes no sense at all.  You definitely need to not have anything with fat because it gallbladder contraction, which ruins that part of the exam.    Did they make you fast since last night?  At both my clinic and my hospital job we have an 8 hour fasting rule.  Anything more than that is unnecessary.  And we sometimes have them drink some water because a stomach filled with fluid is a better window than a stomach filled with gas.  

  • Like 3
Posted

That stinks. I have (had?) a gallbladder polyp and had to have ultrasounds every six months for several years to monitor it and I always scheduled them for early morning. I can't imagine why they'd make patients wait that long.

  • Like 1
Posted
7 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

They didn't schedule first thing?  I get one of those every six months and I insist on an 8am (ish) ultrasound.  Did they tell you you had to stop eating and drinking since midnight last night?  That's tough!  I'm really sorry.  

 

3 minutes ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

They only schedule these at the end of the day?!?!  That is stupider than stupid.  I'm an ultrasound tech and we don't like to schedule any fasting exams later than 10 am, unless the patient assures us that they are a late riser.  Part of the reason for fasting is to minimize bowel gas that can obscure the liver and gallbladder.  But talking and swallowing (and gum) can increase gas in the intestines so this makes no sense at all.  You definitely need to not have anything with fat because it gallbladder contraction, which ruins that part o I'f the exam.    Did they make you fast since last night?  At both my clinic and my hospital job we have an 8 hour fasting rule.  Anything more than that is unnecessary.  And we sometimes have them drink some water because a stomach filled with fluid is a better window than a stomach filled with gas.  

I was told to fast for 6 hours so at least I was able to have breakfast and a drink before 10 am. I was shocked when she looked at her chart to see when they schedule the liver/gallbladder ultrasounds and then said they schedule them at 4, 5 and 6. 

I just checked the fat content of what I had for breakfast and it was 2.5 grams. She didn't give me any guidance on what I could have before the 6 hours of fasting so I hope that's not enough to throw off the exam. I really won't be happy if I have to do this again because of that. I'm really glad I didn't choose beans as my protein this morning. That wouldn't have been good. LOL

Posted (edited)
29 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

 

I was told to fast for 6 hours so at least I was able to have breakfast and a drink before 10 am. I was shocked when she looked at her chart to see when they schedule the liver/gallbladder ultrasounds and then said they schedule them at 4, 5 and 6. 

I just checked the fat content of what I had for breakfast and it was 2.5 grams. She didn't give me any guidance on what I could have before the 6 hours of fasting so I hope that's not enough to throw off the exam. I really won't be happy if I have to do this again because of that. I'm really glad I didn't choose beans as my protein this morning. That wouldn't have been good. LOL

So glad to hear that you were able to eat.  That would have been nightmarish and could actually have increased gassiness.  Your breakfast sounds fine.  Your gallbladder is unlikely to be contracted.  FWIW, many people, no matter how well they stick to the fasting protocol, end up having bowel gas. Its a fact of life.  (I am one of those.  My classmates dreaded scanning me in school, but our instructor told them that this is what a real patient looks like, not a super skinny 20-something.)  A good tech will use various techniques to get around the gas and get the images necessary.  

I just have to wonder about the early time slots and what exams they put in there?!?  The only ones where fasting is even more imperative would be renal and liver dopplers (looking at arteries and veins to/from those organs), and aorta/mesenteric, but those are not so common (not even in a strictly vascular lab that gets them more often than any other place) that they would need to reserve every morning appointment for those.  

Edited by dirty ethel rackham
  • Like 2
Posted (edited)

Oh, I'm sorry.  The not drinking would really be hard for me - I'd be okay without eating if I had to but not drinking.  Like you, I drink a lot (so much that my sodium levels are too low).   It's getting somewhat close to 4pm now - hang in there and hope you have a big drink waiting for you when you are done! 

ETA - of course I am wishing you good results too!  ❤️

 

Edited by Kassia
  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
4 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

This is a dumb question, but can you rinse your mouth and spit out if fasting? Just thinking of easing the dry mouth, which is miserable. 

If she really needs to, she can probably take small sips of water, because normally when a patient needs to take medication on schedule, they allow it as long as they take it with as little water as possible. But if she doesn’t want to chance that, I really like your idea of rinsing and spitting.

Edited by Catwoman
Because “it” and ”or” are not the same word, autocorrect!
  • Like 3
Posted

Thank y'all for commiserating with me and giving me information on the whole process. It really did, honestly and truly, get me through the 6 hours of dry mouth. The longer I went the easier it actually got too. I think my brain had to get through the process of realizing I couldn't just grab a drink like I normally do. 

They asked me to be there 15 minutes early. I was 20. When I walked out after the ultrasound, it wasn't even 4 o'clock yet. So it was fast and easy and I always like a procedure where I can keep my clothes on. LOL The results will be ready by Monday and I already have an appointment with my doctor then so I won't have to wait to find out the results.

  • Like 8
Posted (edited)

I'm glad it's over and done with!

That is so weird that they schedule fasting appointments late in the day. I'm confused about their thought process on that one.

My part-time job is scheduling appts. at an ultrasound clinic. We schedule fasting appts. in the first 3-4 slots of the day and anything later than that we always make sure the patient is OK with fasting after 10 a.m.

Edited by fraidycat
  • Like 5
Posted

I had a liver u/s a couple of years ago and they didn't even tell me about the fasting when I scheduled.  I looked it up on google to see what the procedure would be like and read about the fasting so I called and asked.  They confirmed I did need to fast.  So glad I didn't show up after eating/drinking all day!  Mine was scheduled early afternoon IIRC.  So, not 4pm but not an early appointment either.  

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