Question for women who’ve had an abdominal pelvic CT scan.

[Ezra123]

Do you worry about the radiation ? I had one a year or so ago after having months of pelvic pain , nothing found on ultrasound etc. Then had two trips to A&E with very focused pain on lower right abdomen. Ended up having an abdominal CT with contrast. Nothing found. they now think it could be neuropathic.

Anyway, I never gave a thought to the radiation, foolishly thinking it was the same as an xray. I was speaking to someone today who mentioned the dangers of CT scans due to the dose of radiation being much higher than X-rays and that all being directed a your internal organs.

Well silly me I googled it. I am shocked at how much there is in an abdominal CT…. It’s the worst one, around 10-14 msv! If I had known this at the time … would it have made any difference ? I don’t know. Might I have refused it? …. Possibly not. I don’t recall being asked, it was just “you’re going for a CT scan”. But I had no idea about the big jump in radiation.. and I wish I hadn’t found out.

In A&E they thought it could be appendicitis and a host of other things… so I understand a CT was the best way of looking at everything. I just feel a bit “what have I done to myself” re cancer risk in the future.

I guess it’s good to know… I assume the risk is cumulative so I might request alternative tests if possible in the future.

These tests are pretty routine aren’t they? I assume anyone with suspected appendicitis would get one….

jf you’ve had this done, does it worry you?

please don’t bother with any nasty comments. I will ignore them. I’m just a bit stunned by what I’ve found out*

The risk is tiny compared to the risk of eg pelvic cancer going undetected

I had appendicitis and then a burst appendix so the CT scan saved my life and prevented me having surgery (second one showed the antibiotics had worked). I didn't think about radiation but I would definitely have those scans again Vs the alternatives

Thank you. Yes I did this calculator that shows increase in risk. Which isn’t much compared to the background risk we all have. I think it’s just what my friend said about “years worth of radiation focused on your internal organs”…. So it is a bit different to say, living in Cornwall. I think I’m just struggling to take in the vast difference between and xray and ct…. And also that I had no idea. Just a bit of a shock.

I have them quarterly for inoperable cancer - it’s unlikely it’ll be the CTs that kill me and if I’d had one earlier it would probably have given me a much better outcome. I personally think a yearly full CT would save millions, of both lives and NHS money in the long run!

I’ve had a couple and I’ve not even given radiation a second thought I was always more bothered about getting to the bottom of the pain!
Try not to worry @Ezra123 as another poster said these can save lives and the risk is quite minimal. They have to tell you but I think you have to weigh it all up.

Sorry to hear about your illness @AGreatUsername . I hope you’re doing okay. And yes you make a fantastic point.

Thank you everyone. I feel a bit silly, just trying to get my head around it.

Saved my life too. I had three last year.

They're only allowed to take any x-ray where the medical benefit outweighs the risk and they should have explained this when they did the scan.

Several years worth of radiation sounds scary but its a small percentage of your lifetime dose from background radiation so hardly increases the overall risk.

Don't worry about it

Thank you yes, I think the thing that is a bit shocking is that nobody told me at the time. I was just told I was going for one and I have now found out (much later) how much radiation was actually involved. I’m not complaining that I had one, I understand why it was done…. Just a bit spooked. Absolutely nothing I can do about it now though and they absolutely could’ve picked up something serious (which thankfully they didn’t).