My granmothers face started swelling a few weeks ago. it will go away and come back. Now, her chest and arms are swollen down to her fingers. She was admitted to the hospital and they ran all kinds of tests. All the tests came back ok. Her arm had to be wrapped because fluid is seeping out of her pores. The doctors are baffled. The only thing they are telling her is that it may be caused from having 4 cat scans in the past month. It sounds like an excuse to me. They dont really know what is going on. How can cat scans cause all this. If anyone has ever had this problem or heard of such a problem, please let me know. We are all baffled and concerned. Thank you.
2007-02-25 07:46:29 · 4 answers · asked by N I K I 2 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
The first week, the dr's said her kidneys didn't look good. Now a different dr is saying her kidney function is fine. Thanks julieb for your informative answer. You've explained it to me a little better than she could.
2007-02-26 07:11:32 · update #1
When your grandmother had the CT Scans dye was probably used to contrast the body to help see the organs and anything that shouldn't be there (ie tumors, blood clots, etc). This dye is harmful to the kidneys, even in one dose...let alone 4. Hopefully the physicians were watching her kidney functions and appropriately used the dye or not. So, it sounds like the drs are saying her kidneys are harmed and not getting rid of the fluid like they normally do. The fluid is seeping out of her arms because it doesn't have anywhere else to go. Is your grandma having any problems breathing associated with this? She should start looking for new drs who will help her and fix this because it is not normal and needs to be looked at seriously. Best of luck. Go to the dr with her if you can...ask about her kidney function, her heart function, her circulatory system...something is causing this. Don't take no for an answer.
2007-02-25 08:05:00 · answer #1 · answered by julie b 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have never heard of this before. I am a cat scan tech and I have done multiple scans on people within a few days and nothing like this has ever happened. If they are saying it was due to radiation sickness, she would be losing hair and skin. Are her kidneys functioning? The contrast can cause kidney failure if the kidneys are not properly functioning, but this is routinely checked with blood tests before cat scans are performed. Is she diabetic? Diabetics can have kidney failure if the have the IV contrast and are taking medicine containing metformin. I am sorry you are having to go through this and i hope you find out soon what is going on.
2007-02-25 21:32:35 · answer #2 · answered by mountainorchid 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Heart problems can cause swelling and so can allergies. Has she eaten anything unusual? What about something in the environment? Different detergent? Household sprays or cleaners? Insecticide or rat poison? Fumigation?
You need to be a detective to figure it out. A good internist may be able to help her. Poor lady.
2007-02-25 15:56:55 · answer #3 · answered by notyou311 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is retaining fluid, sometimes heart failure will cause this, or it may be do to her thyroid, did they test her for either of these?
2007-02-25 15:55:58 · answer #4 · answered by Gerry 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋