Quick question about jewellery and CT scan

Hi

I think you'll be okay - they normally ask you to put your arms above your head anyway. I had the same CT this morning and was able to keep glasses and earrings in and they were nearer the machine than my hands! 

It's certainly worth checking with them if you're worried though... 

Good luck with the scan! 

Thank you so much for your reply, and thank you for the good luck wishes. That puts my mind at ease a little - didn't want to have to cut them off! 

Good luck for your scan results, too.

Sorry I can't give you a 'definite' answer, I can tell you what I believe.... if your wedding ring and engagement ring are a 'precious metal' - gold, silver, etc i believe they will be fine.... I think the problems are if any jewellery contains 'metal' that interacts with "magnets".

I think you will be safe, they may give you 'tape' to put around/over - like I say, these are my own views and of course can be different to actual 'fact'.

Wishing you all the very best for Sunday xx

Thank you @WhatHappened - I realise nobody can know for sure but that's reassuring. They are gold, not magnetic so hopefully they will be fine or I'll just be able to keep my arm out of the way. They're not coming off, anyway. 

Hi

I have had several CT scans and never removed my rings.

Good luck for Sunday 

Love

Sue xxxx

Diag 22/2/2008

Thank you so much @sueG (I hope I've tagged you correctly there!)

I suppose in the grand scheme of things it might seem a trivial issue to some but I've been driving myself mad with it! Thank you for the good luck wishes, too.

I work in a Radiology dept and can confirm you can keep your rings on, the only time this may be an issue is if you can't raise your arms above your head for the duration of the scan, approximately 5 minutes. Having something metal by your side would then cause artifact on the images. All kinds of metal are fine in the CT scanner, it's MRI that uses magnets and therefore no metal allowed.

 thank you so very much! I might have trouble keeping my left arm above my head but if it's only five minutes I think I can force myself to. I know it's silly to worry about something so trivial at such a time but I think being forced to take them off would be the proverbial straw that broke.... at the minute. Thank you so, so much! 

Oh hi you could be immense help around here. Lots of RT questions That’s whatvwe need not only people who care, been there , but have a knowledge base

Welcome to this weird world . But we do support; we do advice; we do guidance and we seriously do hands of friendship

I’m a volunteer Champ who has been there and got back to the other side . For now.

Keep posting there is so much first hand knowledge and all in a nonjudgmental way

Leolady56

Thank you for the welcome Leolady56 - it's much appreciated. Some time, I will post my story but it's loooooong! Briefly, I had a mastectomy/chemo/Tamoxifen in 2005. Had a few post-surgical niggles in my shoulder but painkillers sorted it out for the most part. 

In 2015/16 I started getting reallllly bad pain in my shoulder, arm and chest. Fake electric shocks, imaginary sunburns and phantom itches. GP claimed it was frozen shoulder, upped the painkillers and gave me a physio leaflet. The exercises made it worse, so I went back. GP suggested bone spur on shoulder, X-ray said no so went back to frozen shoulder. 

2017 and I persuaded the GP to refer me back to the hospital - no sooner had I made the appointment than the hospital sent me three letters cancelling it with no explanation. 

In 2018 another GP suggested an injection into the shoulder and made an appointment for me to return when a GP qualified to do it was free. The GP didn't give me the injection but suggested instead I stop using my arm and stop wearing my prosthesis as the weight was causing the pain. 

2019 - At times I can't even use this arm to brush my hair as the pain in my shoulder and general area is so bad and I finally persuaded another GP to take it seriously. By this time, I had a huge swelling around my chest and collarbone which was both numb and feeling burned at the same time. The pain had increased massively and I had a lymph node in my neck that was both giving off stabbing pains and was so enlarged that it was noticeable. Also had swollen lymph nodes under my arm. This GP believed me and sent me to hospital last Wednesday where the consultant sent me for ultrasound which showed "suspicious spots" on my chest wall and under my arm. Also had two biopsies under the arm and I have to go back on Sunday for the CT scan and then Tuesday for the results and the plan of what to do next.

I'm currently veering between worry and anger (plus pain from the biopsy sites - I've spent 13 years protecting this flipping arm from every little scratch and scrape and now I have these - albeit tiny - wounds to obsess over!