Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

Hi Tumblingnan,

I'm sorry that your doctor wants to rule out another PE. How are you feeling? I hope everything will be OK.

Hi Shellerooney,
I feel okay. I am having some sharp pains in my front and back off and on. Kind of like needles stuck in a pulled out. Ugh and they hurt like heck. Also my walking oxygen saturation has dropped for no reason I can find. I don't have an infection,fever,etc. I am coughing more than usual though.

I've heard some peeps can still have an embolism even if they are are Coumadin. I hope I'm not one of them and my doc is just being cautious.

Definitely have the VQ done, I have had 2 now... and they are able to distinguish the problems at this point.Unfortunately you can have another PE that is what I am finding out now.... Since they couldn't control my INR is why it happened

WHat is a VQ scan? I have only had CT scans to look at my PE.

HI MSM24,
I'm a mite uneasy for some reason but it appears I have nothing to fear from the test itself. This is the 1st time I've had this test.
Here is a blip about it you can find here:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides...
Lung Scan
A lung scan is a nuclear scanning test that is most commonly used to detect a blood clot that is preventing normal blood flow to part of a lung (pulmonary embolism). See an illustration of a lung scan.

Two types of lung scans are usually done together:

Ventilation scan. During a ventilation scan, a radioactive tracer gas is inhaled into the lungs. Pictures from this scan can show areas of the lungs that are not receiving enough air or that retain too much air. Areas of the lung that retain too much air show up as bright or "hot" spots on the pictures. Areas that are not receiving enough air show up as dark or "cold" spots.
Perfusion scan. During a perfusion scan, a radioactive tracer substance is injected into a vein in the arm. It travels through the bloodstream and into the lungs. Pictures from this scan can show areas of the lungs that are not receiving enough blood. The tracer is absorbed evenly in areas of the lung where the blood flow is normal. These areas show up with the tracer distributed evenly. Areas that are not receiving enough blood show up as cold spots.
If the lungs are working normally, blood flow on a perfusion scan matches air flow on a ventilation scan. A mismatch between the ventilation and perfusion scans may indicate a pulmonary embolism.

Ventilation and perfusion scans can be done separately or together to diagnose certain lung diseases. If both scans are done, the test is called a V/Q scan. In this case, the ventilation scan is done first.

Hi guys, had a VQscan -not that big of a deal. It is a nuclear medicine scan where you breath in a small amount of radioactive gas -for the ventilation part-kind of like a tight aerosol mask -a machine takes a picture while this is done. Then they inject a small amount of the radioactive stuff nto a vein and scan you again. A spiral CT is the other most used test to diagnose a PE. I hope you feel better. I would imagine if the doc thought there was a real problem, they would have done a CT right away.

When is your scan? I haven't had one, but I did a CT scan and that's how they found mine, barely since it was small, but I'm thankful they found what they found. How have your INR's been reading? Let us know when you have your scan, now you have me curious, I think the thought of having another PE is worse then the first diagnosis! I'm sorry, hope your doing better really soon and get quick answers!

Renee

Renee and all, I am scheduled for this VQ scan on Monday, April 21st. What I'm concerned about is if they do find something what is the next step? aaaarrrrggghhhhh I just won't think about it. In the mean time I am doing okay. Short of breath a bit more than usual. I do get these needle sharp pains off and on and sudden but I think everyone here has experienced ongoing pain. My P.E. was a year ago. Hah! Maybe this is a precautionary anniversary check up?

Gosh I nearly forgot to post the results of my VQ scan. Good news I think? Low porbability of a P.E. Doc says maybe-maybe not? Oh well. I'm doing okay. Just can't get my INR therapeutic yet after more than a year.