Why does Creatine interfere with Contrast  Computer Tomography/?
352015
Creatinine levels reflect the function of the kidneys. The kidneys filter it out of the blood and excrete it in urine.\n\nWhen you are getting a CT scan with intravenous contrast, the creatinine level becomes important. The IV contrast used may cause problems with the kidneys (ie. it may temporarily damage the kidneys). When your kidneys don't work, then your body cannot eliminate much of the waste metabolic products that it produces. \n\nThe creatinine level is checked first to see if you have evidence of kidney problems already, more specifically if the kidney is functioning well or not. An elevated creatinine level would reflect insufficient functioning of the kidney. \n\nIn this case, the risk of using IV contrast increases and the physician may cancel the test or perform the CT without the IV contrast.
454928
http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/full/218/2/317\nthis might help.
620753
Yes-I had it done to look at spots on my lungs that were hard to see due to other things in the way. It sounds scarry and looks worst to see the hospital staff in protective coverings. Its not painful in any way. Not sure what bad effects it causes-never noticed anything its been over 4 years. Didn't help me in my case-still were not sure. The fluid might make you a little warm (nothing hard to deal with. ) You must lie quietly down for a while than they scan you (open scan-not bad) Scan takes awhile. No ill affects from it. I would advise you to drink lots of water and eat fruit afterwards so your body flushes it out-just to be safe. Again I could do everything when done that I could do when I went... I was tired just from waiting so long for everything but all in all just fine. On me had a follow up right after -just a xray check. Anything else you would like to know? I didn't change colors neither.
219977
Nuclear tests are great at telling you where there is deficit of blood flow.  That implies narrowing of a particular coronary artery.  "Decreased tracer uptake" in the septal wall means the artery that supplies the septum (the musculafr divider between left and right side of the gheart) may be blocked to some degree (but not fully).  It means you are at the risk of a heart attack to this area and may need an angiogram to take a closer look (and to open the blockage if ned be). Work with your cardiologist about it and good luck!
617836
To answer this question, you will need to consult with your doctor.  A radiologist will have to review the CT scan with you doctor in order to determine the significance of the irregular density in the lower poles of your kidneys. You may require an additional CT scan with contrast or and MRI with contrast to determine what these densities are.\n\nA 'renal scan' will not be helpful in this case.  This is a 'functional' test and measures the ability of the kidneys to excrete (pass) a nuclear 'dye'.  It can be used to compare function between your kidney and is often used as a test to help determine a condition where there is decreased blood flow to one of the kidneys (a condition called renal artery stenosis).\n\nIt is important to make sure that these densities are a normal variant and not something that you have to worry about (for example kidney cancer).  Given that they are in the same location and on both sides I would think that this is highly unlikely, but this is always important to determine.  Suggested further testing, if needed, is usually part of a CT report, but I would make sure that these densities are benign.\n\nUnfortunately, you are complaining of pain.  Irregular densities, solitary cysts, and even cancers rarely cause pain.  Medical testing is designed to eliminate (rule out) causes of diseases that are harmful and usually does a good job of this.  However, the absence of any findings on the CT  to explain the pain you are experiencing does not mean that the cause of the pain can't be determined or that the pain can't be treated.  There are many causes of back pain/kidney pain that are not picked up by a CT.\n\nPlease follow up with your doctor and make sure he or she is answering your questions.  Best of luck.
777873
have a read at this, it may help.\n\nhttp://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/W7/W7A.HTM
258374
The second and third answers are closer to correct, but contact lenses, dust and granules will not show up on a CT scan.  Hypodense does mean it is whiter/brighter, but that would not be those things.  Some hypodense foreign objects could be small pieces of metal.  You would be amazed at how many people have these things near/in their eyes and are unaware.  This is the reason why we do screening orbital x-rays on welders, grinders, even jewelery makers, before they have a MRI and are exposed to a magnetic field.  Sometimes we find such objects before a MRI and the patient had no clue it was there.  Another foreign body of this type would be something like a BB pellet.  I am unsure how glass would look for certain, but I think it could appear this way.  I think you will find, after your neuro appointment, that this is merely an incidental finding, meaning it is something that is coincidental and not causing your symptoms.
604598
No creatine is the best creatine. You risk kidney stones for a negligible boost (if any.) I tried creatine for probably five or six months and found no real difference. Maybe it works for some people, but I would say save your money. \nThe kidney stones thing is something a friend told me who seems to know everything about everything physical. I'd check into it before using creatine - passing a stone is like passing glass shards.
673379
Most people misuse creatine. They believe it helps build muscle, which isn't true.\n\nWhat creatine does is helps the muscles reaction to stress, so in fact it just makes it so you can work out sooner, but so will eating right.\n\nI'm not exactly sure how much you should take just experiment, and see how much you need.\n\nMy recomendation is to not use it though, it can cause damage to organs. Another bad thing is that when you stop working out you will lose muscle faster, not sure why, but you do.\n\nO well what i recomend, depending on how much you're taking already is you add about 25% to that. If you haven't already been taking it then start with the smallest amount possible (that still make a difference) then increase as need, but stop at a certain point.\n\nGood luck.\n\nP.S/ post a little more info ie...body weight age heighth, diet
664263
Cause the MRI is the best Equipment in medical imaging to have high contrast images to soft tissues\n\nand these images cant be done by Xray and CT cause X ray beam have very high attenuation to bones .... the used more in image the skull and bone structures
85138
A normal CT is nothing more than a 3D X-Ray, so you should be able to tolerate that quite well.  Sometimes, they administer "contrast" fluid that contains iodine to light up areas of interest on the image.  Talk to your doctor about whether you can tolerate it.  It presents no problem for the vast majority of patients.  Your health condition should not make it unsafe for you to have a CT, as long as you can lie still for several minutes at a time.
531071
The major difference is that MRI scanners CAN NOT image bone.\n\nUsing a very powerful magnet and pulsing radio waves the detection coils in the MRI scanner read the energy produced by water molecules as they mis-align themselves after each RF alignment pulse. The collected data is reconstructed into a two dimentional illustration through any axis of the body. Bone is virtually void of water and therefore does not generate any image data. This leaves a black area in the images. MRI scanners are best suited for imaging soft tissue.\n\nCT, Computerized Axial Tomgraphy, uses xrays to generate images of the body, including bone. In the CT scanner the x-ray tube, (source) rotates around the patient laying on the table. On the opposite side of the patient from the tube is the x-ray detector. This detector recieves the beam that makes it through the patient. The beam is sampled via some 764 channels, (approximate number of channels). The signal received by each channel is digitized to a 16 bit value and sent to the reconstruction processor. Measurements are taken about 1000 times per second. Scan rotations are usually 1 to 2 seconds long. Each view/channel chunk of scan data is compared to calibration scan data of air, water and polyethelyne, (soft plastic) previously acquired in the exact same relative location. The comparisons allow the image pixels to have a known value for a particular substance in the body regardless of differences in patient size and exposure factors. The more samples, or views, the better the picture. By doing the math you can see that a huge amount a data is acquired to generate one CT slice. 15 years ago it would take a supercomputer called an Array Processor almost a minute to reconstruct the image, now it happens within seconds. Doctors can look at the image and determine what they are looking at simply by the lightness or darkness of the grey areas on the monitor. CT scanners are not able to make still-life images of fast moving things like the heart.
562403
chances are you are simply wasting money \n\nyour creatine needs to be pure and mixed in an acidic solution and is effective if you use it around workouts \n\nonly about 60% of people respond to creatine so unless you are one of them you are wasting dollars\n\nnitrotech probalby does nothing more than a far cheaper whey supplement
1097365
Treadmill stress electrocardiography is employed widely to detect underlying cardiovascular disease in asymptomatic persons. To determine the frequency and significance of an abnormal S-T segment response to exercise in young athletes with increased left ventricular (LV) mass induced by physical conditioning, 75 male isometrically trained athletes without evidence of heart disease (mean age 21 years) and 48 nonathletic young normal subjects were studied by M-mode echocardiography and exercise electrocardiography. Ventricular septal and posterior free wall thicknesses and calculated LV mass were significantly greater in athletes than in control subjects. An abnormal S-T segment response to exercise was present in 7 (9%) of the 75 athletes, all of whom had a LV mass greater than 275 g and in 5 the LV mass was above the 95th percentile of that of the control subjects. An abnormal treadmill exercise test result also was present in 3 (6%) of 48 control subjects. Seven of the 10 subjects with abnormal exercise test results had radionuclide angiograms at rest and with exercise, each of which was normal. It is concluded, therefore, that (1) abnormal exercise test results occur commonly in both athletes and non-athletes; (2) almost 10% of isometrically trained athletes have "false-positive" exercise electrocardiograms, suggesting that this test has major limitations in screening for underlying cardiovascular disease in athletes; and (3) in athletes, a relation was present between "physiologically" increased LV mass and false-positive exercise test results.
733211
An xray will not show muscle, only bones and some soft tissue. \nAn MRI will show muscles.
782771
There are several different methods and applications. The most common is using them as contrast agents: the solution containing radioactive isotope (say Iodine) injected into specific side (depends on the area of interest - might be specific organ or vessel) and after that using special radiation detecting equipment they monitor the movement of this agent through specific tissues or blood. Using this technique many health problems can be diagnosed. The radioactive istotpes used here are usually short living and do not cause hurm to the body.
1023632
Creatine is a natural enzyme found in all our bodies. In the aerobic respiration within our muscles, it gives us that initial jolt of energy without using up any ATP's. However, this only last for 15-20 seconds. Also, as long as you aren't taking the supplement then the baby won't be exposed to it.