My CA-125 number is at 14 this time around.

Today I met with my Huntsman doctor and I talked with her about my experience with my CT scan on Monday. She hadn't noticed the note that had been added but it was a good thing I mentioned it to her because they apparently flagged me as having an allergy to the I.V. contrast and wrote in the notes that I sneezed 3 times. It was also noted that I was feeling nauseous. My doctor said that the problem with doing that is that we don't really know that it was the contrast that made me sneeze - it could have been something completely unrelated - and if I am flagged as being allergic to it, it would mean that I can only get my scans done at the University of Utah where they can monitor me closely. I wouldn't be allowed to have my scans done anywhere else.

So my doctor called a couple of doctors/techs to consult with them and they decided to change my record so that I was not flagged as having an allergy to the contrast - but that they would do the scan normally the next time and just keep a close eye on me for any potential allergy symptoms. Also she changed the notes to read that I was feeling nauseous before the scan was done and before the I.V. contrast was given to me. We think that the nausea was unrelated to the scan itself.

After thinking about it later, I think that the reason I felt nauseous was because of my empty stomach - not because of the oral contrast. I will have to talk to my doctor about maybe not taking my medication the morning of my scan next time.

The nurse had no problem with my port today so I think I just need to be more aware of the time that transpires between my labs - if it is over 4 weeks again I may need to go in just to have it flushed at the 4 week mark. The Huntsman office there at the South Jordan clinic was pretty busy today so I had to wait a little but thankfully everything went fine with accessing my port.

I had somewhat of a weird experience with my CT scan though. I was having a hard time drinking the oral contrast today and towards the end I almost threw up a couple of times. I occasionally feel nauseous still off and on but I think it is a result of the medication I am on. I tend to have problems if I have gone a little while without eating anything - and I have to fast for 3 hours before the CT scans. When they called me back for the scan I had a hard time drinking the last little swallow before they had me lay down at the CT machine. They way they do the scan is they hook my port up to the I.V. dye and then they do a quick scan just to make sure they have everything lined up correctly. Then they inject the dye and then after about a minute they do two scans - one is for the abdominal scan and the other is of the chest/upper body. While they are doing the scans they have you take a deep breath and hold it while they are scanning. With my second scan I really felt like I needed to sneeze and had a hard time not moving/sneezing while the scan was going on. When they finished I sneezed 3 times in a row. When I told the tech that he said that he needed me to stay there on the table for a minute while he watched me. Apparently this can be a sign of an allergy which can happen over time. He asked if I had any tightness in my chest or if I was having any trouble breathing - which was a no to both. I did feel like I was going to throw up again - so I went over to the sink but managed to get it under control and didn't throw up. The tech then had me go and sit out in the hall for a few minutes and then he came and checked on me one more time before he let me leave. He said that people can develop an allergy that can lead to anaphylactic shock. He said that I appeared to be fine and he would make a note in my chart so that they can keep a watch on me for the next time. I then went and had my port de-accessed and went home and didn't have any other problems.