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Bone scan - advice please

Posted , 5 users are following.

Guest
Guest

Hi. Has anyone here with psoriatic arthritis had a nuclear bone scan or do you know anything about them? I mean the kind where you're injected with radioactive dye then photocopied, leaving you with a blurry Turin Shroud-type image?

If so, was it helpful in diagnosing you? Would it pick up on problems in the joints if you were having a good day (i.e. no pain/inflammation)? Do all abnormalities look the same on the scan or can the bone scan boss tell them apart?

Basically, any information would be good. Nobody knows why I have joint pain. I have been sent for a bone scan. My nice-but-essentially-useless rheumatologists like to keep me in the dark.

Thank you.

0 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

  • grimesjeanine
    grimesjeanine Guest

    Posted

    My Rhuemy dismissed me by symptoms and he did x ray studies on various joints. I have routine bone scans (non nuclear) every 2 years for bone loss. Never have the reports mentioned my arthritis.

    The answer to you question about having it done on a "good" day, it doesn't matter. If damage is there it will be visible.

    I hope you get answers soon. Not sure treatment actually help the pain. I am on my 5th different medication. The one that seemed to give me any relief , Humira, produced such a headache I could not function.

    Praying for relief for you.

    Jeanine

    • sheila65847
      sheila65847 grimesjeanine

      Posted

      Hey there Jeanine,

      I've picked up on your reply to Sarah, I'm interested that you've said your on your 5th medication. I too, have been on several but as yet PsA is not in remission, guess I'm unlucky. The message I've been on are:

      Methotrexate - led to a hepatic reaction

      Sulphasalazine -allergy

      Leflunomide - ineffective

      Enbrel - severe flare of PalmarPlantar Pustulosis

      Humira - ineffective

      Now I'm on Stelara and I don't feel it's working, I'm having to take 15mg Prednisolone daily (7 months) plus opiate painkillers just to try to get by. A decision whether to continue Stelara will be made next month. I've noticed increased pins and needles as a side effect, sometimes so bad I can't sleep. I'm very low today with pain and fatigue and would appreciate if you could share your experiences of meds so I don't feel I'm alone. Thank you, Sheila

  • Okapis
    Okapis Guest

    Posted

    Yes, I had a nuclear bone scan in the diagnosis stage of PA. Nuclear because youre injected with a radioactive agent that picks up inflammation in the bones and joints. I was amazed that bone would absorb stuff so quickly, having previously thought of bones as more static. Totally wrong as it turns out.

    Strange experience stuck in a fabric sling moving back and forward, or was the mc moving back and forward cant remember now.  The scan allowed the rhuematologist to pick up all the points of inflammation in one go.

    • Guest
      Guest Okapis

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply. It's good to know that they can actually pick up stuff. I wasn't excited about the idea of being injected with radioactive dye just for the sake of another inconclusive test result.
  • sheila65847
    sheila65847 Guest

    Posted

    Sarah,

    have you actually been diagnosed with PsA? Or is your rheumatologist trying to make a diagnosis ? I was diagnosed in 2011 but it's the synovial sac/membrane that is inflamed not the bones. I'm getting a bone density scan next week but I think that is due to taking oral steroids daily and sometimes topped up with Methylprednisolone infusions. Steroids can cause bone thinning or so I'm told. My PsA was diagnosed following psoriasis for 15 years, then significant pain and swelling in knees, wrists, hands, jaw etc. Inflammation is identified via blood tests and/or ultrasound. The psoriasis /pain/swelling around joints is gruesome, leading to wheelchair use at times so I think your rheumatoid should know whether it's PsA without resorting to a nuclear bone scan? Perhaps your rheumatoid is being very thorough. Have you been tested for Lupus?

    • Guest
      Guest sheila65847

      Posted

      No, I have no diagnosis but I have joint pain/swelling and psoriasis. I have no idea what this scan is for. Lupus has been excluded.

      Sorry to hear you have it so bad.

       

  • sheila65847
    sheila65847 Guest

    Posted

    Sorry

    rheumatoid should read rheumatologist! !!!!!

  • karen69425
    karen69425 Guest

    Posted

    Hi Sarah, Sorry just returned from holiday. Yes I had one in May. Really helpful, I now understand why I hurt so much. Inflammation everywhere!!!!!!  I also have osteo as well as Psa.Not sure on the differences, apart from I know I suffer from tendonitis.We see my consultant in a couple of weeks for the result. Unlike yours mine is a absolute star. I will share, anything that I find out 
    • Guest
      Guest karen69425

      Posted

      Thank you. My rheumatologist discharged me a few weeks ago, more or less saying there wasn't much wrong with me and the bone scan was basically a precaution that would probably be normal.

      I had the scan last week. A few days after the scan I got a message from the rheumatologist saying she had my results and she's going to send an appointment for me to see her, to discuss. I haven't heard anything since. 

    • Okapis
      Okapis Guest

      Posted

      Eeek! There is a rheumotologist who sounds as if she is going to have to eat humble pie! Suggest you chase up the appointment. Which country are you in? If its the UK ring the consultants secretary and possibly outpatient bookings to see if its in the works.

      Was this a consultant or a registrar? Always pays to know... 

    • Guest
      Guest Okapis

      Posted

      It was the consultant. Nothing in today's post so I'll call on Monday. I am in the UK.

      I know they're only human but it seems a bit cruel to leave a message like that and then leave me hanging for days.

  • karen69425
    karen69425 Guest

    Posted

    OMG, fancy discharging you before the scan!!! I do hope that you get an apointment soon.

    Take care 

    • Guest
      Guest karen69425

      Posted

      I now have my appointment -  it's for eight weeks' time so I assume it's nothing urgent!
    • Okapis
      Okapis Guest

      Posted

      Appointment date is I think more likely a function of the waiting list! But yes if it was serious you would have ended up with an appointment in days! But 8 weeks to wait - ugh! hope it goes fast!
    • Guest
      Guest Okapis

      Posted

      I have some more information about my scan results now. There are some "changes" in my feet and ankles. The rheumatologist thinks I should be taking a DMARD.

      But my appointment is still in mid-August. I know it's not exactly an emergency but everything I've read tells me that treatment should be started as soon as possible. Does ASAP mean ASAP or just... 'don't leave it a year'?

      It's been 11 months since I was referred to the rheumatologist and FIFTEEN months since I first went to the GP with joint pain. Is making me wait another two months, when they've already decided on treatment, normal? 

    • Okapis
      Okapis Guest

      Posted

      Not good I admit. Ring the hospital PALS and discuss with them. See if they can get you an earlier appointment. Make sure you tell them the doc discharged you before getting the results of the scan.

      I once caused a hospital to run extra clinics to make up for a doctors repeated cancellation of clinics by speaking to PALS. Turned out on their investigation that I wasn't the only one having an appointment cancelled and being repeatedly being put to the back of the list (and appointments)j

    • Guest
      Guest Okapis

      Posted

      Good thinking, thanks. I've had one dealing with PALS before and they were fantastic.

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