Hi, I don't really have any advice to give but I did have CT scans every 6 months for the first few years (as well as annual echocardiograms which are still ongoing). Maybe ask your doctor what the rationale is and how the CT results will change treatment? And if there are any other alternatives to consider instead?

I agree. Just ask what the thought process is. Maybe that is his protocol for a patient who had had an extensive clot and are still experiencing shortness of breath and pain. I had 3 scans all within less than 6 months (1 to diagnose, 1 to see if tPA administered in ER worked and 1 to check status a couple of months later).

Thanks. I will have to seek more information. Just seems the appt. is conflicting with the timelines he advised.

The average American is exposed to 3 millisieverts (mSv) of background radiation per year. I mention average 'American' because where you live actually has an impact on how much radiation you are exposed to on a yearly basis. People living in higher altitudes are exposed to more. For example, in Colorado, residents are exposed to roughly 4.5 mSv background radiation per year. Taking a 10-hour flight exposes you to 0.3 mSv. A single chest x-ray exposes you to 0.1 mSv.

A low-dose chest CT scan exposes you to 1.5 mSv, and a regular-dose chest CT exposes you to 7 mSv.

Let's assume you're 40 years old for the sake of my example, and you are an 'average American.' This is already 120 mSv of radiation that you've been exposed to. Just by being alive. Add on 3 regular-dose chest CT scans, and now you're at 141 mSv. If you've lived your whole life in Colorado, and never had any air travel or x-rays or CT scans, you've still been exposed to 180 mSv over this same 40 year stretch. Nobody's being evacuated from Colorado due to radiation exposure.

And we haven't even taken into account any workplace exposure (CT and x-ray technicians, power plant workers, pilots, flight attendants, etc). A pilot or flight attendant is going to be exposed to more radiation from a 30 year career (just from their job) than you'd be from 18 regular-dose chest CT scans.

My numbers may not be exact, but they're close enough to accurate for the point I'm trying to make. I mention all this not to scold you, rather to ease your mind and help you feel a little less anxious about the CT scans.

If you want to read more about radiation exposure and gain further perspective so that you may feel more comfortable, do some google searches on 'imaging radiation', 'cosmic radiation', 'background radiation' and 'occupational radiation.'

I wish you peace and happiness.

Thanks for the information. I am aware of the radiation from 'life' as I worked in Aviation industry, but still want to avoid any unnecessary radiation, especially when he said there is no way the clot will have cleared in three months.