Gallbladder Imaging
Planning ahead:
- You may not have barium for 48 hours before this exam.
- You may not have morphine for six hours before this exam.
- You should arrange for a driver to take you home after this exam.
- Do not eat, drink, or smoke anything at all for at least four hours prior to your scheduled scan time.
- Arrive at the hospital 30 minutes before your exam is scheduled. Ask the scheduler what time that is.
Bring with you when you come for your test:
- Complete list of medications you are currently taking – name and dosage for each medication, and when you take it.
- Written physician’s order for the test.
On the day of the test:
- Come in through the main entrance of Mon Health Medical Center and to the Radiology Services registration desk, down the hallway to the right.
During the exam:
- If you think you will have trouble lying completely flat and still for this long, you must talk to your doctor about it before coming to the hospital. You may not be able to tolerate the exam.
- The technologist will place cushions under your knees, etc., to try and make you more comfortable, but complete comfort is not always possible.
- You should plan to be at the hospital for about three hours if no other medication is administered (see next bullet).
- This exam often requires medication to be administered midway through the procedure; this medication may make you drowsy. If you don’t have a driver and this medication is necessary, you will be monitored for two hours after the procedure before you may return home, increasing the length of time you will be at the hospital by an additional two hours.
Or call the Mon Health Nuclear Medicine Department at (304) 598-1280.