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Should i get this mri tomorrow of brain?

bensmith

Senior Member
Messages
1,547
Went to neuro. Thought seizures, but he said he thoght anxiety. Then he ordered brain wave mri. But like, what will that theoretically accomplish.
 

Tammy

Senior Member
Messages
2,181
Location
New Mexico
Went to neuro. Thought seizures, but he said he thoght anxiety. Then he ordered brain wave mri. But like, what will that theoretically accomplish.
Couldn't really say what he is trying to accomplish. ????? He should have explained to you more the reason for the MRI.
 
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Heartl

Senior Member
Messages
160
I was in the same boat 2 months ago. I’m glad I got it just to make sure nothing abnormal in my brain. The MRI came back normal.
I have terrible sound sensitivity so the loud banging really drove me crazy. My sound sensitivity was a lot worse for about a week after the imaging and overall felt really sick for a couple of weeks. I’m now back to my baseline illness. I’m glad I got it but I also need a spinal image but have anxiety about it because of the noise. Good luck to you, it might be worth getting just for piece of mind😊
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
I guess they have to see what's going on in there @bensmith As usual, it's a diagnostic procedure to eliminate something that just might be happening. They have to cover all bases.

While not exactly an MRI, I had a brain CT scan about 18 months ago. It was easy as pie. I worried about it beforehand, but there was nothing to worry about. It was over quite quickly. I almost fell asleep while in the scanner. It was nice to lay down and relax. It was a bit hypnotic.

The only thing that bothered me was having to drive myself to the hospital and back in pouring rain on busy roads, and get up way too early. That did crash me for a few days.

Would you have some easy transport to the appt.?
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
It makes money for them. Never heard of anything like it helping with ME.

That's my guess too, that it's for the doctor's benefit rather than yours. AFAIK, no one knows how to interpret scans for ME. If the stress of having it done will make you crash, you may want to explain that to the doctor and ask whether it's really likely to reveal something useful.
 

YippeeKi YOW !!

Senior Member
Messages
16,047
Location
Second star to the right ...
I think you have to follow your own instincts on this one @bensmith , tho I tend to agree that having a baseline brain MRI might be useful in the future, and could rule out a whole lot of other deeply useless diagnostics down the road.

Is it an MRI or an fMRI?

Is insurance paying for it?

Will it help you deal with your Dr down the road? As in "I did what you asked on the MRI, could you do what I need on (fill in the blank)...."
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Although a brain MRI can't diagnose ME or other neuroinflammatory conditions, it can rule out a lot of other problematic stuff.

It's a tough decision for you, but a brain MRI is often essential for ruling out lots of neurological problems and it will probably come in handy for future medical investigations.
 

Zebra

Senior Member
Messages
851
Location
Northern California
Hi, @bensmith

In my experience, going on 7 years now, most doctors are quite reluctant to order MRIs. So, I suspect your doctor put some thought into ordering this study.

Because you are asking for input, I want to reiterate what others have already said: at the very least, the MRI may rule out certain conditions or establish a baseline for future brain imaging.
 

Alvin2

The good news is patients don't die the bad news..
Messages
2,996
For ME it does not usually accomplish much but it does rule out some other non ME diagnoses. I've had several, i have multiple white matter lesions. Could be MS though at present they don't think so.
For long covid i have no idea if it would prove useful for not. I doubt anyone can answer that yet.

My instinct is to say get it done, its a noninvasive test and its good to rule things out. If the exertion is going to cause permanent harm then you might consider declining but if that is not the case i suggest doing it.
 

pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
I cant imagine a scenario where it leads to improved quality of life from said mri.

I had the same hesitancy when a neurologist wanted to order a brain MRI. How could that improve the non-existing treatment?

The MRI found an old brain infarction in my left cerebelium. How was that even possible to have happened, without ever having had the symptoms of a stroke? All MDs asked only shrugged.

But in retrospect, with a condition like ME/CFS without any physical lab-markers, something like a stroke on MRI does sound impressive, and might come useful if one needs to apply for disability.