Advice on going private for an MRI scan.

[FayeM567]

So for a while now i've been having headaches and seeing floaters/ spots of light, feeling slightly dizzy etc. I went to my Doctor this week to talk about my health in general and these symptoms in particular. I had the back of my eyes checked and all seemed to be fine. My GP said it was probably due to stress/anxiety and she wasn't too concerned with anything I'd said, but, if it continues I should come back and she'll refer me a Neurologist. While, i'm not massively anxious about these things right now, I am considering the possibility of jumping the gun and going private to see a Neurologist and have a MRI scan. I've recently come into some money, so I could pay and there's a facility close by that I could go to. I just think it would be easier to get myself checked out now and hopefully have my worries stopped than waiting to go back to the GP and the having a further wait to be referred on.

I was just wondering has anyone had any experience with going private for certain tests etc and if so what advice they could give about going about it? Thanks in advance! :hugs:

[panic12]

Save your money is my advice, I have these symptoms caused by anxiety, how severe and often are the headaches

[FayeM567]

^ I've been getting the headaches pretty much every day recently. They're not very severe though.

[panic12]

Are they just annoying or do they hurt? Like do you have them all day so can't do much or are they barley noticeable?

[FayeM567]

I can still go about my day, they're normally a background annoyance. But, sometimes can get slightly painful.

[panic12]

Jut sounds like tension although if you think it would help then have the MRI

[DylanR]

I wish i was in your position . I am having alot of trouble speaking recently but they refused an MRI as i passed the eye exam and neurological questions thingy. I struggle to see how stress/anxiety can cause me to nearly lose my power of speech and slur all the time but apparently it Can. I can't afford to go private, which company are you thinking about? i heard Bupa are good. :)

[FayeM567]

^ Really Dylan? I would have thought with symptoms like that they would have given you an MRI just to be sure, my cousin got an MRI very quickly for a lump in her mouth (turned out to be a blocked gland). There's Bupa centre close to were I live were you can pay for certain tests etc.

[almamatters]

I think if you can afford it and for peace of mind then going private is a good idea. Waiting on the NHS can be a nightmare and if you are anything like me just adds to the anxiety. If you spend the money and nothing shows up, then at least you will feel reassured. :) I enquired about having a ultra sound privately then realised I couldn't afford it. :mad:

[DylanR]

yh i know , i can hardly speak most of the time :p but oh well , I'll just deal with it for the mean time

---------- Post added at 16:46 ---------- Previous post was at 16:43 ----------

btw i heard the cost is usually £800 - £2000 for an MRI . on the upper scale for a Brain Scan. So you'll probs have to pay about £1500-£2000

[FayeM567]

I'm going to look it to it. So far the quotes i've for centres in my area are less than that.

[DylanR]

That's pretty good actually . Reassurance is priceless :)

[JoannaS]

I went private and had an MRI scan. Everything was fine and it reassured me, for a few months! Now I want another one!

[almamatters]

Sounds quite a reasonable price for reassurance. :)

[macc noodle]

I suffer HA and can see the attraction of getting "reassurance" by having unnecessary tests undertaken just to make you feel better and if you can afford to go privately then at least you are saving the cost to the Nhs BUT as you all well know, that reassurance is never enough and you move onto the next thing - I have trodden this path and the only solution is to deal with the anxiety and to break the cycle.

You would be better placed spending the money on therapy to deal with this.

Macc Noodle :)

[Gotagetthroughthis]

You are right in a way macc but i am also waiting to see a neurologist and hopefully get an MRI myself as sometimes it needs that for you to accept that there is nothing medically rong with you and face the fact it is all anxiety.

Im hopeing if i find out everything is ok, that i can move on and tackle and beat this anxiety but untill then i still have the niggling doubt that there is something medically wrong.

[traciec39]

Hi Faye
I would just give yourself a few more weeks and see if your symptoms ease.
Honestly, if your doctor is not concerned, then i really think you should listen to his/her advice.
If your doctor was at all worried you would have been sent for an MRI as an emergency.
try some relaxation exercises.
Im having the same problems as you, Do you get a flash of light in the corner of your eye? Im really dizzy too.
take care xxx

[Frankie123]

If it was me and I could afford it I would pay for the MRI scan because until you have the scan you will not believe that you do not have a brain tumour. So far as I am concerned peace of mind would be worth every penny.

[GreekGirl]

Hi FayeM567,
If you have managed to rule out other possible causes of your headaches, i.e eye-sight, stress etc, then a MRI scan would resolve your problem, it is better to be reassured that there is nothing serious going on than carry on worrying about it. A GP cannot look inside your head so they cannot really know for sure what is causing your headaches. Good luck.

[Wolfie]

Hi Faye,

I can totally get what you're wanting to do, I'm sure if we could all have a chance at going private we'd go for it in an instant lol. But, I think what you should maybe be worried about is, if you can't already get peace of mind from your doc in the NHS, are you really going to have all those health anx fears about your headaches calmed by a private doctor? You gotta be so sure on this one.