Have you had a brain MRI?
Hi all,
I'm new here and have been experiencing health anxiety for the past four weeks, specifically diagnosing myself with a brain tumor. I visited my GP today and told him my symptoms of nose/facial twitching, numbness in my hand and a "foggy" feeling in my head.
I was hoping he would immediately dismiss the symptoms as non-serious, but instead he recommended I get an MRI done "to rule things out and peace of mind". This surprised me and made me feel that there is a realistic chance of it being serious. We can pay for private MRI's where I aim, so I'm going tomorrow and will have the results in a few days. In the meantime I get a CD of the image but not report for a few days. Not sure what I'm supposed to do with it, everything is going to look like something sinister!
Anyways, I guess it will be good to know for certain rather than continually be anxious. Has anyone gone through a similar experience? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
Don't look at the image before you see the Dr.
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
I had one and it was fine. But what I would definitely say is that you definitely need to work on your anxiety or no MRI will be enough of reassurance.
That's what people told me before I got an MRI for reassurance and I wouldn't listen saying "oh I'm not gonna doubt an MRI!" and it reassured me for about 2 weeks lol and then my symptoms, doubts and anxiety all came back. So really work on your anxiety, unfortunately there's no shortcut for that.
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
Yes but not by a choice, because of one of my health conditions I need to have one every 18-24 months, as I have something (non cancerous) on the pons of brain, cannot be removed, does not need treatment, it either a bright spot/lump because I have NF.
Last time the lump had got smaller (or not changed shape etc) but still will need them for the rest of my life.
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
maianixon
But what I would definitely say is that you definitely need to work on your anxiety or no MRI will be enough of reassurance.
That's what people told me before I got an MRI for reassurance and I wouldn't listen saying "oh I'm not gonna doubt an MRI!" and it reassured me for about 2 weeks lol and then my symptoms, doubts and anxiety all came back. So really work on your anxiety, unfortunately there's no shortcut for that.
I had a brain MRI 3 years ago for tension type headaches and phantom smells. After it came back all clear, my headaches disappeared....can't say the phantom smells disappeared, but I can live with that ;-)
I will say this, however: Once I saw the clear/normal results...the peace from it only lasted 3-4 months. Then once I experienced another new symptom, I was right back where I started, again thinking that I had a brain tumor (for real *eye roll*)
Right now, my ENT ordered an MRI for "reassurance". I refuse to go, because all it will get me is $1500 out of pocket for a "normal" (HOPEFULLY!) result that will bring me reassurance for only a few months. If it's something that truly requires an MRI, it will show itself in due time and I'll HAVE to have it done...not for reassurance, but because a doctor deems it necessary. In the meantime, I'm in limbo. Waiting for the worst to happen, or the peace to come.
Here's to waiting.
Re: Have you had a brain MRI?
Just wanted to post a follow up message to let everyone know how it went. I know people often leave the forum after getting results so hopefully this helps.
The MRI itself was fine, but if you're claustrophobic it can be an issue. The most difficult part was waiting. Most MRI's won't give you images, and you will have to wait several days or more for the written report from the radiologist. In this case because it was private, I received a CD with images immediately but had to wait until today for the interpretation from the radiologist.
I couldn't help myself and viewed the images, thinking it would just be a few scans and I would easily be able to see something large and obvious. It turned out that there were more than 100 images and although I didn't see anything obvious, I had no idea what I was looking at. In hindsight, I don't regret doing this because it at least ruled out a terrifying large growth in my head and gave me a bit of peace for the last couple days.
My results came in just now and I received a fax report at the same time as my doctor. All clear.
So to sum up the story, I was convinced I had a tumor and was preparing myself ahead of time so that a diagnosis would be less traumatizing than it would normally be. I would recommend anyone going through the same thing to avoid doing this, because (A) it's highly unlikely that you are going to be diagnosed with a rare and life threatening disease and (B) if you are unlucky and end up with such a condition, it's not like preparing for it or worrying ahead of time is going to make it any better once you get the news. Easier said than done though. Thanks everyone who responded.
