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should i get a mri

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Posted 10/13/2016 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
hello everyone I don't mean to be overly paranoid but is it a good idea to get an MRI of the spinal cord and central nervous system just I heard that people with Lymes usually have lesions on their spinal cord I guess I'm thinking of the worst case scenario I've been sick for 2 months. Just worrying
Posted 10/13/2016 8:01 PM (GMT 0)
Unless you are having significant issues in those areas, I wouldn't expose myself to a MRI. Just my thought.
Posted 10/13/2016 8:06 PM (GMT 0)
I had them done - this was pre-lyme diagnosis...in search for answers. I had no reaction from the mri.
I even had a dye-enhanced mri to check the pituitary gland in my brain.
Didn't feel worse during or after them.

There is no x-ray radiation from them.
But if you have any metal deposited in your head/body, you need to tell them (the mri uses magnets)

If you already are diagnoses with lyme disease...then I would do it only if there's some issues in particular - as Krimpet said.

Just keep in mind that it could show lesions from lyme.
Posted 10/13/2016 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
Unless you have already hit your insurance deductible for the year, and it won't cost anything, maybe do it for peace of mind.

But MRI's are costly and best to save your money for treatment. I had an MRI of my brain and it showed nothing. But the SPECT scan did detect reduced activity "consistent with Lyme disease", even though all other blood tests were CDC negative.
Posted 10/13/2016 8:57 PM (GMT 0)
Well, sometimes we can have other things wrong with us besides those symptoms caused by lyme.

- maybe disc issues...causeing back problems.
- or if you have some issues with your endocrine - that's why my pituitary gland was checked. I had high cortisol, then low vitamin d, and also my estrogen was almost at 0.
But - this was all pre-lyme diagnosis...

The neurologist had me do mri's of my spine along with a good exam to rule out other neuromuscular disorders - ms, als, etc.

sometimes we do need to 'treat' other things - even if they are a result of lyme and co's.
Posted 10/13/2016 10:02 PM (GMT 0)
A friend of mine, a cancer survivor (stage 4)...completely refuses MRI.
Posted 10/13/2016 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
Small liesions not big enough to be ms ...they said hypoperfusion of t1 t2 ..ya doit so you have a baseline
Posted 10/14/2016 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
First, why do you want this MRI? Are you having back problems? Is there a specific pain that you think may involve your spine?

Are you just doing it to see if lyme has caused any problems?

I want to know why you think you might need this test.
Posted 10/14/2016 12:42 PM (GMT 0)
What are the risks of MRI? thought they were safe.
Posted 10/14/2016 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
dogsblood, some MRI use a contrast. And I think that may be the concern here because that injecting chemical substances into you.

For me, the concern is the cost. They are danged expensive and I would not do one unless it was necessary.
Posted 10/14/2016 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
My brother is now in hospice care from cancer had a spinal cord MRI done at Duke University on September 1.
My sister in law showed me the bill, it was $35,000.
Posted 10/14/2016 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
OUCH!

I had MRI on both knees. I have excellent insurance. I got a bill for my portion and it was $400. A week later I got another bill for $400. I called and said I had already paid it and wanted to make sure they received it. She said she received it and that the second bill was for my other knee - wholly smokes!

Also I had full blown lyme symptoms at the time of these MRIs. I have no idea if it was the MRI - without contrast - or just me but the whole thing made me feel nauseous and not well. I could not wait to get home and put on my jammies and drink bone broth.
Posted 10/14/2016 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
I think it's always a good idea to get an MRI to rule out other causes. For instance, you could go years treating Lyme, but if you have pain stemming from a herniation or pinched nerve, you're never going to get better until you address those issues.
Posted 10/14/2016 5:37 PM (GMT 0)

Mustard Seed said...
I think it's always a good idea to get an MRI to rule out other causes. For instance, you could go years treating Lyme, but if you have pain stemming from a herniation or pinched nerve, you're never going to get better until you address those issues.

I agree--it was important to me to rule out everything else before treating Lyme.
Posted 10/14/2016 6:16 PM (GMT 0)

Mustard Seed said...
I think it's always a good idea to get an MRI to rule out other causes. For instance, you could go years treating Lyme, but if you have pain stemming from a herniation or pinched nerve, you're never going to get better until you address those issues.

Totally agree - if you've got symptoms that indicate maybe something with your spine/brain...

Finding something won't change your lyme diagnosis...but it could be in addition to the lyme diagnosis.
I'm not saying do it to rule out lyme...but if you're having issues that could be caused by something in addition to lyme...then find out/rule out those.


We go all sorts of testing - hormones, vitamins, etc.etc. Even though we have lyme...we have to address the other 'stuff'.

MRI's are not like X-rays - no radiation.

I was concerned I would get anxiety going into the tunnel...but it was fine...it was noisy, but the only problem I had was during one of them, I had muscle twitching and was concerned that I wasn't still enough. It was during the time, I would occasionally get my leg kicking up...but luckily that didn't happen during the mri. just a few twitches...that didn't affect the results.
Posted 10/14/2016 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
I can't believe those prices.

The mri's that my GP and specialists ordered were free. The one I chose to do on my own was $875...and I got it within a couple of days.

Although the 'free' ones - I did have to wait - a few months. That is the drawback to the Canadian medical system...we have long waits for the free stuff.
Posted 10/14/2016 7:32 PM (GMT 0)
what makes an MRI cost $35,000 I really would like to see the bill section by section.....really. I bet the insurance company cashes over 50% of that .....
Posted 10/14/2016 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
what makes an MRI cost $35,000

Don't really know but if you get grade 4 GBM (AKA The terminator) and want to take Avastin you have to get a spinal cord MRI

Post Edited (Navigator) : 10/14/2016 1:48:36 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/15/2016 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
I had an mri of my head and all my spine. this was when they were trying to find out was wrong before I even knew I had lyme (unable to walk). everything was fine just some cysts in one area and that was pretty much it. said nothing to worry about
Posted 10/15/2016 2:35 AM (GMT 0)
Kirky - that sounds horrible...I would have been terrified, too

What are they looking for?
Posted 10/15/2016 2:35 AM (GMT 0)
How are we not traumatized from all the crap we go through before diagnosis and during treatment???
Posted 10/15/2016 5:20 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, Kirky - you've been through a lot.


It would take a while to recover from that. How are you doing now?
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