Dat scan result shows PD

How reliable is DAT scan.  Neuro said "DAT scan supports the diagnosis of PD".  But I know second opinion Neurologist still not 100% convinced.

How do I proceed?  Begin to believe I have PD or still say I might not!?

I thought the DAT scan would help but 1st Neurologist said not definitive.  So don't know if I'm any further down road.

I feel so exhausted. Almost unable to do anything....

Please reply

Girlirish

hello girlirish, i am in a similar position to you , one neuro changed his mind after about 6yrs said i have not pd and was very rude about it all . i changed to another nuero who isnt quite convinced but realises all my meds including sinamet work dramaticaly.I now have an appointment to have a DaTSCAN which i know will give me the true answer. I dont know if this will be of interest to you but my family have all been searching the web for info about this scan and my goodness have they found a lot of info.it is very interesting and very reassuring and i feel such a relief .I think you may find it will help you understand it all and hopefully gie you some encouragement too .Good luck and keep smiling...Grace

Ed, regarding DaTSCAN , i have looked up one or two notes i had written after scanning the web . This may be of interest to you......but with Parkinsons cells die off and are replaced with LEWY BODIES, if up to 60% of these cells are replaced with Lewy Bodies then you have Parkinsons, but if these cells remain empty you have a "Parkinsons like" condition and something else has killed the cells off ---Only a DaTSCAN can show this. I hope the way i have written this makes sense to you . I shall be glad when i have had my DaTSCAN and get the results.....do i or do i not have PD. Thanks for listening . By the way i used to like fishing but only ever caught tiddlers..Grace

"The DaTSCAN: A new generation brain scan DaTSCAN (also called I123-FP-CIT), first launched in Europe in 2002, has been shown to diagnose PD with greater accuracy (up to 98 percent accuracy) compared with conventional scanning methods in patients exhibiting no PD symptoms other than tremors. According to a study outlined at the December 2002 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), DaTSCAN is particularly effective at distinguishing between Parkinson's disease and a less severe type of neurological disorder called essential tremor. In the words of David J. Tuite, MD: "Until the advent of DaTSCAN, the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease was primarily based upon clinical assessment...which has only an eighty percent accuracy rate." Although currently not widely available, DaTSCAN is an important advancement in the area of PD diagnosis."

hello from the uk, i have been diagnose with pd for 6 years , now my neuro is sending me for datscan, this is making me wonder if i was mis diagnosed 6 years ago for a pd similar illness . very interesting reading i have been looking for somewhere to find possible answers to my querries , thank you for your experiences as this makes me feel i am not alone.

HI I FEEL THAT I HAVE TO TELL YOU about MY EXPERIANCE TODAY AS IT MAY HELP OTHERS about TO HAVE A DAT SCAN ...

MY MUM WAS DIAGNOSED AS PD 15 YEARS AGO AT AGE 50 SHE HAS HAD NUMEROUS MEDICATIONS THE ONLY ONE DOING ANY GOOD WAS SINMET HOWEVER WE HAD A NEW NEURO LAST NOVEMBER WHO SAID THE HE NEEDED TO CHANGE HER MEDS.. TO CUT A VERY LONG STORY SHORT SHE WAS GREATLY OVERDOSED WITH DOPA AND SUFFERED SEVERE SIDE EFFECTS. THIS CARRIED ON FOR 6 MONTHS UNTIL SHE COULDNT TAKE MUCH MORE AS WITH MANY OTHERS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN ?ED AS TO IF ITS ESSENTIAL TREMOR OR PD AFTER I LOST THE PLOT OUR NEURO HAS PULLED OUT ALL TH E STOPS AND TODAY SHE HAD A DAT SCAN , THIS WAS THE FIRST TO BE PERFORMED IN OUR HOME TOWN , MUM HAD WORKED HERSELF UP INTO A NEAR FRENZY OF WORRY ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY REFERD TO NUCLEAR MEDICINE AND HOW THEY WOULD INJECT HER WITH A RADIO ACTIVE DYE E T C . HOWEVER THE WHOLE EXPERIANCE WAS BRILLIANT, PAINLESS AND STRESS FREE WE NOW AWAIT THRESULTS . AS ANOTHER MATTER OF INTEREST SHE HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PERNICIOUS ANAEMIA WHICH CARRIES A LOT OF THE SAME SYMPTONS AS PD !!! IS NOW ON A COURSE OF VIT B12 AND THE TREMORS AND STIFFNESS ARE A BIT BETTER ALREADY WATCH THIS SPACE !