Hi,
I am new here and am looking for a little advice please. My diagnosis is not yet confirmed and i have been told i will need an mri scan for that to happen. I have a metal cardiac device in my chest and have always been told it made an mri scan contraindicated. Does anyone know if there is a way around this or if there are other tests to diagnose?
Many thanks, sj.
I don’t know for sure but when I have had appointments for MRIs, there has always been a leaflet with the letter about the MRI and contraindications. There should also be a phone number to ring to disscuss whether you can actually have an MRI. What they’ll do instead I don’t know but if you can’t have an MRI because of previous medical history, your neuro will have to accept that.
Hello
I’m assuming you mean a pacemaker.
You should be able to have an MRI scan but there may have to be a cardiologist or someone who is equally trained to be in attendence. This is in order to carefully monitor your heart rhythm during the procedure.
Contact the department where you are going to have the scan.
xx
This is exactly a question I asked lovely Rizzo who has a PHD in MRI and wrote about the BRAIN above. She said that anyone with a pacemaker is not even allowed in the same building an MRI is housed in.
But ring to clarify; there must be another way around it. Perhaps a CT scan that uses x-rays not magnets.
G
A cardiologist can make the device safe G, it all depends how important it is for the patient/client to have the scan. The department will be able to answer that question 
If it is a pacemaker then I believe you are not able to have an MRI. What device is it? I have a reveal cardiac device in and was able to have an MRI.
my dad has a defibrillator fitted, he can’t even walk through the scanners at an airport, and if you can’t wear earrings, then Im sure MRI simply can’t happen, its using massive magnets, so its not just about the device itself but the wires that go to the heart, and if its an ICD that gives electric shocks then I seriously doubt you would be allowed in the building.
maybe they would have to rely on other methods, maybe the LP and symptoms, and the other tests they do (that for the minute I can’t recall).
I take that back! Apparently its risk versus benefit, so it is possible, my mistake xx
Here is a link to the ‘McDonald Criteria’ on the MSTrust website - these are the criteria that neurologists tend to use for diagnosing MS. As you will see, MRI evidence is not necessary in principle to get a dx, but MRI evidence can help to secure a dx with less other clinical evidence than would be needed without it.
Alison
Thankyou all for the information. It is a reveal that i have. So im guessing an mri is best avoided but other then a diagnosis based on symptoms is there any other definitive test that can confirm ms? would a ct scan be useful?
Hi,
No, there is no definitive test for MS - even in people who don’t have any obstacles regarding which tests or scans they can have.
It’s always a matter of looking at the sum total of the evidence, and not any one test, as none of them provide proof, by themselves.
I think a CT scan can sometimes show up abnormalities linked to MS - however, it’s not as informative as an MRI scan, and I’m not sure whether they’d bother, or choose instead to look at the weight of other evidence.
Lumbar puncture (commonly referred to as a spinal tap) is a common but not essential diagnostic tool (I’ve been diagnosed without one - but then I did have pretty compelling MRI evidence).
Visual evoked potentials are another common one - painless, non-invasive but lengthy and somewhat psychedelic procedure that measures the time taken for nerve impulses from your eyes, from watching flashing chessboard patterns, to reach the visual cortex at the back of your head. Any unusual delay could indicate optic nerve inflammation, characteristic of MS. Having said that, my test was normal, but I was still diagnosed on MRI and symptom history. So you can see that one or even two tests either missing, or not providing any helpful information isn’t an insurmountable obstacle to diagnosis. It just depends how strong the remaining evidence is.
Tina
x
Svejey like I said I have an reveal device and you can have an MRI with it in. I’ve had two. The only risk is it clears the data so you have to have it cleared before the MRI
Thanks all, they weren’t happy to refer me for an MRI first off even though I told them the reveal was ok. I’m currently waiting for my ‘urgent’ ct. I guess the results of that will dictate what they do next but it sounds like there is no fixed formula?