Hi everyone,like the post says ive had my next appointment through along with a letter explaining about me not having MRI because of claustaphobia.He also says that he doesnt warrant having MRI under GA because he thinks there is a relativly low probability of detecting significant abnormalities.Begs the question why bother sending me for one at all then?Im a bit peeved,ive seen him once,just told him most recent worries and if that hadnt happened while i was out doors i wouldnt have bothered the doctor either,so wouldnt have even gone to see him.Im thinking now to cancel my appoinment abd see if things start to settle down,highly inlikely as ive had more symtoms,not really bad ones,just enough to notice.Ive had a terrible anxiaty attack today,been having them for a few weeks but this one was a big one,i think i need to calm down a bit,except for last couple of days being fine.Weired.I think im just moaning,sorry.
Hi Lulu, I guess he’s just weighing up risks and benefits. GA always has a risk, so I guess he thinks it’s disproportionate, just to put someone in the scanner, especially if it’s only a precautionary check, and not something they urgently need. I assume you’ve discussed with your doctor or neuro the possibility of being sedated, but NOT out like a light, for the scan? Many people have a tranquiliser on the day, which helps them cope with the anxiety, but doesn’t carry the same risks as GA. Is that not an option, in your case? There are also some more open scanners these days, but they are rarer, so you might have to travel to a distant hospital. It might be worth enquiring, though, if that is one way you might be able to face a scan. MRI isn’t the only diagnostic test for investigating MS or MS-like symptoms, and it doesn’t sound as if your neuro strongly suspects MS anyway. But it is one of the most heavily relied-on pieces of evidence, so if you hope to get much further with the investigations, you probably need to look at ways you might be able to come to terms with a scan. You could just watch and wait, and see if anything worse happens, but if it did, they’d probably need to put you in the scanner eventually anyway, to find out what’s going on, so you wouldn’t avoid it completely - just postpone it. Tina
As Tina said, do ask your GP about a sedative. It should do the trick and make the MRI bearable. Karen x