Anyone had an MRI or CT?
 

I've been dealing with a HORRIBLE headache for several days now. I never get headaches. This is in the back of my head and feels like there is a nail in my brain, all day long. Throbbing. It's killing me and not going away.

I'm a bit worried it may be a tumor or something, was thinking about going to get an MRI or CT but have never had one, don't know what to expect, if anything.

Either one is pretty painless, Sometimes they want to use a contrast dye, so that requires an IV. Depending on the machine, MRI can be a bit claustrophobic if tight spaces bother you, but there are some "open" MRI's that work great for claustrophobics.

yeah my gf had a bad headache the other day that wouldnt go away we went to the er and they gave her a catscan , the dr said sometimes people have headaches and they find something worse off , luckily nothing was wrong but wish you the best. usually they just lay you down on a bed type of thing the machine brings your head in and back out in a matter of seconds and your done.

A CT is nothing to worry about. My Crohn's Disease has caused me to have at least two dozen CT scans over the years.

The only thing that I hate about them is that they are essentially a pure profit center for hospitals, which means that they try to order one for every single problem you complain of.

They say that CT's are one of the few services that keep hospitals in the black.

Could it possibly be allergies? I am 30 and only started getting allergies two years ago. I feel like I have a nail in my head when my sinuses start acting up.

The irony is that I used to gloat about how I did not suffer from bad allergies. Karma is a bitch.

I had a MRI for the elbow on which I'm in for surgery this week :( The one I went to was this huge circular machine that comes down on you and is about 3 inches from your whole body.I had to stay still for 45 minutes,I was in considerable pain afterwards but if you moved they would have to do it all over again.hope you get better soon

MRI is no big deal. just sleep in it

I was in the hospital for a month last dec/jan and had one CT scan and atleast 2 mri's and they are painless..

MRI you just basically lay there. It is a pain in the ass because its tight space and it takes a decent amount of time.

mr dr just told me the other day that you should avoid a ct scan if possible. he said they think it may increase your chance of cancer because of the radiation.

but if you have to have then you have to have one.

i had one 2 years ago after a head injury related from an atv accident. it was not a big deal at all.

Definitely not a big deal - the worst part is (as I think someone said) if it's with contrast, if so sometimes they make you drink this crappy shit. Other times they'll inject it via IV. But the only problem is if you're claustrophobic since the space is pretty small inside the machine; otherwise, no biggie.
As far as the headaches - are you seeing a neurologist who specializes in headaches? (Don't know if they have them there.) It can make a *huge* difference in diagnosis.

Great replies. Thanks all.

Have you had your blood pressure checked lately? High blood pressure can cause headaches.

what? you goto Dr Nick?

if you cut out caffeine or anything lately that might be the cause.. or a sinus infection

Isn't it easiest to just go to a doc, and see what he says?

dude hope ur ok
i think theyd do a ct scan on u if its ur head

العديد من الخبراء قد نظرت في الأدلة المتعلقة بسلامة ط م المسح الضوئي. نتفق على أن معظم الأطباء والاشعة المقطعية وينبغي أداؤها إلا إذا كانت ضرورية من الناحية الطبية. الاشعة المقطعية لا ينبغي أن تستخدم للكشف عن المرض في شخص دون اعراض صحية. ولكن الشخص بالسرطان أو يشتبه في أنهم من السرطان يمكن بأمان تتلقى الاشعة المقطعية دائما لأن الفوائد أرجح من المخاطر.

Go for the MRI.

If it is "worse headache of your life" get to an ER asap.
MRI is annoying because it is loud and general takes long.
CT is easy but with contrast you get IV and can fuckup kidneys.
Either can detect problems in brain, if they suspect stroke they'll probably do MRI. CT is bit different views.
MRI is magnetic so if you have metal pins or ghetto tats that'll be a problem.
CT is like a thousand xrays at once so yes they say to minimize ct scans because of tumor concerns.

I've had a few dozen CT's in the last 5 years and a bunch of MRI's too. Neither is a big deal so do whatever the docs suggests unless you're real worried about something specific.

I have had an MRI. It was a bit scary to me because it was not an open MRI. I had to lay down and then they pushed a button that put me into the middle of the MRI. Plus it is so damn loud. They gave me headphones to listen to music but the machine is louder than the music. They may also want to use contrast dye. I had headaches like you describe so I had to have it done. Turned out that my headaches were from anxiety and panic attacks.

You may have tension headaches. I had those for years and took Fioricet for it. http://www.webmd.com/migraines-heada...sion-headaches and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fioricet

CT or MRI will be easy for you if you need it. Basically you lay on your back or side on a narrow table. At the head end of the table the machine forms a wall that is 3 or 4 feet thick. This is where the imaging sensors are. There is a hole in the wall big enough to allow them to move the table and you head first into the machine. There is clearance of several inches to your right and left and above you, but if you are claustrophobic this can make you uneasy. The thing to do is to remind yourself that your feet are sticking out freely and your hands are probably out as well and that you are not restrained physically. Thus if you really panicked you could easily slide yourself back out into the open as needed. This can help comfort the claustrophobia and allow you to stay in the tunnel throughout the exam.

CT is a process using X-ray. The machine is not usually very noisy except for some whirring and maybe clicking.

MRI uses magnetic energy and a radio frequency. It is noisy inside the tunnel. It sounds a bit like a loud propellor airplane. This is because many small electronic coils inside the machine vibrate a bit with the frequencies they are generating. It is a normal part of the operation of the machine. In response to the oscillating energy given off by the machine, hydrogen atoms in your tissue oscillate at the same frequency and they in turn give off an energy of their own. This energy is read by sensors in the machine and is used to create the images that the doctor will view.

They usually slide you into the machine until the area that they want to image is lined up with the sensors. Then, as needed they can move you a few inches farther into or out of the machine to view a larger area.

I've had both. MRI does take longer, but if you relax like you are taking a needed nap it's not really so bad.

Had an MRI of the full head a few months back after an accident - more a "let's make sure there's no probs with the head" than anything.

No IV, lay on a bed, the bed moves into the machine, you don't move a mm for like 40 seconds, bed comes out, done.

No loud noise at all, no ages in a confined space, so don't know what machines you guys use, but this was an enclosed machine, but it didn't feel "small" and it didn't make tons of noise.

Pick up the images the next day of loads of sections of head from top to bottom and no probs. The image of the section where you are at the level of the eyes is freaky funky!

that said, it was prolly a CT scanner, fuck knows, but it wasn't a pb

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computed_tomography

GO GET A SCAN RIGHT AWAY.

It will either show the problem or reveal there is none. Delaying it is the biggest danger.

Had one a few weeks ago. CT scan is no big deal, just lay down for a couple minutes. The MRI is a little more stressful if you are claustrophobic. You'll go into a tube and sit there for about 30 minutes while extremely loud banging noises goes on all around you. If you aren't claustrophobic, you'll be fine, but I got a little stressed after about 20 minutes.

MRI is magnetic

CT involves radiation (correct me if im wrong)..... so you should think twice before getting involved in this. Its basically a number of shots to build a picture so its a much larger dose than a regular x ray.

Did you know that by flying for 10hrs in a plane, you receive 10% of the dose of radiation as a CT scan, but I bet you don't think twice about flying due to the radiation exposure risks.... :2 cents:

Any documentation to support this?

as an example (but there's many)
http://dwarmstr.blogspot.com/2006/04...th-geiger.html
and that's from an evening flight...

Aah right, cosmic radiation. Thought you were claiming it was coming from the plane itself :winkwink:

that makes sense.

well, not counting those that carry dirty bombs - but cosmic radiation still registers the rads, just as your average atomic bomb does, so equally as dangerous

speaking of rads, I've had like 10 xrays this year on the same tooth. I think my dentist thinks it'll whiten it being bombarded by da rayz or something.

Hello skin cancer, nice to meet you.

They should give your earplugs for an MRI. It's not great fun but 4 or 5 songs and it's over. The hardest part is concentrating on not moving. See your doc.

nah, MRI takes no longer than 10 mins

if you are going to get checked, then do the MRI, it goes deeper then a CT, and can show stuff that the CT can't.

Going to get checked in the morning.

Thanks all. I appreciate the info and kind words.

MRI is much safer because there is no radiation. I fell asleep in it.

Obviously you do not have a clue.

Your doctor is probably going to mention things like drinking more water, sleeping more, working out, etc. and you'll have to push a little to make sure that you get the testing you want done. For some reason, doctors always think patients are just being hypochondriacs...

I have been in some rather nasty places around the world, but the MRI is the ONLY thing that have ever freaked me out! I laid down and they stared to "drive" me in.... My head was barely in before I pushed the alarm :) Tried again, and that time I made it. It is no pain, just noise. You get a headset on with radio or whatever. Once you relax, it is ok, but HELL it was scary at first!

LOL, I remember I was worried that the fillings in my teeth would pop out :D

More like 30 minutes.

There is a new starin of a ladyboy virus over there D its called A1I1D1S1 go get checked LOL

You are a funny fucker. It took me a second to catch that but when I did I laughed my ass off. Well played. :thumbsup

Now get back to making me some chili!

I've had both several times. No pain at all. I don't like closed spaces so the MRI was a challange for me but I got through them. The CT scan was no big deal at all... Good luck hope all is well with you..

They tried giving me one last year for chronic neck pain - I fuckin freaked out. I have
always know that I'm a little claustrophobic but I got 2 feet into that fuckin machine and would have killed the cunt if she had tried to leave me in there.

I live with the pain to this day - good herb helps a little but anything is better than being trapped in that fucking contraption.

try first with medicaments...

There are risks and problems attached to both Those risks and problems are nothing compared to what the problem could be. The biggest risk is delaying getting the cause found.

We should know soon as DWB said he was getting one today. It's now evening time in Thailand.

Really? What is the risk associated with an MRI?

MRI's are fun

I had a CT done.

Well, the good news is my brain is fine. The bad news is, right at the base of the scans where they were about to cut off the scan area, they found a cyst about the size of a small finger nail in circumference, in my sinus cavity.

They were not able to tell if it was just some infection type of cyst filled with puss or if it was cancerous. Since it is not brain related, I have to go back tomorrow to see the eye, ear and throat specialist. They will have to test it to see what it is exactly.

There is a lot more little details than that, but those are the cliff notes.

Thanks for all of the input on this. I appreciate it. The CT was easy peasy. As Paul had warned me, the only icky part about it was getting the dye injected into my body. It was very cold, like someone was shooting cold water into my arm. Odd sensation.

My friend had one and they realised he had Bipolar disorder.