MRI - info, advice?

[MichelleCarmen]

Glad your MRI came back fine.

Out of curiosity, have you been tested for food allergies? I had a series of them done and it turned out I have a delayed allergic response to eggs. Meaning, if I eat an egg today, I''ll get a headache tomorrow. Having that test put all the pieces together as to why I''d get headaches.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 5/12/2009 6:25:30 PM
Author: LostSapphire
GREAT to hear it went so well!

Now, about that mirror...any fingerprints??

LS

Thanks LS!

Haha I actually was a little freaked out and just trying to remain calm when we got to the room with the machine, so I didn't look then - she was having me lay down and stuff, and I was trying to ignore the uncomfortable IV in my arm.

She asked if I wanted a washcloth over my eyes, and I agreed, so I never got to look around while in there. I honestly don't think I would have wanted to have a full view while in there, even though I was only in about up to my waist (I could see out the very bottom of the cloth by my nose).

I did think about looking for the mirror when I got up and finished though. I figured I was looking for something inside the machine, and I couldn't see in there because the thing that went around my head was blocking the view into it. But now that I've googled what you're talking about, is it a mirror actually on the headpiece? I didn't even think to look there, haha. I should have looked it up before I went to know what to look for. Haha, honestly, it was such a weird experience - I wasn't really freaked out or anything, but I really didn't have much else on my mind except keeping myself calm and my mind on fun things. So weird... definitely not something I'd voluntarily do again.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Date: 5/12/2009 7:46:25 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Date: 5/12/2009 7:43:31 PM
Author: diamondseeker2006
Glad to hear you your results were normal! Ironically, my daughter had an MRI today on her knee (injury from car accident). She fortunately only had to put her legs in. She said it was very noisy and she thinks she wouldn''t have done it if they had made her whole body go in!

Does anyone know what the deal is with the noise? I can''t understand that part since most technology is pretty quiet!

My neurosurgeon explained to me that the MRI is actually 2 tubes, one inserted inside the other. In between the 2 are great big magnets, that spin around in the space between the tubes. The spinning magnets create the magnetic field (MRI = Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

That''s what you hear clanging and banging: it''s the d*mn magnets!

LS

ETA: that was a very simplistic explanation. Here''s the ''scientific'' version:

How does the MRI magnet produce detailed cross-sections of the brain? “Typically MRI causes the body to emit a signal,” explains Jim Rosato, head interventional MRI technologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “As the protons—the nuclei—of the hydrogen atoms in our body spin, they form north and south poles, but they can be facing in different directions. Once the patient goes into the magnet, it causes all the protons to align in one direction.” With a magnetic field strength 10 thousand times greater than the earth’s, the electromagnet in the Signa SP has plenty of power to perform this feat.

“The banging, jackhammer sound people hear during MRI is actually caused by the electromagnetic gradients, or radio waves, switching on and off extremely fast,” Rosato continues. “This causes the protons, which are now lined up with the main magnetic field, to flip 90 degrees. Each time the radio pulse switches off, the protons go back to their original position. When they do that, they emit an electromagnetic signal—a radio frequency signal, like FM radio—and that’s picked up by the ‘antenna,’ or the coil,” hence magnetic “resonance.”

Wow, haha. It''s funny, because I kept randomly thinking while in there, "I''m having magnetic energy run through my head continuously right now... and now... and now..." Then to see the films afterwards - it''s just like they took a picture of each slice through my head! So weird.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Diamondseeker - Thank you! Glad your daughter only had to put her legs in!!


MC - Thanks! I actually had an appointment with an allergy doctor after my MRI yesterday. He went over all my symptoms and agreed that we''ve got to get this nailed down - haha his words were, "This is just unacceptable that you''ve had to deal with these headaches this long." (WOOHOO someone agrees with me!!) I asked him about food allergies, and he said that people with food allergies actually have physical reactions to them, such as rashes or hives. It made sense. But he did say that people can have sensitivity to certain foods, in that they have internal reactions to the chemicals in the food, which in turn gives them headaches. He gave me a list of the common migraine foods - bananas, certain cheeses, wine, etc. Maybe when I meet with the neurologist we can go over that.

Anyway, the allergist did a skin test on me for other allergies - pets, trees, weeds, grasses, molds. (btw, OUCH on the skin tests - today I look like I got bit by 50 mosquitos on each arm!

) I only broke out a little bit to one of the grasses and to dust. But the only connection there with my headaches is that those allergies MAY be causing me congestion, which in turn causes pressure and headaches. He gave me a nasal spray to try and see if it helps anything. We''ll see. I''m still interested in what the neurologist will do. Are there actual tests for food allergies? Because the allergist didn''t offer that - I think he could have done that, but he felt we didn''t need to because I''d actually have rashes/hives if I was allergic to foods I was eating. What did the food allergy tests actually involve?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Certain tests are better for different types of allergies. For external allergies, skin prick tests work well. My son had a problem where he'd constantly blink. It was horrible to watch. After taking him to an allergiest, it was determined he is allergic to dust mites and dogs. We replaced the carpet in our downstairs (only two rooms and the hall) which removed any mites and whatever was left over from the previous owner's dog. All symptoms went away.

Food allergies are different! Not all tests are accurate. I went to a *naturalpath* and had blood drawn for IgE and IgG testing (ELISA Test), which tests immediate and delayed reactions. The immediate reaction would be the type where anaphylactic shock occurs and delayed is where hours or even days later, a symptom or two shows up. For me, eggs and dairy cause a delayed reaction. I would get headaches and nausea the same time of day every day, hours after I had eaten, and finally after seeing the naturalpath, we tested and took out those foods and all symptoms went away. Each test was $120 and it took less than a week for results.

The other option is an elimination diet, where you rotate through foods and try to determine the culprit(s). That type of "testing" can take months and I thought it sounded like a PITB, so I paid for the blood draw tests.

My insurance covered the naturalpath office visits, but not the blood tests.

I think it's BS that if you do not have rashes/hives that you do not have food allergies. The allergist is being very narrow-minded! The natural path I saw was young and I think that made her more "fresh" with ideas.

 

[luvthemstrawberries]

Thanks MC!

Yeah my arms look crazy right now with all the pricks/shots from my skin test. They did give me some advice as far as how to eliminate the dust mites at home, since I showed a little allergy to that. Mattress/pillow covers, dusting every week, vacuuming, HEPA filter, not using curtains, etc. were the suggestions.

I''d be very interested in doing something like the food test you did. That''s what I was hoping the allergist could do - a blood test. But the way he put it made sense at the time - that if there was an allergy, you''d break out - but if your body chemistry didn''t work well with the chemicals in certain foods, then you''d see that in the headache. So he was basically saying it''s not really an "allergy" to the food. But in my eyes, a headache is still your body''s way of rejecting that food.

I also didn''t pay anything but the copay, so I''m guessing I would have paid extra for the blood test if he''d done it - so good to know.

So you used a naturalpath? Maybe I should look into that too after I meet with the neurologist. Definitely is something I think I''d like to do. The tests sound exactly like what I need - FI seems to think the bananas I eat are contributing to my headaches. But I still get them when I don''t eat them. I''ve thought about doing the food elimination, but like you, I think that''d be reeeeeeally tedious for me.