DorisWa
10-11-2006, 03:12 PM
Hello,
A couple weeks ago, i was walking down our hallway in our home and all of a sudden I couldn't walk a straight line, I kept wanting to go to the side. It scared me pretty bad and I had my husband take me to the hospital. They ran some test, ekg, chest xray, bloodwork, cartoid ultrasound and a ct scan. The only thing they found was a lacunar infarct of uncertain age. The dr. told me she thought maybe it was my inner ear since the lacunar infarct was old and on my left side and the part of the brain that controls balance is in the back. I then went to a neurologist for a second opinion. He told me thought it is inner ear also. He then sent me for a ultrasound on the back of my neck to check the vertebral arteries, the technician said it looked like I had a narrowing on the right side. The neurologists nurse called the next day and told me they want to do a mri/mra with contrast, scheduled at the end of the month. When I then wrote the neurologist himself, he told me he wanted to check the arteries but odds are they are not narrowed and the ultrasound suggested they are but the ultrasound is often wrong. What is your opinions?
And has anyone ever had the mri/mra with contrast and how was it, any allergic reactions, and what it entails? I read up about ultrasounds but cannot find anywhere where it says often wrong. My mom told me she also had this a few years ago, where she couldn't walk straight and they told her inner ear.
I don't go for mri till end of this month so I have a lot of anxiety. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Doris
A couple weeks ago, i was walking down our hallway in our home and all of a sudden I couldn't walk a straight line, I kept wanting to go to the side. It scared me pretty bad and I had my husband take me to the hospital. They ran some test, ekg, chest xray, bloodwork, cartoid ultrasound and a ct scan. The only thing they found was a lacunar infarct of uncertain age. The dr. told me she thought maybe it was my inner ear since the lacunar infarct was old and on my left side and the part of the brain that controls balance is in the back. I then went to a neurologist for a second opinion. He told me thought it is inner ear also. He then sent me for a ultrasound on the back of my neck to check the vertebral arteries, the technician said it looked like I had a narrowing on the right side. The neurologists nurse called the next day and told me they want to do a mri/mra with contrast, scheduled at the end of the month. When I then wrote the neurologist himself, he told me he wanted to check the arteries but odds are they are not narrowed and the ultrasound suggested they are but the ultrasound is often wrong. What is your opinions?
And has anyone ever had the mri/mra with contrast and how was it, any allergic reactions, and what it entails? I read up about ultrasounds but cannot find anywhere where it says often wrong. My mom told me she also had this a few years ago, where she couldn't walk straight and they told her inner ear.
I don't go for mri till end of this month so I have a lot of anxiety. Thanks for any help you can give me.
Doris
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angelique5
10-11-2006, 05:12 PM
Don't sweat it...it's really not a bad thing at all!
I've had CT scans...and MRI's...and I had a CT scan with contrast... and the ultrasound of my carotids...
now..the Iodine contrast...it's... an ODD feeling. It's hot inside your body. I literally felt it going in...and then spreading thru my entire body!! No one warned me it would be hot like that...so, I panicked a little, but I had been a nursing student prior to that, and recalled hearing something about it, so I relaxed a bit, and it cooled off during the course of the scan. So...that will be the most uncomfortable part...
The MRI was absolutely no problem... you just have to lie absolutely still, so, it's best to go in relaxed, and lay down, close your eyes, and REST. It can take 15 or 20 mins... it's loud.. and if they want to talk to you during the test, it comes thru a PA type system right inside the MRI machine.
It's good you're getting the MRI... I had, a CT scan... and the CT with contrast, and NEITHER showed my stroke. If the neurologist who examined me hadn't ordered the MRI...they would have sent me home, saying I had no stroke, and they would not have found the hole in my heart that led to the stroke. The MRI is MUCH more accurate!! It COULD be your inner ear...but, best to rule out a stroke, or any vascular problems!!
I've had CT scans...and MRI's...and I had a CT scan with contrast... and the ultrasound of my carotids...
now..the Iodine contrast...it's... an ODD feeling. It's hot inside your body. I literally felt it going in...and then spreading thru my entire body!! No one warned me it would be hot like that...so, I panicked a little, but I had been a nursing student prior to that, and recalled hearing something about it, so I relaxed a bit, and it cooled off during the course of the scan. So...that will be the most uncomfortable part...
The MRI was absolutely no problem... you just have to lie absolutely still, so, it's best to go in relaxed, and lay down, close your eyes, and REST. It can take 15 or 20 mins... it's loud.. and if they want to talk to you during the test, it comes thru a PA type system right inside the MRI machine.
It's good you're getting the MRI... I had, a CT scan... and the CT with contrast, and NEITHER showed my stroke. If the neurologist who examined me hadn't ordered the MRI...they would have sent me home, saying I had no stroke, and they would not have found the hole in my heart that led to the stroke. The MRI is MUCH more accurate!! It COULD be your inner ear...but, best to rule out a stroke, or any vascular problems!!