Has anyone had a brain scan?

[Deleted member 37474]

I keep reading articles about brain scans related to ptsd and other ailments. Has anyone without a TBI ever had a brain scan for their mental health treatment? What was learned? Did it change the course of treatment or diagnosis?

 

[Akhos]

I had an mri and CT scan. Due to my level of confusion and forgetfulness, they wanted to rule out any physical suspects first

 

[EveHarrington]

Without physical symptoms, my guess is that most people have not as insurance wouldn’t cover it for purely mental health reasons and we’re talking $5-10K for certain scans. (My jaw dropped when I saw the charges, but I have full coverage thank god...)

I have had scans (head/neck) but I never saw the results other than being told I’m fine. I should look into seeing them...

 

[Stephernovas]

I was concussed and I received a CT scan

 

[Fadeaway]

I haven't had a scan, but I did have an eeg when I was younger.

 

[Sandstone]

I had an MRI after a possible seizure. It didn't show anything significant and didn't affect my MH treatment.

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

I´m not sure if people who are trained to recognize the consequences of a seizure or concussion are also trained in recognizing changes made due to PTSD (if that´s what you were asking). I´ve never had a brain scan but it sure would be interesting to know if it anybody has ever had one in a therapy setting.

 

[Deleted member 541]

I’ve had at least 5 or 6 MRI on my brain for various reasons, but never for mental health reasons.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

My dad passed away at the age of 56 from a brain tumor the size of a softball....well...he passed after their attempts to "heal" him.

Each time I'd have a headache, I'd always wonder if I was going to suffer the same fate.

When I was desperately seeking help several years ago in finding answers in both the physical and mental health arenas, I requested an MRI to see if there were any tumors.

I got the call back saying they found nothing.

I discovered they had no sense of humor when I said, "Does that mean you found nothing at all as in no brain, or you found nothing concerning about the brain?"

It was never used to determine any of the mental health concerns, that I'm aware of.

I do recall falling from the hood of a highly jacked up truck one summer night in my early 20s when I had sucked down massive amounts of wild turkey, and I used to get the shit beat out of me on a regular basis both as a child and and as a domestic abuse victim, so I'm certain there's some brain damage resulting from those actions/choices in some way or another, but there again, they said they found nothing concerning, so I believed them.

 

[Deleted member 44579]

Hi @TexCat... I've never had a scan but you can see the difference in brain scans on Internet.... How different ours are.... It's very interesting..... I'm sure though you probably have done this.....

 

[Deleted member 43454]

Nope, I haven't been back to the VA since they had me on pills over a year ago. I brought up getting a brain scan but you'd have to mention it to the right personnel in order to get anything set up. My shrink was like, "Yea, brain scan ah huh, take some more pills bro." At some point you just start to realize that you have brain damage as it results in your daily functioning. The problem is TBI and PTSD symptoms are similar in the mild sense of TBI.

Considering we hit mad bombs in Helmand and one even hit the front of my vehicle with me in the gunner hatch I'd say it had some effect. Each one of those close blasts came with a shock wave that'd move through your organs. Continual headaches an further on through the gauntlet of mine fields that was 2009. Still I'm not diagnosed with TBI, just 70 percent PTSD.

 

[Deleted member 37474]

Hi @TexCat... I've never had a scan but you can see the difference in brain scans on In...

I have. I lost my ability to smell 4 years ago. They did a CT scan and found nothing wrong. I noticed there was some gray matter near the top bridge of my nose when I went through each slide comparing it to a "normal scan" on YouTube. My dr was amazed that I noticed that, said it was tissue, but that was too delicate of an area to remove it. Too close to the brain. No recommendation of an MRI because I had done one a few years earlier with nothing wrong. I can faintly smell things when I take prednisone. I just wonder if any of this is connected with the ptsd. Is there something weird going on in my brain? Pretty sure an MRI would cost me a ton on my insurance.

Also, I saw those brain scans that show a ptsd brain to be different. I watched a video of a psychiatrist that saved his nephew's life by insisting on a scan that showed an invasive cyst on the brain and then insisting they remove it against the belief of neurologists. It was causing his nephew depression and homicidal thoughts at the age of nine. His nephew is healed.