Has anyone had a brain scan?

[Tornadic Thoughts]

My husband doesn't have ptsd but can barely smell or taste anything more often than not. He's mentioned prednisone as being his favorite form of relief whenever it was prescribed. He doesn't take any meds now other than the daily inhaler for asthma and heartburn/reflux stuff as needed. He has what 's been diagnosed as severe allergies and the docs say that's the reason for the sensory issues he experiences. Granted, he hasn't had extensive testing or anything beyond typical allergy/asthma stuff and some acid reflux stuff.

 

[Deleted member 44579]

I think it's in one way amazing to see the difference in our brains... Compared to non ptsd.....

 

[shimmerz]

Yes. Brain scan because I was losing things/forgetting things. Turns out it was the ex gaslighting me. However, they found 'grey matter heterotopia'. They did the MRI when I mentioned that my birth parents had tried repeatedly to abort me. She said at the time that it could be hereditary or could have been because of the trauma happening while I was in the womb.

 

[Starfish]

I have seen the scans on internet. My ins. will not cover it. I just take it for granted that my brain looks different than a "normal" brain based on internet images on reliable sites. I guess I figure I don't really need one as there is nothing to treat ptsd other than all the suggestions the experts say. It would be nice to have the image of my ptsd brain for the times that I think I am just making this all up and to show my grown kids who know I have it but don't really understand and probably are tempted to minimize my situation. They do all they can to support me, without understanding and I do appreciate that.

 

[FauxLiz]

I can't even remember the number of brain scans I have had in my life both CT and MRI. I have a chronic migraine condition and a condition called Chiari Malformation. I have never asked if there is evidence of my ptsd on any of the scans probably because I don't talk about MH issues with my medical doctors.

 

[joeylittle]

In the US, there’s no medically accepted way of interpreting the results of any brain scan in order to diagnose mental health conditions. There’s a guy (doctor) who makes what is probably a very good living, claiming to be able to do so. He works in conjunction with a few private rehab facilities.

Otherwise, one can compare oneself to various research studies, and make a layman’s interpretation. It’s probably hard to avoid confirmation bias, in situations like that.

 

[Deleted member 37474]

In the US, there’s no medically accepted way of interpreting the results of any brain scan in orde...

I guess I am curious about all of this because I lost my ability to smell a few years ago and the ct scan showed nothing wrong. So the question is nerve damage or high up inflammation in the sinus cavity. I think an mri would be needed to see. All of this was followed by late onset ptsd. So I question what damaged my nerve, did it cause ptsd? I don’t deny that I was raped, but I lived a very functional, sustaining life after that. Things only became a psychological mess recently, along with my loss of smell. And investigating all of this on top of therapy costs so much money.

 

[shimmerz]

And investigating all of this on top of therapy costs so much money.

Of course it does. It's considered incurable, so it has the potential of being the never ending money pit.

 

[Lilminks2]

I have CPTSD which began at age 2-3. I am now 59 and coming down from my last flare. I have had CT and MRI'S of my brain, which would rarely show anything at all. The MRI I think you and others here are referring to is a fMRI or functional MRI. What PTSD does to the brain and how long you have had it will determine how much the brain has changed it circuitry. When we experience trauma as a child our brain will change to help us to adapt to the trauma we could not talk about then. It allows us to function somewhat normally. I knew at age 3 that the sexual molestation was wrong and I stood in the middle of the street yelling "don't make me go" back to the neighbor who abused me. At ages 6, 9, and 11, I realized I was not like everyone else, that there was something wrong with me but I did not know what. That was in the 60's. I was not diagnosed until I was 23 and that 2as after another trauma (physical). Phyical, emotionally, spiritual and psychologically trauma all effect us, whether we realize it or not. You don't need an MRI to tell you that because only a FMRI is the only acceptable means to show the damage or change. There are numerous parts of the brain that work together and they all evolve over time. For the sake of worrying or wondering whether your brain has been changed the answer would be "yes." You can't do anything about it other then to learn to change it. I had been free from flares for a period of about 20 years. Until my life changed and it triggered my brain to react again. Mediation can help change your brain by bringing down the arousal and teaching you how to manage or regulate yourself. You need meds but for me, it takes about 5-6 months to get out of a flare (I have had 4 in the last 10 years). Utube has alot of free Meditations available.

 

[shatter eyes]

Dr told me fMRI and a SPECT scan may reveal info to help treatment.

SPECT can produce info showing areas and patterns and is cheaper or even free.

Anyone with psych can request SPECT scan here in Canada.

 

[whiteraven]

I've never had a functional MRI (fMRI) - which would be the one that does show some differences in circuitry for stuff like PTSD (as someone noted above) - but I've had multiple MRIs and CT scans. As I'm sure most are aware, a number of symptoms that can be evaluated through these can be mistaken for mental illness, but neither is diagnostic for mental illness. They can eliminate certain physical and structural causes, though, which is important.

I have a long history of several different kinds of headaches, as well as auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations. MRI was able to determine that I had a Chiari Malformation, which accounted for the one type of headache; that I had changes related to migraine syndrome; and that I did *not* have a brain tumor. Further testing determined that my hallucinations were both seizures and sleep disorder related.

And yes, I work in an imaging center. LOL I know way too much about MRI and CT scans and the radiologists that read them. LOL