Discussion As anyone done a brain scan because of mental illness?

[ForgottenAgain]

I've been pondering with the idea of getting my brain scanned, just to see if maybe I'm only mentally ill because there is something physically wrong, like a mass that shouldn't be there, something.

Has anyone here done a brain scan because of mental problems? Did you find anything?

 

[sserafim]

I got an MRI (without contrast) back in 2022 for eye issues but the radiologist said my brain looked normal. My mom wants me to get an fMRI for ADHD and Asperger's though (which are already clinically diagnosed)

 

[Life_and_Death]

a scan could show bpd, but no, i havent personally had one done


YAY ME!!! MY BRAIN IS LITERALLY FUCKED UP!!!

 

[ForgottenAgain]

a scan could show bpd, but no, i havent personally had one done


YAY ME!!! MY BRAIN IS LITERALLY FUCKED UP!!!

I didn't know that, sounds like I should do a scan since I was diagnosed with bpd

 

[Dot]

Hve bn tryn2 accss 1 fr 2.5 yrs bt kp b-ing tld t/ 'try therpy'

 

[noname223]

I've been pondering with the idea of getting my brain scanned, just to see if maybe I'm only mentally ill because there is something physically wrong, like a mass that shouldn't be there, something.

Has anyone here done a brain scan because of mental problems? Did you find anything?

I think in Germany a brain scan is a standard procedure in patients with psychosis. However, I don't know whether they also do it in drug induced psychosis cases. They did not find anything in my case. But I think that shit costed a lot of money. I can still remember going to this doctor for this MRI.

 

[Braqs]

I've had several done, both in general psych wards and more specialty-related inpatient programs. They had to administer a lot of heavy-duty antihistamines before and after the contact (I'm extremely allergic to contrast iodine). While the scans showed a large arachnoid cyst, they determine it wasn't having any impact (based on it's location/stability over time).

With that said, the fact that several places ordered the teas and (some with no overt financial incentive to do so) made me realize that it was worth the time.

I'm not entirely sure of the financial cost. While I am in the US, I had already hit my annual out-of-pocket maximums so I didn't pay anything. The cost to you would depend on where you live and your insurance policy/policies (as far as deductibles/co-pays/co-insurance are concerned).

 

[4_science]

I think in Germany a brain scan is a standard procedure in patients with psychosis. However, I don't know whether they also do it in drug induced psychosis cases. They did not find anything in my case. But I think that shit costed a lot of money. I can still remember going to this doctor for this MRI.

They are looking for brain damage though or tumors they can remove easily. Doing brain scans to actually treat brain change due to mental illness like in other countries to match meds or target specific areas, Germany is centuries away from that. Treatment options and therapy supported by national health system dates back to Freud and Jung (1930s). Psych wards pretty much resemble sanatoriums from the turn of the century (1900 though) getting in fresh air and so on. That is how they treated tuberculosis back then. Did it help back then for tuberculosis? Nope, but that´s where we are. about 100 years behind recent development and treatment options.

 

[cemetorium]

I had to get an MRI done last year as part of my psychiatric assessment. Seems like it's standard procedure to get an MRI done when you report psychotic symptoms where I live, to make sure it's not a tumor or something else going on.

 

[ForgottenAgain]

I had to get an MRI done last year as part of my psychiatric assessment. Seems like it's standard procedure to get an MRI done when you report psychotic symptoms where I live, to make sure it's not a tumor or something else going on.

I wish they did the same with me. Reported delusions and hallucinations and got told by the psychiatrist to go on walks.

 

[Dark Moon]

I haven't done a scan in like a decade, they said it was normal except for autism which was diagnosed.

I probably need to do a scan again nowadays to check if anything is there.

 

[Life_and_Death]

I wish they did the same with me. Reported delusions and hallucinations and got told by the psychiatrist to go on walks.

(this would be a good eyeroll reaction moment. not you, but like when someone uses the angry face at the other person (in this case the psych) or situation)

from someone thats experienced hallucinations, going for walks can make it worse

 

[Dot]

Slf ws rfusd scns & dschargd frm th/ mentl hlth tm

 

[Unicr0n]

Hve bn tryn2 accss 1 fr 2.5 yrs bt kp b-ing tld t/ 'try therpy'

WTF! That's messed up.
There's a way to get free MRI scans. Look for paid trials. My uni recently got a new MRI from the military and they were paying people for three MRI sessions to test the equipment. You can request the MRI scans afterward. Then you can bring them to a neurologist/other specific doctor. Might take a while to find but keep your eyes open!!! Sometimes visiting a campus and looking at the fliers posted on the walls can really help. Some people are making like $500 per week from multiple trials LOL.

 

[accountnamerequired]

I've been having MRis pretty consistently since like 13, long before I was thinking about doing this. Maybe though these thoughts are at least partially caused by the condition, I just know every time they look at the results they report that everything is fucked up like the rest of my life. If only it was something that was deadly and/or would do it faster

 

[QueerMelancholy]

You can request one from a neurologist and even ask your psych to refer you.

I've only ever had to get them after suicide attempts where they were so bad they led me to be unconscious for long periods of time. They never found anything. Or at least they never told me about it if they did.

But you should do whatever you can do to help with your treatment and if getting a brain scan helps ease some of your stress or even makes you feel somewhat better I don't think it would hurt.

 

[Final_Choice]

I've done a MRIs (with and without contrast), CT scans, a PET scan, and an EEG. Though they were all for a tumor and the EEG was to see if I was epileptic. They said it all seemed normal besides the tumor, though they weren't looking for anything related to mental illness so it's possible they just didn't care about that and ignored it if they noticed anything.

However, I was at one point diagnosed with non-epileptic epilepsy, which is signs of epilepsy without the actual electrical activity in your head that usually happens with epilepsy, I think this is usually put down as some sort of sign for some mental distress, though I'm not seeing the doctor that diagnosed me with that and my new neurologist is diagnosing the epilepsy symptoms with cardiological problems since I do have some, instead of the non-epileptic epilepsy.