MRA being Scheduled

Well, I spoke to the nurse at the surgeon’s office and they are pending authorization to get my MRA done. ( insurance ugh). I hate MRA or MRI- I get so wigged out over the little tunnel and cage over my head. Ugh. Xanax and sleep mask, please

I can assure you, you are not the only one who gets ‘wigged out’ in that little tunnel. I’m not a great one for such a tight confinement either. A tablet prior is not a bad idea at all, just enough to take that edge off.

Merl from the Modsupport Team

@Abbycat70, a lot of folks have the same problem with the machine. I do a bit of relaxation breathing, no meds to calm me down, I also hear sounds from my childhood, tug boats, noise of a big city, it’s like an orchestra of sound to me. I know I’m weird, I just say I’m brain damaged LOL. The first time BH had to go into one, omg it was a disaster, thought the 7th floor (where our psych ward is) was in order. When BH had an ischemic stroke and had to go back into one, I insisted the tech give the prescribed medicine. Tech didn’t think it was necessary but I was able to convince her. Stoned, BH did wonderfully! Take a driver…it took two of us to get BH into the SUV.

Oh yes! I hate that tube and face cage too! Thought I was just being precious.
I’ve had 4 CT Angiograms in the last year and my surgeon said that my next follow up scan should be an MRI so that I’m getting a break from the radiation. Really not looking forward to the MRI and claustrophobia (I’m not normally claustrophobic). Maybe I will ask for a tablet too😊
I think all the CT Angiograms have caused me to shed a lot of hair and it’s become very fine as well. Has anyone else experienced that?

Maybe I could use that excuse for my balding noggin “It’s all those scans I tell you…” :smile: :smile:
I havent had a scan for years now though, and the hair’s still falling out :smirk: :roll_eyes:

Merl from the Modsupport Team

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@Nat I’ve had dozens of CTs and they never made my hair fall out, but the new meds I was put on last year for a different health issue sure has! BH’s hair is getting smooth and a bit finer with all the gray coming in, we just turned 60 last year.

@ModSupport , Merl you are hilarious! We can now all blame the CTs and not getting older, I love it!

Oh great! I am just going bald from age!
At this rate I will be doing a comb over before I turn 50 :thinking::open_mouth:
I went through menopause early (a few years ago), so I thought that it was all over for hair changes and very few greys so far. I guess going grey is not far off for my comb over. Perhaps I will continue to erroneously blame the CT angios too! Thanks Merl! :grinning:
Seriously though, do you know if the radiation amount from a CT scan and a CT angiogram differ? My neurosurgeon only wants CT angiograms (which cost $200 more than a Ct scan here in Australia). The radiation aspect wasn’t on my radar until the vascular surgeon said that as my carotid artery tear will need regular monitoring I should try to reduce the radiation by alternating with MRIs.
Another question if anyone is good with anatomy/physiology :
If the 2 aneurysms were clipped in the Right side of my head, why did the carotid artery puncture occur in the Left side of my neck? Is it because of a cross over?
(There was a right femoral artery approach angio 4 days after the clipping to check the clipping positioning, and the catheter punctured the carotid in my neck, just below my left ear).

Nat, I was so happy when I went through menopause, it’s much cheaper on this side lol. A friend at work was very angry at me as if I could control it, all genetics is the only thing I could come up with. I went through some hair loss for about five years or so afterwards. It was so bad I thought I’d just shave my head! Things settled down eventually. I have fine hair and it started getting thicker after my rupture, initially hair loss then after the second or third procedure it reversed itself.

As for the difference in CTs and angiograms, this is what I found Radiation risk from medical imaging - Harvard Health. It gives a list and explain action of the measurements, damage that might occur to DNA, and amounts for different imaging.

I don’t know about Australia, but there’s been a big push to lower the amount of radiation in different types of imaging here in the USA over the last few years. I had at least six CT scans whilst in hospital when I ruptured. Every time I went to our local Emergency Dept I would be given a CT and not the MRI/A I requested. So the count is up to almost a two dozen since I ruptured. I later found out the reason they do the CT is they are looking for another bleed allegedly faster than the MRA, but more importantly it’s the way the procedures have been written up by a Neurologist. I suggested to the DIC over the hospital that they revamp their procedures to get with the new information. This was due to my BH having a CT for initial ischemic stroke imaging to rule out rupture. The next day an MRA and an hour or two later, another CT. I was a bit upset to say the least. Dr. Greene, a wonderful man, runs our hospital and actually called me back. He is the one who told me about the hospital procedural guidelines and concurred that other than the protocol, the second CT shouldn’t have been necessary given the MRA.

I would ask your surgeon to use an MRA instead of a CT scan. Mine has never used a CT since I was released from ICU. Usually she orders the MRA, I meet with her and we discuss an angiogram.

As for your puncture, unfortunately this is a huge risk for us, that I think either doctors don’t really explain it, or minimize the risk. Perhaps patients if told, don’t really understand the risk. I am lucky that Dr. Stacey Quintero-Wolfe has never minimized any of the risks, at any time.

What Dr. Wolfe does on me is she goes through a femoral artery in the groin. She has used both legs, I’ve had a lot of them. The catheter travels up and across the aortic branch of my heart, not through the heart. She then can access the left common carotid artery and up through the neck into my brain. She takes a gander (look) at both sides of my brain, usually starting with the right side to see if any aneurysms have developed and then back down and up to the left side where my aneurysm is. My guess is your doctor does the same path, though it could be through the arm and not the groin. You may want to ask him.

Chores to do, all the best.
Moltroub

I had a stroke and they did a CT with contrast so I do not need an MRA

Scan done! Tick!
And you didn’t have to do the tunnel and mask.

Thanks for that reply Moltroub.
Very helpful and yes, I expect it’s as you say, it’s routine to check both sides. I’ll ask next time I visit my surgeon.
Nat

Sounds great @Nat! I’m always curious to see how different doctors do things.

Best,
Moltroub