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@penmumble 

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penmumble

How often do you guys have an MRI?

Okay, I am absolutely terrified of MRIs. TERRIFIED haha. I had 2 in 2019 (one in April, one in August), both related to my MS, of course :) My consultant recommended one every 6 months initially, but in my meeting with him last week, I explained to him just how much fear and anxiety the thought of an MRI gives me. I can't live my life because I'm just constantly dreading the next one. I'm reluctant to have any more, for the time being at least. Maybe one day, but not now. My neurologist was SUPER nice about it. We discussed it, and we agreed that even if my next MRI showed a lot of activity, it's really unlikely that we'd switch treatment now (tysabri is not an option), so what's even the point of having another? He laughed when I said that and he actually said I made a good point hahah. He made it VERY clear to me that everything I do is entirely my choice- I'm on combo therapy (Mavenclad and Avonex) and he's super confident that it's kicked in and doing its job, which I'm thrilled about! So, he said for the moment to try one MRI a year instead of 2, which definitley reduces my anxiety haha. I'm pencilled in for August but again, it's my choice whether I do it or not. How often do you guys go for MRIs?
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@Stumbler
@Stumbler
 

@penmumble , in this day and age of a variety of Disease Modifying Therapies (DMTs), it is important to monitor if, and how well, they're working for you. In my day, there was only an Interferon Treatment, so I'd had one to diagnose me. A few years later, it was decided that I had transitioned to Secondary Progressive. I stopped my DMT then, so there was no real need to monitor any progression. I've had a couple recently to see whether there would be any benefit in considering one of the later DMTs. But, the landscape is now completely different so regular MRIs are a small price to pay for better treatment.

@Twink
@Twink
 

@penmumble Hi - Just wondered if it is claustrophobia that causes you to be anxious? I’ve only had one MRI felt anxious about going in the tube asked to try the panic button before going in to check it was working, they confirmed it was! couldn’t hear a thing with the earplugs 😂 in but I then felt completely relaxed.