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@Beefree 

Last reply

Beefree

Spine MRI

Hi everyone, I'm having problems accessing an MRI of my spine and wondered if anyone else had encountered similar reluctance by their medical team to order a spine MRI? What rationale was provided for not ordering the spine MRI? All insights and advice welcome. For background, my annual MRI is coming up in the next couple of weeks. After some recent new symptoms, none hanging around long enough to be considered a relapse, I requested that the MRI cover my spine as well as the head. My MS nurse got back to me to say that they planned to go ahead with only the head MRI, but would add me to the roster for an appointment with a consultant who could consider an MRI of my spine (I hadn't realised that after my neurologist left over two months ago that I hadn't be reallocated to a new neurologist...). I responded that unless there is a risk or danger from getting an MRI of my spine, I don't understand why they wouldn't just do both at the same time rather than draw things out unnecessarily with a long wait for an appointment just to order a spine MRI, followed by a further wait for another MRI appointment, followed by a further wait for a consultant to follow up on the results. I'm at a loss to understand why they are being so difficult about a request that seems reasonable to me.
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@Stumbler
@Stumbler
 

@beefree , it may be down to financial constraints. On one side of the argument, you've already got a diagnosis. But, you're well within your rights to want to be advised of the exact progress of your MS, so that your treatment can be reviewed in a timely manner. We do have to push for everything that should already have been offered.

@DominicS
@DominicS
 

@beefree The thing about common sense? It ain't that common. Theoretically, there are many technical issues regarding scanners. The coils to go under you to produce a spine image are broken (I stress, I am guessing). The powers settings (Tesla rating), the software, the configuration changes required etc. But that is a red-herring really. My money would go on general crapness at the ordering end. One of my favourite questions to ask is: "Please can you help me to understand specifically why you have chosen not to do XXX? It tends to get them squirming, especially if you produce a notebook and pen, give them a beaming smile and ask them to repeat it more slowly as you are writing it down. I'd also take the saving the NHS resources and the fact that my own time to just drag m,y backside to and fro at their behest is limited so figured for another 15 min in the scanner means we'd all be winners ;) Best.