Suspected AN - Dizzy for a week consistantly + unilaterial tinnitus / pain

[dontwant2believe]

the ENT's secretary said she faxed the report With contrast twice now.
then I was talking to the manager of the MRI department at the hospital because i kept calling to check on the status of my appointment saying 'no contrast'

the MRI department manager told me the radiologist must have declined to do contrast and that my ENT will need to call him.


edit: just found out my doctor thinks I have psychosis which is why no one will do any proper diagnostic with contrast. cool. 

[dontwant2believe]

My mri with contrast is in 2 days but with further thinking and weighing the pros and cons I have come to the conclusion that maybe the contrast is too much of a risk and not worth doing.

There have been countless studies and research since 2014 showing that gadolinium contrast dye doesn't actually fully leave the body after injection and there are chemical metals that remain in your brain and tissues, and doctors are unsure how bad this is for health as they need more resaerch. This is why radiologists are so reluctant to give contrast nowadays because they do not want to be liable for a contrast injection related injury or Contrast Retention

so with this in mind, I have also know I do not have a Large tumor because it would of shown up on the inital CT scan and MRI Without contrast.

So that leaves in the very slim chance that i do have AN, it is very small and will only show up with contrast dye,
Which I have also recognized getting surgery to remove it 99.9% chance you will lose hearing in that ear (Is this correct or are the odds better?)

And thus the doctors will simply just tell me to do nothing about it and wait.

So AN or not I don't think would change anything because they would simply not do any surgery or anything about it and i would be Wait and watch status

Is it reasonable for me to weigh the pros and cons and come to the conclusion that not getting the Contrast injection because of the unknown risks of Contrast Retention is a viable choice?

https://www.itnonline.com/article/debate-over-gadolinium-mri-contrast-toxicity

[rigbylu]

I have an AN. I was initially diagnosed years ago because my ENT recognized my symptoms. I was waking at night with vertigo & I experienced nystagmus (rapid eye movements). I also had tinnitus but hadn’t been bothered by it. It took seven months for the vertigo to resolve. For years I was Wait & Watch as I had no growth with only minor hearing loss. Very recently I awoke with the worst migraine & once again had vertigo. It’s almost a month now that I have vertigo. Last week an MRI confirmed my AN had grown.

All of the MRI’s I’ve had of my brain for the purpose of assessing my AN have been with contrast. My understanding is that, especially with smaller AN’s they are easier to spot after the administration of contrast. An MRI with contrast will make it possible to spot an AN as small as 2mm.

I feel I’m personally benefitting now from being able to consider treatment options because I had multiple MRI’s with contrast over the years. Ultimately you need to make medical decisions which you think are best for you. I wish you the best of luck.

[golfguy49]

I asked for my second follow-up MRI (6 months after diagnosis) without contrast, and the surgeons let me know that was the wrong decision.  Several of the surgeons I consulted with seemed less-than-pleased when reviewing the scans.  Especially in trying to find it for the first time, contrast sounds critical.  What if an AN cannot be seen without contrast, but it could have been seen with contrast?  Who wants to have that false result and the impacts that could occur for years by not finding it when they could have?  Unless a person knows they are allergic to the contrast agent, it seems really important to have contrast.

[Cheryl R]

In my own case, all I can say is that I have had many many MRIs due to NF2. This has been since 2001.  I have had no issues.       Blood work is done before the MRI for most people to make sure you have good kidney function.       I have not met anyone with problems but an occ  post here saying they heard of someone who did.                        Has to be your choice.                Cheryl R