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Mar 20, 2013, 08:44 PM
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Member Since: Nov 2002
Location: Mid World
Posts: 18,096
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maven
Does anyone see a psychiatrist or psychologist or other professional who has had them get an MRI or whatever to look at their brains to monitor what's going on with the illnesses and meds? Dr. Oz--I hate that I'm even mentioning him, but he has a point--says psychiatrists are the only doctors who never look at the organ they're treating. Dr. Phil--another one I hate to bring up--has had guests on his show undergo extensive examinations involving MRIs (the center this is usually done at costs $7500 just for a consultation; I checked into it!). None of my pdocs or psychologists have ever had me get a brain scan done. Just wondering what everyone else's experiences have been.
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Maven, researchers are using PET scans to study electrical activity in the brain of folks with and without mental health problems. There is evidence of differences in electrical activity. PET scans would probably be more useful than MRIs because they show electrical activity. MRIs show structural differences. There a couple of problems with using either for diagnosis at this point. First, is that the research is still fairly new. Second is that is both PET scans and MRIs cost dearly. Insurance is not going to pay for something still in the experimental stages. And I don't know about you, but I can't afford to pay for it out of pocket.
As for Dr. Oz' statement, back before our current technology docs didn't have to crack open a patient's chest and look at the heart to know they had a heart attack. We currently lack the information and technology to diagnose MI by "looking at the brain."
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