My neurologist reffered me to an MRI; 1.5 Tesla (I don't really know what that means). She wants to see if there is any residual inflammation in my jaw that could be causing my ongoing pain and lack of positive response to my meds. When I called the MRI people to schedule my appointment they were confused; they said that for trigeminal neuralgia they don't scan the mandibule and that they're not sure if there will be much to see in the pictures they take. I'll have to get my doctor to call them directly and explain but I'm just wondering - what do the doctors do if someone suffers e.g. a fracture of the jaw bone and the doctors need to see if all is ok with the soft tissue not just the bone, is x-ray/cat scan all they can do? I guess my doctor isn't as interested in seeing the nerve itself, rather she wants to know if there is inflammation of the soft tissue which isn't visible on my dentist's x-rays.
Basically, a 1.5 Tesla MRI will not provide as much detail as a Tesla 3. Also, the FIESTA capability is very helpful for getting information about the trigeminal nerve. The acronym stands for Fast Imaging Employing Steady State Acquisition, but I think everyone just calls it FIESTA.. it's more fun that way ;) They also need to do it with and without contrast.. the above post says it best :)
Thank you very much Jessica for the useful info! I searched google for Tesla 3 machines in my country and it seems there's only one in the whole of the Czech Republic! I suppose there will be a loooong queue of people waiting to get their MRI; maybe I'll settle down for a 1.5 T;-) since my neuro doesn't want to see the brain area but rather my mandibule and a jaw joint for possible inflammation. Unlike you, I'm not looking forward to my MRI experience as I'm scared of confined spaces and don't like loud noises...somehow I'm not so keen on seeing the inside of my skull either as I can't make up my mind if it's better if they find something there or if they don't:)
Basically, a 1.5 Tesla MRI will not provide as much detail as a Tesla 3. Also, the FIESTA capability is very helpful for getting information about the trigeminal nerve. The acronym stands for Fast Imaging Employing Steady State Acquisition, but I think everyone just calls it FIESTA.. it's more fun that way ;) They also need to do it with and without contrast.. the above post says it best :)
I'm sorry to hear there's such a long waiting list :( Hopefully the Tesla 1.5 will give them a good start on gathering information :) I also have mixed feelings about the MRI results. I guess I'm just hoping it's one more step in narrowing down possible solutions!
I've heard that some of the new MRI machines are more open or even have mirrors to help make it seem more open. Also, try to take an mp3/music player because some people say they are able to listen to those during their MRI. I should probably load my player up with some soothing music!
I didn't know music players were compatible with MRI machines - if they are then that would be great as it would make the procedure a lot easier for me (that is, if I can still hear the music through the background noise:)). I've also heard about the open machines but there is an opinion that the pictures you get from those are not as good as the ones that come from the closed machines so it's a tough choice (though I probably won't have much choice as to which machine I'll be put into anyway, so maybe not that tough a choice for me after all haha). Anyway, many thanks for all the info and tips! When are you going to have your MRI done? I'm planning on calling a few places tomorrow, hope I won't have to wait very long.
I don't have it scheduled yet, because of insurance. But luckily the MRI place I'll go to eventually has a TESLA 3 machine that can do FIESTA :D
My doctor submitted an MRI request to my health insurance (Health Alliance) on June 27th. They had 15 days to review the request, and they denied it on day 13 :P
He appealed the MRI request on July 17th, so it's in the review period again.
I hope that this time your MRI request will get through! I called the place that has the 3 TESLA machine today and they told me the waiting period is usually 1 to 2 weeks!! I emailed them my doctor's request form and am waiting for them to schedule a date to see me. Hope you'll get lucky, it's so stressfull being in pain most of the time let alone having to deal with this red tape!
Cleo, did you get a refferal to see the maxilliofacial surgeon from your neurologist or some other specialist? Was the refferal based on an MRT/CT results or something else? I'm at the point where I haven't had any scans done yet and any assumptions me and my neuro make is just guessing. Thank you.
Oldriska said:
Thank you, Cleo, I see I may have a long road ahead of me with all this.
Cleo said:
It was an oral maxilliofacial surgeon that dealt with my jaw bone/nerve disorder after a botched dental injection 11 years ago.