MRI Body Scan- full body- good to do ?

[how241]

I was reading an article about full body MRI scans from  https://prenuvo.com/...The detailed report given sounded very professional.  Has anyone had one done ?  Other than the cost involved,  is this a good thing to do for a 70 year old man in decent health ?  Is this available in Thailand ?

From the article "  The Prenuvo scans test for hundreds of conditions, but the most important things they test for are conditions that are life threatening, such as cancer, aneurysms, and heart issues."

"

"Are MRI body scans good or bad?

Medical experts are divided on this issue. The American College of Preventive Medicine says MRI body scanning is a waste of money. Other health experts argue that many healthy people who get these scans will get expensive follow-up imaging tests and possibly more invasive tests that will probably reveal they’re healthy. They also say many people who get these scans will experience a lot of anxiety and mental stress while waiting for the results."

Thanks for any info or opinions. 

[JackGats]

CT scans use X-rays and should not be had too often, but MRI scans pose no hazard as far as I know. 

[scubascuba3]

How did you get on with the other tests? you know for repeated temperatures

[Will B Good]

Full body MRI scams....sorry scans.....are an excellent money making vehicle....having said that you might discover a tumour or the like in its early stages.

 

Any indication of a problem will be used to solicit large sums of money from you.

[how241]

15 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

How did you get on with the other tests? you know for repeated temperatures

I started getting some pains in the back-side area.  I was guessing it might be a kidney infection.  I had a box of Zithromax at home and took those for a week . Maybe the  antibiotics cured me or my body fought it off.  Hard to say but I feel fine now for several days.  All pains went away and my body temp.  have been normal ever since.  Everything is back to normal for me and I have been going to the gym and walking again. I don't recommend that anyone do as I did...Better to see a doctor... It was a scare that lead me to buy Cigna Health Insurance. So that's a good thing as now I will be more likely to seek medical advice as I like to use the insurance I paid for...Yes,  I am a little crazy about things.....

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Have a full body MRI and the medical professionals will find countless issues that need further "investigation" or that provide an "inconclusive" result.

 

Why not just cut to the chase, dispense with the diagnostics, and tell them to start with exploratory surgery on the body part of their choice?

[Sheryl]

Absolutely not a good idea.

 

MRIs/CTs and the like should be done only if a doctor thinks it necessary to confirm or make a diagnosis of a specific problem. Except for low-dose CT for lung cancer screening (and that, only for people who meet specific criteria), MRIs and CTs are nto appropriate for health screening purposes  and certainly not "whole body" scans.

 

Not only a complete waste of money but very likely to lead to unnecessary follow up tests for things that prove to be harmless.

 

No public health authority in the world recommends these.

 

[KhunLA]

😎

[how241]

34 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Not only a complete waste of money but very likely to lead to unnecessary follow up tests for things that prove to be harmless.

 

No public health authority in the world recommends these.

Thank you for your input.  I will forget about this idea and save myself time, money,  and potentially further unnecessary testing.  I truly appreciate your advice.  If you want to,  go ahead and close this thread as I am convinced that theses scans are not necessary now.  Thanks again for you help.

[impulse]

I'm going to offer a counterpoint. 

 

In 2015, I had bypass surgery in Bangkok.  As a result, I had CT scans, x-rays and MRI's out the wazoo.  Recently, I went in for a cancer screening.  They found some questionable spots on my lung and on my liver, but referred to my previous scans and saw no change.  Had I not had the previous scans, they would have probably looked deeper.

 

Also had a neurological checkup in June, related to my Pfizer injury of 2.5 years ago.  Found some "spots" on my MRI/MRA, but once again, there was no change from my 2017 MRI/MRA.

 

I was pleased to have the baselines in my file. Probably saved me a bunch of poking and prodding...

 

[Sheryl]

17 hours ago, impulse said:

I'm going to offer a counterpoint. 

 

In 2015, I had bypass surgery in Bangkok.  As a result, I had CT scans, x-rays and MRI's out the wazoo.  Recently, I went in for a cancer screening.  They found some questionable spots on my lung and on my liver, but referred to my previous scans and saw no change.  Had I not had the previous scans, they would have probably looked deeper.

 

Also had a neurological checkup in June, related to my Pfizer injury of 2.5 years ago.  Found some "spots" on my MRI/MRA, but once again, there was no change from my 2017 MRI/MRA.

 

I was pleased to have the baselines in my file. Probably saved me a bunch of poking and prodding...

 

I very much doubt the MRIs you had prior to your bypass surgery and neuro workup were "whole body" scans.

 

Nobody is questioning the value of MRIs/CTs etc when ordered by a doctor for a specific diagnostic purpose.  Nor the value of low dose CT of lung for cancer screening in smokers/ex-smokers. The issue is whole body MRIs in healthy people as a general screening tool. 

[Sheryl]

Trolling meme post removed. 

[impulse]

On 7/12/2024 at 11:23 AM, Sheryl said:

I very much doubt the MRIs you had prior to your bypass surgery and neuro workup were "whole body" scans.

 

Nobody is questioning the value of MRIs/CTs etc when ordered by a doctor for a specific diagnostic purpose.  Nor the value of low dose CT of lung for cancer screening in smokers/ex-smokers. The issue is whole body MRIs in healthy people as a general screening tool. 

 

On my way to the island where I live in the USA, there's a billboard advertising MRI's with a down payment of $1,500 and "easy monthly payments".  I would definitely not suggest getting one of those without a compelling reason from a doctor.  Even if it meant I'd have a baseline image like the ones that were handy in my case(s) this year.  If MRI's cost $50, I'd get one every year just to see if there's any changes year on year.  But that's not real world...

 

I absolutely agree with you (and the doctors) that they're not cost effective at normal prices, and not recommended without a compelling need. 

 

[John49]

I had a MRI of my hips as I had pain at night as a ‘side sleeper’.

I was impressed with the level of detail and the only thing the consultant could find was a very fine hairline crack on one side, running through part of the muscle – the consultant thought this could due to calcification of the muscle due to age.

Apparently, can be treated by ultrasound but I did not follow up.

 

I asked him about a full body MRI.

I remember that the consultant said something like - it was not practical due to the many high level inputs required - on the interpretation for the multiple organs involved.

[John49]

Having said the above, about fully body MRI’s (and the need for multiple inputs for a full body interpretation), my FDG PET SCAN contained one full page of detailed observations.

 

This scan is used to look for cancer and it was loaded with comment on presence (or absence) of organ lesions and organ size, etc., divided into sections for Head and Neck, Chest, Abdomen and Pelvis, and Musculoskeletal.

 

Seeing that broadly speaking, half of us will die of cancer, and the other half die of heart disease – seems like the FDG PET SCAN gives a pretty good bang for the buck on the cancer half.

 

Not sure if all FDG PET SCAN’s provide this level of detail as I had ultrasounds of liver every 6 months for several years.

One time, it would a one line comment saying ‘no abnormalities’.

Another time, it would be half a page or more, full of data about adjacent organs like cyst in kidney and size of prostate.

My GP explained that some specialists are famous for their brevity, and others are famous for their level of detail.

 

[Sheryl]

FDG PET scans are not recommended  for routine screening of healthy  asymptomatic  people. 

 

If one was ordered for you there will have been a specific reason.

[steve187]

On 7/11/2024 at 2:20 PM, how241 said:

I started getting some pains in the back-side area.  I was guessing it might be a kidney infection.  I had a box of Zithromax at home and took those for a week . Maybe the  antibiotics cured me or my body fought it off.  Hard to say but I feel fine now for several days.  All pains went away and my body temp.  have been normal ever since.  Everything is back to normal for me and I have been going to the gym and walking again. I don't recommend that anyone do as I did...Better to see a doctor... It was a scare that lead me to buy Cigna Health Insurance. So that's a good thing as now I will be more likely to seek medical advice as I like to use the insurance I paid for...Yes,  I am a little crazy about things.....

glad you seem to have made a recovery, where were the pains

[how241]

1 hour ago, steve187 said:

glad you seem to have made a recovery, where were the pains

At the time I was starting to get some pain in the lower back/side area.  All is Great now and I feel 100%.  I guess I got lucky.  Hard to say if my body healed itself or the antobiotics helped.  I am now eating 1-02 probiotic yougarts daily to try and restore any gut flora killed off my the antibiotics.  Not sure if this is helpful but I like yogurts so it can't hurt either way.  Please DON'T do as I did and seek proper medical advice when necessary. Most would say I am stupid for what I did.