MRI & CAT SCAN QUERY

bella27

Hi Everyone,

I know this is an old thread but hopefully someone can help me

My Dad is a public patient (he's 59 and has only been added to my VHI policy this year so he has a 52 week wait before any cover is possible). We live in Kerry too, just for reference. So for the moment, he's a public patient. Because he's gone public, he has to wait 6-8 months for a letter to be sent to MRI Centre, Bons in Tralee for his appointment. He has ongoing back/leg/knee issues that keep him awake at night. After ringing his consultants secretary (who is very unhelpful I might add) she said she can send the letter straight away to the bons and they can book him in with no wait IF he pays €200 for the MRI, now to be honest I dont mind that. His health is worth a lot more than €200 to me so we have no problem paying it. The problem with MRI's is this, (from personal experience - I'm 27 and have similar issues with my back). I'm only hazarding a guess here but I believe they are only requesting a lumbar spine MRI which means if nothing shows up and he still has issues he'll have to go for yet another one and so on and so forth.... sorry this is longwinded, I hope your still with me!

What I'm really wondering is, would a CAT scan show up anything better, can you get a CAT scan of the whole body, its really from his back down to his ankles, he also looses feeling in his feet from time to time which I know isnt right. I'm just wondering if there is anything that I can do now, in advance, to request this stuff. And.... how can you ask a GP to refer you? I know they dont like the whole self diagnosing but at this stage I really dont care. His health is more important to me than what a doctor thinks so I'll fight all the way if I can.

Thanks a lot
Bella

RobFowl

Seeking Medical advice is against the forum charter

2Scoops

You won't be able to order your own tests. The best you can do is ask the doctor you're dealing with why he chooses one test over another.