Any PH doctors in the house?

[srebbe64]

My eldest daughter (18) is having some health issues. In summary:

For some time now she's been saying the very back of her head feels 'strange' (not aching but fuzzy and odd - just a little pain);

Two weeks ago, in Monaco with her brother and sister, she needed to go back to hotel early because it got much worse (they were there as a treat);

We took her to docs when she got back - GP looked at her, asked a few questions, and said come back if it's not cleared up in a week;

Today she came downstairs saying "I'm feeling really ill, my vision is blurred and there's a weird noise in my head". We lied her down and she started having mini-convulsions. After 20 minutes she recovered; I called the hospital and they asked a bunch of questions and said "take her to A&E";

Took her to A&E and explained what's been happening. They spent 5 mins with her (blood pressure, temperature, looked at her eyes, looked in her mouth and said "she seems fine you can go home if it happens again then contact your GP";

I am not happy with the level of testing they've given her - we were shocked by her (ongoing) symptoms - what would you do if she were your daughter???

[Rollin]

I'm not a doctor but if it was me I would go back to the GP anyway. Make sure they are fully aware that she has been having symptoms for some months.

[996c2]

What do you mean by a mini convulsion?

If you mean loss of conciousness, shaking limbs, tongue biting and urinary incontinence followed by lethargy then I would want her admitted for investigation of a fit ?cause.

Hope it turns out to be nothing serious.

[RemainAllHoof]

Not a medic here but I'd be wanted some kind of scan done and any other tests for tumours etc. I'd rather know what's what.

All the best.

[srebbe64]

996c2 said:

What do you mean by a mini convulsion?

If you mean loss of conciousness, shaking limbs, tongue biting and urinary incontinence followed by lethargy then I would want her admitted for investigation of a fit ?cause.

Hope it turns out to be nothing serious.

A sort of shivering and general weirdness???

[Carlique]

RemainAllHoof said:

Not a medic here but I'd be wanted some kind of scan done and any other tests for tumours etc. I'd rather know what's what.

All the best.

Same here. I'd want a full mri scan, I'd even pay for it privately if they won't give one. A close family friend of mine passed away from a brain hemorrhage that went unnoticed so it's better to be safe than sorry imo.

[Sevo]

I'd suggest a return trip to the GP. Be straightforward with your concerns, if you still don't like the answers then ask for a second opinion.

[Six Fiend]

As others have said don't be fobbed off with this. Back to GP sharply and spell out the need for further investigations. They sometimes need a hoof up the butt (had the same with my mother and possible cancer which turned out to be benign).

[996c2]

Sevo said:

I'd suggest a return trip to the GP. Be straightforward with your concerns, if you still don't like the answers then ask for a second opinion.

+1

If you have private medical insurance, you should be able to see the specialist very quickly.

[srebbe64]

I do have private health cover. Booked in to see a neurologist next week. Thanks for advice.

[RemainAllHoof]

Good - let us know how she gets on.

[carreauchompeur]

Scary. Best of luck...

[Antonia]

Carlique said:

Same here. I'd want a full mri scan, I'd even pay for it privately if they won't give one.

And why an MRI instead of a CT? Which setting would you like on your MRI? If you're throwing your cash around (instead of your medical knowledge) why not go for a PET scan? Make sure you remember to pay for someone to interpret the scan for you if you are going to order it yourself.

OP: I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.

[SD1992]

Antonia said:

And why an MRI instead of a CT? Which setting would you like on your MRI? If you're throwing your cash around (instead of your medical knowledge) why not go for a PET scan? Make sure you remember to pay for someone to interpret the scan for you if you are going to order it yourself.

OP: I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.

MRI scans are better for looking at soft tissues, and CT is better for looking at bone etc. It would be worth asking for both - it could be something like the base of her skull is putting pressure on something (happened to 2 people at my school - incredibly rare but it does happen) or it could be something completely different. MRI scan would probably be more useful in this situation.

Hope all goes well for her

[Antonia]

SD1992 said:

MRI scans are better for looking at soft tissues, and CT is better for looking at bone etc.

Yes that is quite correct. But there are many reasons why you may do a CT first. Multi slice
CT with contrast can produce some amazing images in a short period of time.
My point is that going and telling a specialist with many years of experience that you must have
a "Full MRI" because you can pay for it and that some bloke on the internet said you should is really foolish.
Yes, sometimes and MRI is more appropriate than a CT, but how about we all leave that decision to
the people with the qualifications and experience?

[Carlique]

Antonia said:

And why an MRI instead of a CT? Which setting would you like on your MRI? If you're throwing your cash around (instead of your medical knowledge) why not go for a PET scan? Make sure you remember to pay for someone to interpret the scan for you if you are going to order it yourself.

OP: I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.

Too many reasons to list, but basically all of this: http://www.diffen.com/difference/CT_Scan_vs_MRI. Also MRI's have been proven to be more accurate in finding acute bleeding, chronic bleeding and microbleeds etc. Essentially MRI's are superior in detecting chronic hemorrhages. But yes, obviously you too will need to pay for someone to interpret the scan for you, but I'd have thought that'd go without saying.

[SD1992]

Antonia said:

Yes that is quite correct. But there are many reasons why you may do a CT first. Multi slice
CT with contrast can produce some amazing images in a short period of time.
My point is that going and telling a specialist with many years of experience that you must have
a "Full MRI" because you can pay for it and that some bloke on the internet said you should is really foolish.
Yes, sometimes and MRI is more appropriate than a CT, but how about we all leave that decision to
the people with the qualifications and experience?

Excellent points, I have added some of these to my notes actually!

I didn't take into account paying for it - I assumed he would get it on the NHS. Don't these scans cost a fortune if you have to pay for them yourself?

[RemainAllHoof]

How do you two know so much about MRI and CT scans? You can tell I know little as I call it "some kind of scan" and would leave it to the qualified to advise.

[SD1992]

Had a couple of tutorials on them at uni (first year, nothing too in depth!) which basically involved differentiating between the two and roughly how they work

Much more of that to come in second year...

[timmybob]

SD1992 said:

Had a couple of tutorials on them at uni (first year, nothing too in depth!) which basically involved differentiating between the two and roughly how they work

Much more of that to come in second year...

Wait until someone explains the technical differences between T1 and T2...!