Should/can I get a PET scan?

Hi,

I've told my story before and I'll summarize it quickly: I have OCD about the possibility of brain damage as result of using meth (I didn't know it was meth) once, but got sick so I'm scared it was an overdose. It's extremely suffering, I think about this for hours a day. Medication helped a bit, but not much. I don't nkow what to do anymore and I feel suicidal. Many many people have tried to reassure me but nothing helps.

I think my last resource is a PET scan to see if brain is functioning as it should. I'm particularly concerned about the neurotoxic effects on dopamine and serotonin transporters/nerve cells.

I hope my psychiatrist will prescribe one. I'll call her tomorrow. I just want to function again and live a normal life. I get very depressed lately, semi suicidal.

Image you were coughing all the time or had swollen lymph glands but couldnt get an HIV test and ppl around you would just say 'it's just a cold'. It's exactly the same. I want proof that I dont have any damage, otherwise i'll be unhappy all my life.

Any thoughts?

thanks for reading this

It will not help you to get a PET scan, because the OCD will never, ever be satisfied. It will never believe any evidence you give it. The best option for you is treatment for your OCD. Are you on OCD medication? If so, what, and how much, and since when?

bendib wrote:It will not help you to get a PET scan, because the OCD will never, ever be satisfied. It will never believe any evidence you give it. The best option for you is treatment for your OCD. Are you on OCD medication? If so, what, and how much, and since when?

Yes, I take 50mg of zoloft (already 4 months). It greatly reduced frequency of other obsessions, but this one is very persistent.

I remember I was scared I'd caught herpes, even though my syptoms didn't look like herpes. I thought there wasn't a blood test for it, but eventually I saw a doctor he did one and I felt reassured when the result was negative. I'm scared I won't rest if the same doesn't happen in this case.

Try to get them to raise the dose as high as they can. That's my advice. I'm on the max of Prozac and I'm pretty much just fine.

Personally I would obsess over the amount of radiation this type of imaging exposes you to.

But I think you should get a scan of some type.

*mod edit - commercial links removed*

Thanks for replies. I'm seeing psychiatrist tomorrow and I'll discuss medication with her.

slither wrote:Personally I would obsess over the amount of radiation this type of imaging exposes you to.

But I think you should get a scan of some type.

*mod edit - commercial links removed*

What kind of scan exactly?

I just pray everything will be all right. If I'd really have any damage I would never forgive myself.

confusedAS wrote:Thanks for replies. I'm seeing psychiatrist tomorrow and I'll discuss medication with her.

What kind of scan exactly?

My post was unjustly scrubbed of anything worth saying; originally, it contained a link with pertinent information on the neurological profiles of various psych disorders, including OCD, (but also on brain damage due to injury or drug usage). That site was full of interesting information but I guess they don't want members helping each other out on here.

I was suggesting a spect scan, and I simply commented that it would not likely be covered by insurance and mentioned the typical price it would cost out of pocket that I was told while admitted to an inpatient facility (which informed me of this option and didn't try to keep me from knowing about it).

I will PM you the link to the site.

_______

EDIT

Regarding your fear/obsession on brain damage from accidental meth usage, and coming from someone with no expertise on this, I think that most likely it would not have damaged or altered your brain in any meaningful way that you could observe.

An analogy would be like getting a slight scratch on a CD, but it still being capable of being played perfectly, so the end user would never notice unless they looked at it. In some cases single drug use can totally change a person, but it is rare and I've only heard about this with LSD, pot, ecstasy, and an association with schizophrenic symptoms.

And the people that have nasty brain scans tend to be chronic heavy drug/alcohol users. What I'm curious about for both of us (since I suspect I have ocd as well) is the possibility of certain parts of the brain being overactive, which a spect scan can detect.