Images - MRI - CSA

I have an MRI appt. at 1pm.
I could use images of examples.
If anyone has links, I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers!

Try the follow Google Images search:

http://images.google.com/images?as_q=MR ... ompression

It seemed to find some images that mgith fit your bill. Hope that helps.

Thanks JohnBFisher!

The below paper discusses chiari malformation with patients who manifest CNA.
http://www.erj.ersjournals.com/cgi/repr ... 6/1482.pdf

There is also this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1859186
arterial compression that wraps around the left side of the medulla oblongata

Ironically, my family is a candidate family for ehlers danlos syndrome, also connected with chiari malformation. We are all a bit bendy, some more than others, with some type 3 and type 4 tendencies. The worst manifestation in our family is the tendency for our shoulders to dislocate with over-activity and for tendons to rip from muscle with repetitive stress. Oh yeah – and valvular heart disease – typical type 4 EDS.

Hopefully neither chiari malformation nor arterial compression will be the case with me. Patient 2 in the above pdf is a fascinating parallel, though.

My MRI is today in about 20 minutes.

Wish me luck!

DreamDiver wrote:... Hopefully neither chiari malformation nor arterial compression will be the case with me. ... My MRI is today in about 20 minutes. ...

Hopefully that will not be the case for you. And just think.... With the periodic craze to use magnets to cure everything from warts to ED, the MRI should cure you of EVERYTHING!

JohnBFisher wrote:Hopefully that will not be the case for you. And just think.... With the periodic craze to use magnets to cure everything from warts to ED, the MRI should cure you of EVERYTHING!

Magnets are our friends.

They gave me a cd with the whole set of images in a special three-d viewer. Of course the MRI tech couldn't discuss it with me. Here's a link to the 3d experience. No special glasses necessary. I hope this isn't too much information for some people - peering into someone's brain. If it turns out to be chiari malformation, it means I'd have to have an operation to fix it. Supposedly after that, I would not need the mask anymore. I'd also get my whole life back, no more pain, no more brain fog, etc. Still, I wouldn't wish to have it. Brain operation? Sheesh.

Since I'm pretty clueless about what I'm looking at, I'm going to guess it's normal until I hear from the doc. Everything else about me has been so far, except the central thing. We shall see. Not asking for a diagnosis, but let me know if anything pops out at you.

More images - the first two linked to full-screen versions. The third is a color rendition of the 3d viewer. It wasn't as see-through as the black-and white version, so I didn't include a full-screen version. Interesting how the color 3-d has all this chatter around the face. I'm not sure why. It might be something to do with focus. Hair doesn't show up on this scan.

DreamDiver wrote:... They gave me a cd with the whole set of images in a special three-d viewer. ...

Now THAT is pretty darn cool. And the medical profession SHOULD provide everyone of us with such copies.

DreamDiver wrote:... If it turns out to be chiari malformation, it means I'd have to have an operation to fix it. Supposedly after that, I would not need the mask anymore. I'd also get my whole life back, no more pain, no more brain fog, etc. Still, I wouldn't wish to have it. Brain operation? Sheesh. ...

I agree. Pretty scary stuff. But as I understand it, if there is a malformation, it can lead to failure of other autonomic systems. And it can lead to death. That's normally a good thing to avoid. So, in perspective it seems like a good idea. But ... YIKES!

DreamDiver wrote:... Since I'm pretty clueless about what I'm looking at ...

You and me, both! As I tell my doctors, I do not try to diagnose myself. But I will try to tell them as accurately as possible what is happening to me. I will also try to research what they tell me. But my hope is their medical knowledge, combined with my accurate descriptions will help guide them.

Though it would be nice to have it fixed, it's also real nice to not need that surgery. Though the central apneas are a SERIOUS pain in the keester, there are a lot of more serious things. We can live with this. And an ASV unit DEFINITELY helps.

So, here's hoping your doctors won't see any major issue with your MRI. And you can move forward toward an effective therapy!