Opinions on full-body MRI scans

Spleen Sauce

Spleen Sauce

Spleen Sauce

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South Wales
Hi all,

I turned 40 in December and we had our first child last year, I have a number of family members who have recently been diagnosed with serious health issues so I was wondering if anyone has any experience (or thoughts) on getting a full body MRI, such as those done by Vista Health? They aren't cheap of course, and as far as I currently know I don't have any underlying issues, but I've started to think about my mortality a bit with everything going on and wonder whether getting a 'proactive' scan done might be a good idea - even if its for peace of mind.
 
I actually had an MRI scan yesterday. Wasn't a full body one (AFAIK) but it was quite an interesting experience.

It lasted about 30 minutes and I caught myself snoring twice! Which is odd for quite a loud machine (they made me wear ear plugs and ear defenders) and my initial thought was that it felt like being in a fax machine or old dial up modem with the noises it was making but after a while I found it strangely therapeutic.

Probably because since having a child it's the first time in almost 2 years I've been able to lay down safe in the knowledge no one will bother me for 30 minutes
 
I've had MRI scans on specific body parts in the past as part of investigations, so not too worried about the process. It's more whether it's worthwhile spending a chunk of cash on it really, that's what I'm unsure about more than anything else.
 
Depends on what you’re looking for. If you are worried about specific hereditary conditions, you should ask a professional if an MRI is the appropriate method of early diagnosis. It may not be. If you want a general MOT and aren’t looking for anything specific, there is probably a better way to do it. Every few years I pay for a private MOT with a full blood panel. I did ask if any further tests were worth it but even though it’s in their interest to sell, they haven’t recommended anything further unless something comes up on the check or the bloods.
 
If you are a well 40 year old I think a whole body MRI has a higher chance of being bad for you than finding anything. Not that an MRI is dangerous in itself, but there is some likelihood of something being found which in medicine we term "incidentaloma" You will often find slight changes somewhere and comments on a scan about things that are meaningless in reality, yet they cause great worry. Suppose it shows (and this is quite likely aged 40) some degenerative changes on your spine? well the answer to that is exercise, keep your weight down and get on with life, and you already know that's a good idea. Maybe it shows a disc bulge or some narrowing where nerve roots come out of your spine, well if you have no symptoms then literally nothing should be done with that information, but you will worry about it. The last thing you want is to then see a surgeon who either takes several hundred pounds off you to say nothing is needed, or that worse still offers you pointless surgery. When as doctors we order various scans we will be choosing the type of scan eg x-ray/CT/MRI/ultrasound depending on what we are looking for as some are better at different things. We are also asking specific questions which helps a radiologist make comments based on the history of the problem they have that helps us decide what might be going on. If we didn't have a question to ask then it would be rightly bounced back and not be done.

The big expense of the scanner is both buying it, and the cost of keeping it turned on, so as they need to keep it on constantly there is great financial benefit from a private provider making use of the downtime between useful scans and the time it would essentially be sitting fallow, hence companies offering to scan you for easy money.

tldr, its probably a bad idea
 
You definitely shouldn’t ask an internet forum for advice on capturing hereditary medical conditions as it’s an absolute minefield.

Without a specific question, these investigations lose their value somewhat.
 
That's for the responses. I'm generally fit and well, no real issues to complain about other than an occasional 'twinge' in my left groin, but neither a GP nor a physio can seem to fix it. I think the main reason for consider the full body MRI / check up is a combination of:
- Turning 40
- My dad and his brother both have kidney issues now they've hit 60 (my dad needs a biopsy this coming Friday, its potentially cancerous)
- Becoming a new parent
- Mother in law just found out she's got multiple brain tumours, inoperable, likely 6-12 months to live at best. No symptoms at all before Christmas morning, within 6 hours she was on a ventilator. Eats well, keeps fit, doesn't drink.
- My mum has COPD, so did my grandmother
- My granddad died of heart failure

So I guess not a great family history, I suppose you could say that its got me wondering whether a proactive scan might be a good idea.
 
IANAD but I'd echo what Heeeeed said.

There are lots of things that can show up on scans that *might* be something dangerous, but are probably benign, and you'll end up worrying over something that doesn't matter.

I've never heard of anyone learning anything from these scans that's useful. Getting bloods done and checking your cholesterol etc is probably the best preventative diagnostics you can do.

Best thing to do is just live healthy, eat healthy, exercise, don't drink, smoke etc.
 
From cancer research:

Blood tests can:

check your general health, including how well your liver and kidneys are working

check numbers of blood cells

help diagnose certain brain tumours such as pituitary gland, pineal region and germ cell tumours

Some brain tumours such as pituitary gland, pineal region and germ cell tumours can change the levels of certain hormones and chemicals in your body. You may have blood tests to check for specific hormones and markers to help diagnose a brain tumour.
 
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My sister had a pituitary tumour a couple years ago, which was successfully removed. Has regular checks on it. It's not necessarily a big drama. Like a lot of tumours, many of them are benign and not worth the risks of removing them, which is the argument against rigorous scans, you can ending doing more harm than good, doing risky operations on things that would be utterly benign your whole life.
 
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