Hello- this is 'my' scan posted online. For ONLY those seeking more information, you may contact me, otherwise, NO commercial content contacts allowed.

I noticed that John1009 asked for further information- I apologize for never realizing the request.

Send me a personal email on this site- and I will give you further information on how to get ahold of me. The owner of the site is a great guy, I've talked with him before- you can also contact him and have him contact me as well.

Thanks,

Jason

Sure I'm delighted to give you that information...

But there is more to it than you think...

Actually I read the book titled "Change your Brain change your life." by Dr. Amen... that is where I first learned about SPECT scans.

Then I came across later on two places that are not a part of Dr. Amen's clinics, but I personally see greater validity in.
WWW.BrainMatters.com which last I knew has two locations in America, one in Denver, Colorado, and the other in southern California. They might have more locations I'm not sure...

I went to the one in southern California. It was actually part of UCLA, and they explained that the clinicians do blind evaluations of the scans to try to be more objective.

First I didn't need a doctor's referral to get the scan done. I had no idea I had MCS or anything- all I knew was I felt horrible and maybe had Chronic Fatigue.

They do the scans- two of them, one at baseline not concentrating, and the other concentrating.

The total cost is about $3,500 last I knew- but they might take insurance also... in my case I had no insurance so a great friend ended up covering the costs as he could see how I was suffering for years on end.

They gave me the results, they give you a binder with all the scans and information.

They suggested possibly seeing a guy in southern california whom specialized in Neuroimmune illnesses. There are VERY, VERY few in the United States. I waited a YEAR to get into him, and never did... I lived in southern california, but I ended up flying out to Texas and seeing a doctor named Dr. Bruce Russell... the other doctor in southern california is Dr. Goldberg... www.neuroimmunedr.com

HOWEVER I want to point out they didn't realize specialize in MCS- just immune brain and immune mediated illnesses. Such as Autism.
They suggest finding out things you are allergic to- and in the long process I began to realize that it was cleaning products, laundry soap, exhaust, etc. that made me feel ill.

I mentioned it to my doctor- he wasn't opposed to the idea, but didn't fully embrace it. However he had read Dr. Martin Pall's book, "Explaining unexplained illnesses."

Now that it has been some time and he has seen me continual explain how I feel when I'm around solvents, chemicals, etc.... and away from them. I believe he believes me much more now.

Before they weren't sure if my illness was caused by a virus, bacteria. Problem was, I became really ill with a virus infection and never got well.... HOWEVER my job at the time was also cleaning a school with all sorts of cleaning products, day in, and day out. So it is hard to tell what caused it

Initially they did blood tests and checked for active infections all over the board.... and nothing came out TOO extreme... they did put me on valtrex for over a year as well as some antifungals, and even some antibiotics. I can't say that they helped too much.

On top of that then my appendix ruptured, and was ruptured for about two days!!! Believe it or not the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me!!! So I got very ill... almost died, went into septic shock... THEN had complications and had three abcess infections in my abdomen that they had to insert a metal tube into and drain one with a catheter for two weeks, and put me on heavy antibiotics.


So sorry for the long story...


You don't need doctor's referral.

Look into Brain Matters online.

Insurance 'might' cover some- maybe not.

Based upon findings they might give you some suggestions and possibly suggest a specialist that might be able to help you.

I suggest contacting Dr. Bruce Russell in Texas- he does phone consults after the first meeting. The number is 361-749-1930... You can say that Jason Firkins referred you to him.

Hope that helps-

Jason