I always heard that having a pacemaker for your heart meant you couldn’t get an MRI, ever. I got a multi-function pacemaker installed in 2015. Then in 2019, I needed an MRI to find out if I had Parkinson’s Disease. As part of the procedure, a technician from Medtronic, which made the device, temporarily shut it down. After the MRI, he started it up again.
So, if you have a pacemaker, maybe you can get an MRI. Consult your cardiologist and/or the folks who made your device.
Oh, and yes, I have Parkinson’s. So far, it’s not a very severe form of it.
It’s been possible for several years. Large academic centers have ways of doing MRIs safely for people with pacemakers. I believe it is a special MRI machine which costs millions, hence why academics have it and community hospitals.
Keeve, I can’t begin to understand how the MRI works. Consult your surgeon and/or the company the made the cochlear implant. I went to a hospital affiliated with Indiana University Med School for my MRI.
My Parkinson’s symptoms, damped down with sinemet, requip, and primidone, are as follows. My head has the familiar PD bobble-head motion. Unless I’m standing, walking, or driving, my feet are always jiggling. My feet, up to about mid-shin, are numb. The hand tremors are controlled enough for me to type and sign my name, but using a mouse to control a computer cursor is tricky. My legs get tense and writhe around, nearly to the level of cramping in the evening. That’s the worst part.
A lot of PD patients have it much worse than me. I’m doing okay.
It’s not a special MRI. Not all pacemakers are allowed and it will depend on a few different things such as abandoned leads and such. Usually it’s only at academic centers because it requires more effort and it’s only recently been accepted as safe.