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Comment by CamperBob | Hacker News Reader

Not to downplay the serious symptoms you've described, but that's all a bit dramatic when the guy has described nothing more or less than Slashdot Syndrome.

When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.

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Horses' hooves will stomp you dead just as quick if you ignore the sound. The point is: get out of it for a while, since stress is the most probable culprit. If that doesn't do the trick, then look deeper. Don't minimize real symptoms if they persist; they could indicate something really serious. And don't take idiotic advice[1] from random people on the web -- it's far better to spend an unnecessary half-hour with your head stuck in an MRI scanner and feel a bit foolish later than to wait until a real problem becomes irreversible.

[1] "Don't worry, it'll be okay" coming from someone who's never had personal contact with you counts as idiotic advice. If you don't know the before-and-after, if you haven't had a chance to notice other behavioural changes, then even considering an attempt at diagnosis is irresponsible.

... it's far better to spend an unnecessary half-hour with your head stuck in an MRI scanner and feel a bit foolish later than to wait until a real problem becomes irreversible.

Is it? Do you have any idea what MRI sessions cost? Money for risk mitigation is limited, just as it's limited for everything else.

Personally, I have no idea what they cost but I'm interested, for a family member.

So how much is it? Reference?

(We do have a state health system here, but a doctor must send people for testing. It is generally easier to work and pay yourself, despite paying high taxes for other's use of the state health system.)

NPR did a segment on how the price of MRIs varies to a crazy extent, because no one knows what they ought to cost:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1203992...

They followed it up with some comparisons to Japan:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1205455...

The place I usually go for my MRIs bills $1600 for an MRI of the L-spine with contrast (this is Phoenix, AZ, USA). The only other place I am aware of cost wise is a local hospital that performed a full central nervous system MRI with contrast for $7000. All of the other MRIs I've had were either inpatient or wrapped into the cost of a larger treatment plan so I do not know of the cost.

Thats a rather Eurocentric viewpoint. A good portion of the world may be closer to a zebra than a horse at any given moment.

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