Anyone else dread getting an MRI?

[jackiey]

I average an MRI about every 2 years. I am claustrophoic and have to be medicated but did not find this out till after the first two unmedicated. I still have those memories and the experience also left me with a phobia of being trapped in traffic, on a bridge , elevater etc. I have not had an MRI for 2 years and my phobias have gotten better, but now the dr wants another! I so wish there was a better way to moniter this disease. Not one time has my treatment changed after the MRI results, It was kinda like a very expensive lookee see! I understand the need for an MRI to diagnose MS, but why after, especially if there has been no changes?

[mjan]

Well the very first time I EVER had an MRI of the brain, I was a nursing mother up all the time, so looked forward to taking a nap!

But.. I did get a panic attack one time. I had to have them take me out so I could get my "labor" breathing going and then back in. It worked! I NEVER look and that helps.

However, now I have an MRI not only with a mirror so I can SEE the technicians, but now they have head phones. That helps.

What I would suggest is that your doctor order you some Ativan so you can RELAX! But remember the power of the mind..think about it and your body reacts.

Go to your quiet, serene, happy place!!

Let us know how you are doing..

Jan

[shalimar]

While I am not afraid of the closed in space, I have severe arthritis in my hips, spine, shoulders and am in real pain laying on my back so my dr. has not had me take one for the last 2 years.

[its2much]

I don't like having them either

My Neuro orders one every year. I get a prescription for valium - put on the headphones and try to sleep, although I can't as tired as I am every day.
Of course, I still hear that clang, clang sound but it's not as loud with music through the headphones.
When it's over, it's tough for me to stand up and move for a little while.
There are "open MRI's" available where you sit and it is not totally enclosed. I've heard they're not as accurate but don't know if that is exactly correct.
I tell myself that as each minute passes, I'm closer to getting it over with. I stay as still as I can.

[AMJ]

Yes, I too dread getting a MRI. I am also claustrophobic and cannot control the panic attacks that overcomes me when I feel closed in. My doctor would give me 1 Ativan 1/2 hour before the time of the MRI and then 1 just before I would get in the MRI.

I was having brain and full body MRI's so I would be in the machine for 2 hours. I am afraid of the Ativan wearing off while I am in the MRI so that is why I take two.

My husband will also accompany me and he sits on a stool beside the machine. I have headsets that play music. I never open my eyes and I ask the technician to speak to me after each scan. For example they will say this one will be two minutes before the scan starts. Then good job, the next one will be five minutes, etc.

Most of the time I would have a neuro assessment before the MRI. They would make me walk the halls of the hospital to test how far I could walk. Then after I was lying in the MRI machine for over 1.5 hours, my back would start to spasm and my legs would jerk. I would have my husband hold my legs down because I didn't want to have to redo any of the scans. After my MRI appt I go home and sleep for a few hours.

So yes I do dread having an MRI. Get your doctor to prescribe the Ativan, it will make it much easier on you.

Good luck,

[Allo9988]

How to get through an MRI

I get MRIs every year so far. So far, no changes in my head but I want to know that and my doctor will show me everything.

Find an MRI place that has a mirror or window and good headphones - talk to the imaging dept before you have it done so they totally understand or get some valium from your doc first.

I have actually almost fallen asleep during one but I have to concentrate, usually by counting seconds ( weird!) and keeping track of the minutes on my fingers. I also find it quite comforting that I have the button in my hand to push in case the claustrophobia sets in so I can get out quickly. I also hear definite patterns in the clanking of the machine and can sometimes turn that into a musical-type event....

Maybe because I have had 8 MRIs in 3 years that I am getting used to them....EXCEPT for the co-payments!

[Karenkay]

I understand the need for an MRI to diagnose MS, but why after, especially if there has been no changes?

I have MS. I'm not claustrophobic but DH is ... I truly understand the panic you feel in the MRI.

I just had a routine MRI for MS. My MS is stable, no changes. But they did find a tumor. Now I'm going through treatment for that.

[acaverly]

I am not really claustrophobic but still hate being in there for so long. I try to stay still but they always say oh we had some movement during that one,and I swear I don't move.
The worst thing is I always have to go to the bathroom before they are done. One time they actually asked me in the middle if I needed to go so that was nice to get a break in between.

[lstrl]

I'm not claustrophobic, but I have a hard time being in an MRI machine. I could see how that could induce claustrophobia. My last couple of MRIs have been on a different machine though. The opening is larger and not as deep, so my legs weren't enclosed at all, only down to my trunk. Honestly, this helped me out quite a bit because I didn't feel like I was in this tiny enclosed space, and the machines were both new and advanced, so they took the best pictures. My back hurt so badly after my last one though that I could barely move for a couple hours. It was scary and I dread the day my neurologist says I need a repeat.

[justacowgirl]

After 4 Valium the dread seems to fade away.

j

[Thinkimjob]

Intravenous Valium is my friend. I hate MRIs.

It's not so much the claustrophobia - came to terms with that by repeating to myself, "It's a small tube, but it's in a very big room" and "no, you are not trapped down a coal mine" (and having lots of drugs) -it's the whirring, clanking, screeching, buzzing noises.

Also, it's the unhappy association - if I'd never had a MRI, I'd never have known I had MS, which is of course not true.

Now I really hate them, because I think the radiation, or whatever it is, cooks the coils in my brain and that aggravates the MS lesions. I limp in and can barely stagger out.

Though then again, that might be just the Valium...

[journeyman]

Nope

I sleep through them. They keep having to wake me up because I swallow and move when they are doing them. I am usually asleep by the time they roll me in.

They give me ear plugs and ask what kind of music I like. They put on head phones and I just zone out.

Even before they did that I would fall asleep by counting how many different sounds that I could hear. Sorta like counting sheep. I have to tell you that I do not have claustrophobia so that never is a problem. I feels like I am being cuddled with the blanket on.

Maybe these ideas will help. Ask the tech if they have any of the comfort measures. There is no pain involved. Oh they also have "open MRI's for the claustrophobia. You just have to ask who does them. My town is fairly large and there is only one that does that.
Dave Tampa, FL.
"Journeyman"

[04blackcobra]

I have had many MRI's. It used to be no problem but the last one I did panic and needed to come out. I think the biggest problem is the halo thing they put around my head and neck so I don't move. I really can't see how being sedated can help i may accidently move or fall asleep and snore. I will look for an open MRI for my next one

[Tomjadg]

They don't bother me, but I learned not to get them all at once. Wayyy to much time to keep still.

I only get the brain done every three months because of being on Ty, and the PML threat.

Why bother with the rest? It's not like I can do anything else if I have more lesions on my spine.

It is more annoying having to get blood work done before each one to check the liver.

[thelegendlc]

MRI?

After the first MRI to help diagnose MS, seems like waste of time and money. I can't see the benefit of MRI every two years. At that rate, I would have had nine by now and there wouldn't have been any change in meds or treatment.