Ever had an MRI?

You lie still on a table that moves within a tube. What you hear is low pitched noise. How long you have to stay depends on the area of the body that is being studied. Ball park, I would say 20-30 minutes. There is absolutely no discomfort, except for the fact that you have to hold still.




I have had a number of MRIs, with absolutely no problems. Any anxiety that you may be feeling may be more about the results of the test, than the actual test. I certainly can understand that.
Good luck, and let us know how things turn out!

Actually, that sounds like a couple of relationships I've had.

...but seriously Phoenix, thank you. Have you had one?

George- You probably did not read my edited message. I have had a number of them. In fact, at one time I was getting full body CAT scans. I got a bug in my ear that I was getting too much radiation, and insisted that the tests be done by MRI instead. (This was when MRIs were relatively new). So I had four of them, one day after the other. The worst part of the test was driving through traffic to get to the MRI place!

I've had one, George. I'm claustrophobic so I had them give me a valium beforehand. It helped a lot. If you look down toward your feet you can see light, so that helped as well. The only problm i had is that you have to hold still for so long. I got a tickle in my throught and ruined a couple of shots. We had to take a break and they pulled me out for a drink (of water, dammit! )

Don't worry too much, there is no pain involved.

George, it's normal that you are nervous. I mean, not far ago I had to check suspicious mole and I was totally nervous. Although it was just regular procedure since my dermatologist was sure it's nothing at my first visit. But they do appoint you after 3 months just in case. And when those 3 months were closer I was all on needles. We are often nervous when it comes to our health.
But I am sure you'll be fine when procedure starts

I've gone through several. There are places where you can get an open MRI, have you looked into that?

You may find this interesting:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/mri.htm

My bad. I stopped reading when I got to the picture.

Yes. To see if I had internal bleeding.

Another possibility. If your doctor has ordered "contrast", you may be given an injection or IV. The contrast medium goes through your bloodstream, and renders the various structures more visible.

You'll probably be given mild sedation to ease your anxiety. Don't worry, things will be OK!

I've had one on my shoulder. They talk to you and tell you what they're doing (or my tech did). She'd say, "ok, now be very still for x number of seconds". I have only mild anxiety about closed spaces and just steeled myself for it. It was interesting. And, I've recently read something about MRIs easing depression as a side-effect.

I had one about two years ago after having lower back problems. The machine I used was the "open" type. Everything was fine until the nurse told me not to move - after she said this I had itches desperately needing to be scratched but couldn't do a thing about it.

Well, I know mine's going to be closed, but that doesn't really bother me. To tell you the truth, I don't why I'm nervous about this. Maybe I'm just worried about what they'll find.

Thanks all, for the support and encouragement!

George- Take one step at a time. Having "been there, done that", I certainly know what you are going through. Let's look at the situation another way. It is certainly better to know, and to be able to act, if there is a problem. Sticking one's head in the sand won't make a problem go away. But, if there is no problem, or an inconsequential one, it is a complete waste of emotional effort to worry about it!

(This little bit of wisdom took me a LONG time to absorb. My point in mentioning it, is to hopefully help you to deal with the anxiety!)

I had a stroke a little over a month ago. I had 4 mri's and a mra. All in 12 hrs.
The tube is small, and loud. You will get ear plugs put in by the tech and they lay you on your back with your head propped up and a brace just above your nose so you cant move your head too much. If you lay on your back perfectly straight, where your hands will fall to the side is about how big the tube is.
You go into the tube up to your pelvic bone if it is a head scan, if it is a full body, you are in completely. The tube ' wall' if you will, is about 6 inches from your body all the way around and wether or not you are scared of small spaces it truly can be unnerving.
They last about 45 minutes. Maybe longer depending on what your doctor has ordered. If you are getting one with a dye , you will be injected with a die that makes your vessels open up and you will feel a very warm sensation in your body, and you will feel like you wet yourself. It is a wierd feeling .. hehe.
Anyhow, you can request something to help you relax. You wont be 'drugged' beyond belief.. just relaxed. It does help so dont be afraid to ask.
but that is it in a nut shell. Oh... and the tube is very cold. they keep air running through it all the time , you might want to consider wearing jeans or some kind of long pants.You cant move when you are in the tube or they will have to start over again so comfort is necessary.
good luck. :-)

George, my husband had one. Absolutely no problem. I had a CAT scan. No problem there either.

Now let's see if I can't keep my record on resident witch predictions:

You will be fine!