Booked in for an MRI

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Cherriuz

Cherriuz

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...and bricking it!
This has, however, given me an excuse to order adam lamberts trespassing on us import, so i can listen to it during, however, i dont think i will be able to keep still with it playing.
There must be some of you out there who have had one, how long did it take? Is there much room? is there a lot of noise?! :ponder:
 
Well the MRI isn't that long that you'd get bored. You also can't have anything metal because that interferes with the magnetic imaging.

It can be a bit scary because you're in a long tube (I feel for anyone who needs an MRI that is claustrophobic) but there is a mirror angled so that you can see out & if you stay focused on that you'll be fine.
 
I spoke to my aunt today and apparently it makes whirring noises and loud clicked. Oh great. I bricked myself when I had a ct and thats only a small doughnut thing. And hey, I needed an excuse to order that cd on import otherwise my other half would have said no :P
 
It does say on the leaflet its going to take 40-60 minutes (which is what worried me the most) which is why i ordered it. Im seriously going to freak out if I have to stay in there for an hour mind you.
 
I was lucky in that I had techs who were very good at keeping me calm. Mostly what they did was remind me to focus on the mirror.

Something else they might be able to do that I forgot about is plug in whatever music you want (depending on the hospital, at least here in Canada) so they might be able to play you your book or music.

What made me the most nervous was that I'd been without meds for 2 days as I'd been under observation & I was scared of convulsing in the tube. They asked me if I knew when a seizure was coming on. When I said "yes" they gave me a button to hold for me to click if I felt one coming on. Between that & remembering to focus on the mirror it wasn't too bad.

Something else I did was when I noticed my breathing or heart rate increasing I deliberately breathed deeper & slower. That helped me too.
 
Yeah it says on the leaflet you can bring your own cd, only problem is its not released in the uk in time, so im ordering it be imported. How long did your mri take if you dont mind me asking? I'm planning to put the cd on, closing my eyes, and forgetting about it. But I bet it wont work like that...
 
Mine took over a half hour but I can't really say how long. I have a bad sense of time to start but being in a situation like that when I might have even drifted off a few times really makes it hard for me to tell.

I had no problem just listening to the music once I got used to the sounds & being enclosed. I did after all drift off.
 
I really didn't think it was that bad though I did get a few mild panic attacks at first. Not sure if that was from being overtired, going without meds or if I would have had them anyway.

Either way it's really nothing to stress over.
 
Thank you so much. You make it sound much less terrible than its playing out in my head.
 
Hi Cherriuz,

An MRI is a long tunnel & it can be noisy as there is a lot of clunking noises. You should be given some ear plugs to help minimise the noise & if you are claustraphobic they should be able to get something to help keep you calm.
Usually there is a button which the techs will put you in your hand just before you go into the tunnel so if you do feel uncomfortable or worry you can press the button.

There should be a hole above where your head will be which you can see through & a mirror which reflects to areas around the room. The most important thing is to try to stay still (especially your head) because if you move it affects the pictures.
With some MRIs the techs will play music or put a DVD on (which you can watch through the mirror).

I can't remember the exact time of how long an MRI goes for but I think its approx 35 - 40 mins. Going to sleep while you're in the tunnel is also a good option as it makes the time go quicker.

When is your MRI booked for?
 
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Between 2002 - 2011 I have had 6 MRIs so I am quite used to them & I'm not claustraphobic so have been able to handle the enclosed space. With most of my MRIs I would fall asleep :).
I still remember my 1st MRI in 2002 which was about a month after I started taking seizures again. I could see some of the room through the hole in the tunnel & I kept wondering why some of the ceiling was different colours & there was a picture on the ceiling. It took me about 20 mins to realise I was looking at a mirror reflecting onto the wall :roflmao:. Oh well at less I amused myself :pfft:.

My 1st 2 MRIs which were done in the town I live in both showed scarring on my brain & as we couldn't control the seizures with meds my neuro suggested to think about surgery.

My other 4 MRIs were done at the hospital where I had my surgery as part of the process of the pre surgery & after surgery tests.
- September 2010 - I had a regular MRI which was so the team of specialists (epitiologists, neurologists, neuropsychiatrist, neurosurgeon etc) could see where the scarring was coming from.
- November 2010 - I had a fMRI (functional MRI) which was more detailed then a regular MRIs & more to help with the hospitals research. There was a monitor in the room which I could see through the mirror above my head. I had 2 activities I had to do. The 1st activity was that a letter would pop up on the monitor eg D & I had to think of as many words starting with that letter but had to try to avoid thinking of names, towns & repeating words. I had a couple of minutes to think of as many words before the next letter popped up. The other activity was a word would come up eg Dog & I had to think of a doing word to go with it eg Bark. I wasn't able to speak any of my answers as moving my mouth would have affected the picture but had to think of them in my head. All up the fMRI went for approx 90 mins but I was able to have a break & could've watched a DVD on the monitor in between the activities if I wanted to.
- March 2011 I had an MRI a couple of days before my surgery which was only a short MRI & I think it was to map out the brain to help the neurosurgeon when he removed the scarring.
- June 2011 I had my last MRI which was a regular MRI to make sure everything was OK since the surgery.
 
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i had an MRI yesterday. it lasted about 20 minutes. i had to remove my belt, bra and leave money and mobile out of the room. i had about 7 scans in total varying in length of between 20 seconds and 4 mins. each made a differnt banging noise. the tech kept me informed of the end and start of each scan and how long each would be. after the MRI i went out for the day and had a great time so basically dont let it scare u. you dont get the results straight either. hope this puts your mind at rest. im from the uk too btw
 
Call me crazy but I have convinced myself that the noise is relaxing. I freaked with my first and came with a different attitude the following four times! Nothing hurts but if you need to be injected with Conray well then that it is with needle in the arm. Just relax. Your head and shoulders and kinda to the waste are in the tube but not the legs so much. It's not horrible, just re,ind yourself that. I did not really like the mirrors and chose to close my eyes. This was better for me. They provided music but mixed with the MRI noise I found it annoying. Not to mention I asked for 80 & 90's music and I got Barry manelo last time ugh! Good luck
 
Thanks all, its booked for june 20th. at euhm 9:45 am, at the hospital just down the road for me, that means no going to the side of town :D
I'm trying my best not to freak out about it, the idea of being in that tunnel with them noises, eurgh, it freaks me out. *shudders*
I'm sure I will be fine once we get going.
I'm a bit confused by the leaflet "if you have epilepsy please ring before hand otherwise you will have a wasted trip - we will ask you a series of questions before we do the mri"
Well, I have not been diagnosed yet, but its more than likely. And i really cant be bothered with getting my head set and ready to go only to be turned away, so im not really sure about that one, anyone have any idea why that leaflet says that? My doc should have had the letter from my neurologist by now saying what they think and what they are doing so i might mention it to her and save myself a possible wasted trip.
 
Ring the department before you go to tell them, or you will have a wasted trip. I assume they are going to ask why I'm having a head MRI in this 15mins of questions before they scan you.
 
MRI's aren't too bad, i felt a bit closed in to begin with, but once i was actually in the machine it wasn't too bad. I don't recall a mirror or anything though, i just saw the inside of the machine haha. It took about 45 minutes.

I wore jogging bottoms, a t shirt and a sports bra so there was no metal and i didnt have to get changed :)
 
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