I’ve had several MRI’s for herniated discs and nerve damage in my neck, and actually find them pretty relaxing despite the noise. I have had them all done at the same place and they have music piped into the unit itself, so no headphones. They put a pillow under my knees and pads around my head and neck for stabilization, slide me into the cave, and five minutes later I’m drifting. Not completely asleep, but in a very restful quasi-sleep state.
I have never had any claustrophobia issues in an MRI or elsewhere, but my eyes are usually closed anyway so I’m not even aware of it until they slide me out.
I took part in an MRI study that was investigating the affect of reduced oxygen to the brain. My head was immobilized and I had music pumped in to the headphones. The hard part about the scan was that I had a mask taped to my face that was being fed “medical air” and every couple minutes or so it was given varying amounts of CO2… So I would feel out of breath but there wasn’t more air available to breathe. At first it was stressful but eventually I was fighting sleep (I wasn’t allowed to fall asleep because it was a functional MRI scan).
All in all, it was an interesting way to make $100 and I got a scan of my brain out of it which is currently posted on the fridge beside my girlfriend’s (who took part in the same study).
I’ve had two MRIs. One long ago in Albuquerque in a medical experiment I volunteered for; I was in the control group. Still got paid for it, though. The other was here in Bangkok late last year for my shoulder. In that second one, I had music, too.
I’ve had several MRIs in the past few months as part of diagnosing my multiple sclerosis. The really powerful one is a lot louder than other ones I’ve been in, but they did have the headphones and my choice of a musical genre. I always pick classic rock, and I usually fall asleep. I’m not claustrophobic, but the brain scans require them to cinch a velcro strap across my forehead and then put the big head immobilizer over me. It’s not so pleasant being locked in lace like that. One MRI session lasted about 2-1/2 hours because they had to do my brain and thoracic spine, with and without contrast. At the end of that ordeal, I was quite frazzled and it took me about an hour to calm down afterwards. Next time, I think I’ll accept the drugs they keep offering me.
Ivylad had to pick up my mammogram films and my MRI for my next doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. They very thoughtfully put them on computer DVD’s.
Hmmmm…we thought…I wonder if we could see them? Probably don’t have the right software, but let’s pop that puppy in and see what comes up.
Took about 5 minutes to download 1500 images, and although I have no idea what I’m looking at, the realization that I am ahem a bit lopsided, size-wise, was somewhat embarrassing. Ivylad says he doesn’t mind, but still…
In any event, we saw the films, scrolled through the different images, and saw the insides of the ladies!
No, wait, I’ve had *three * MRIs. I forgot the one in 2001, which preceded and confirmed the need for the removal of one of my salivary glands. Some sort of growth in it that caused a big swelling under my jaw, but the lab results showed it to be benign.
It was only last year’s, though, that featured music. I didn’t get to select, but it was okay.
Really? I have MS too and have had many brain scans and they never had to use a velcro strap on me. Maybe your just not good at staying still.
I’m not claustrophobic either, but during one I did get a bit panicky. No idea why, but I was able to “talk myself down”. I was a little worried that it might come back during my next one, but had I no problems.
Exactly my problem with the machine. I was afraid I would panic if I opened my eyes, because my arms were pinned by the sides of the machine, and I figured my nose was almost touching…but I opened them as they were pulling me out, and there was quite a bit of clearance. I still would have panicked, though. And the banging just would not form a pattern I could relax into…totally inconsistent.
They wouldn’t have known either way since they strapped me down on my first visit. I think they do it to everyone just to be sure they get a good result. It’s a very powerful, sensitive machine, and their schedule is pretty packed every day, so they want to get it right the first time. I had a brain MRI at a different place and they didn’t use a strap, just the big snap-down collar thing.
