hospital appointment on a saturday

aliasojo

Thanks avogadro.

I had a bit of a panic I'm afraid. Not because of the machine or the head thing as such, it was really because of my breathing.

I tend to want to take deep breaths when I get anxious and when I lay on the table thingy and the plastic head cage was put over me, I wasn't prepared for it to go over my chest area too. I've got big boobs and when I took a deep breath, I felt my chest press against the cage. It wasn't tight or anything, I just felt it touching me a bit, but that was all it took for me to panic. I had to get it off me quick.

The radiographer (?) was brilliant and so very patient. She said she had an alternative head coil that was shorter (so wouldn't come as far down my chest) she could use and that I could come back another day to try again for the full head/neck scan but I didn't want to have to go through all that again tbh.

(Incidentally, when people had mentioned a 'cage' I was expecting a square open mesh type affair. I wasn't prepared for the big plastic thing with solid bars. Perhaps google images to see what to expect if you are unsure? However that said, I couldn't see the thing I had over me anywhere on the net. Maybe it was out of the Ark, lol.)

Anyway, she chatted away and gave me some time to feel better before we tried again. She left out the padding that went between my ears and the cage which helped a little and this time I shut my eyes as soon as I lay down and tried to concentrate on just breathing normally and calmly (no really deep breaths). I didn't open my eyes again at all until I was out finally. Even when she pulled me out of the machine to inject me halfway through, my eyes were still tight shut. She was chatting to me and asking if I was ok but I couldn't talk as I was concentrating so hard on regulating my breathing and all I could say was 'I can't talk'. :rotfl: She was great though and understood I wasn't being rude.

The machine was noisy but that was absolutely no big deal imo. It makes different sounds depending on what it's doing. You get the choice of earplugs or headphones. I chose earplugs as I didn't think I'd have heard the music over the noise anyway.

It looks really narrow. I'd expected it to be small but was still surprised. I honestly wondered if I'd fit in, but I did (and I'm quite overweight). I had to keep my arms in whilst the table moved in then just relaxed them against the insides of the machine thereafter.

The actual scanning part of the machine is pretty much in the middle, so my head and upper body was inside and my legs were outside. You get a wedge shaped cushion to put under your knees to help take any strain off your back.

There was also a fan inside the machine that directed air to my face, the radiographer turned it up for me so I could pretend I was breathing calmly on a windy beach.

The scans are done in sections, it's not one big long scan. Each of mine lasted around 3 and a half minutes. It's these times that you must stay really still.

I have to say, it did actually pass very quickly, I honestly didn't feel as if I was in there for 40 minutes, it felt more like 15.

All in all, if it hadn't have been for my breathing issues, it would have been fine, it was just my own silly psychological issues that caused problems for me.

I've since googled and read that practically everyone shuts their eyes as soon as they lie down (before the cage is put over them). it seems to be a common coping strategy.

Good luck with yours. If you want to ask anything, feel free.

custardy

is this what you had?



mine was more of a grid affair

aliasojo

No, nothing like that custardy. It was kinda 'Mummy' head shaped and was quite long so it extended over my chest.

I'd have been a lot happier if it was like the one in that pic as that one is quite open.

custardy

aliasojo wrote: »

No, nothing like that custardy. It was kinda 'Mummy' head shaped and was quite long so it extended over my chest.

I'd have been a lot happier if it was like the one in that pic as that one is quite open.

yeah mine was like that but not onto the chest.
My shoulder one had a sort of chest weight/blanket type of thing

jenniewb

If it's any help...

I had an MRI where my head went in first about a year ago (they were scanning my lower back and this was the easiest/best way for them to capture the area). I wasn't aware I'd be going head first until I was told to lie down with my head towards the machine! Having had an MRI on my lower leg the year before (fracture which wasn't clear on the X-Ray) I had no time to think about it and felt mega-panic! I nearly left the room.

I told the nurse I was worried about confined spaces and also knew the machine would make that banging noise which would be hard to ignore. It helped to tell the nurse- she gave me headphones with music to listen to and reminded me about the microphone where I could say "stop!" at any point and end the scan.

I was also able to see the machine was open-ended. Meaning as much as it was an enclosed space, if they'd continued to wheel me into the machine I'd have come out the other side. That helped me feel less trapped in and easier about the whole thing.

Throughout the scan the nurse used the microphone to check on me, asking me if I was OK and giving a rough estimate for how far we had to go or if we were nearly done. I think she did this because I let her know I was worried about the machine.

Only issue I had was when the CD skipped and I had to listen to Jamie Cullum sing 2 minutes on repeat before I told the nurse who skipped the track! Wish I'd been able to use my own music but for reasons of contamination I was not able to give them any of my stuff, couldn't use any sort of electronic device inside the scan or it'd be wiped completely.

xNinax

avogadro wrote: »

Mine is MRI. So the open style ones are CT? Thankyou, I didn't know that.

ETA custardy did you have a dye injected? (sometimes they inject the patient with a dye so that they can see the images better) I didn't have one last time, but some other patients who were waiting with me did. I was wondering if it has any side-effects

I have regular MRI scans because of a neurological condition. I had dye injected during one of them recently and had no side effects. I believe the 2 doctors, a nurse and the radiographer may have had side effects from the 3/4 of an hour which it took to find a viable vein to inject into. :rotfl: I was lying there with a particularly nauseating Westlife track blasting my eardrums, my eyes were shut as the head cage and pad things were still in place and they are asking questions which I couldn't hear properly and I guess I was whispering even though I thought I was talking loudly when asking them to turn the music off. It took the best part of 90 minutes to do what should have taken around 20.

System

xNinax wrote: »

I was lying there with a particularly nauseating Westlife track blasting my eardrums

Oh dear, not sure I'd cope with being subjected to a westlife cd :rotfl:I had in mind bringing in a cd of some nice chill-out style music but it wouldn't drown out the banging sound of the MRI scanner, and also whenever I listened to that cd in future it'd remind me of the MRI scan, so perhaps it's better that they don't allow you to bring your own.

Thankyou all so much for sharing your experiences. I don't know why I've got the collywobbles about the possibility of having a dye injected. (I don't have a fear of needles or injections usually) I just fear the unknown, I think, and always wonder with meds if there are going to be any side-effects.

Oh well. fingers crossed the staff will be helpful when I go. I wonder what sort of grid or cage they're going to put on me. Everyone on here seems to have had something different!

Errata

Thankyou all so much for sharing your experiences. I don't know why I've got the collywobbles about the possibility of having a dye injected. (I don't have a fear of needles or injections usually) I just fear the unknown, I think, and always wonder with meds if there are going to be any side-effects.

I have regular scans with dye and it goes in via a cannula. Staff should tell you of any possible side effects, if they don't - ask before they start! The only side effect I experience is for the minute or so the dye is moving around, my hands and hip area feels momentarily warmed up - not uncomfortable, just a bit odd. I have no idea what the makeup of the dye is. HTH

System

This has been such a good thread for people sharing information about MRIs and what to expect. Today I had the scan done and it all went ok

It was good advice about closing your eyes before you go into the tunnel. When I opened my eyes at the end I noticed the tunnel I was in was rather small, I can see why people would feel a bit hemmed in. I think it might vary, though, as I don't remember the last machine being quite that narrow.

There were two cages or grids, one for my head and the other was the one that goes onto your chest.

No dye, fortunately. I did have to wear a hospital gown and I got a bit chilly, but I tend to feel the cold easily.

The machine was very noisy, and the little foam ear plugs didn't seem to block out very much of the noise, but it wasn't too bad. It was actually quite interesting hearing all the different sounds the machine was making and wondering what it was doing at each stage. I doubt if I'll get to see the images but the nurse said to me that MRIs are amazing in the level of detail they give.

Tiggger

avogadro wrote: »

I doubt if I'll get to see the images but the nurse said to me that MRIs are amazing in the level of detail they give.

I had a MRI scan done on my back in 2003 and was given my images to keep by my consultant. I still have them. My scan was done privately, paid for by BUPA.

I think the difference now is that the scans are all transmitted digitally, so you don't physically get to handle the scan pics in the same way.


Good luck with your results.

Tiggger