| MRI -- Are you experienced? I am. In hopes of making this a one stop site with helpful suggestions regarding your first head or neck MRI I'm sharing mine. One brilliant thing, is that there are so many sites out there that have the TLA (three letter acronym) MRI in them, that it's pretty exciting to be able to research things that have historically been secret. OTOH, to find the few really helpful sites, it took a lot of time and stress and frustration which added to the MRI Experience. I'm hoping this entry helps you avoid same. MRI is the TLA for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Every site agrees that the actual process is painless, but they caution that it can be "uncomfortable". What they are referring to is generally not keeping still for a period of time on a metal table, but the experience of being in a very small space that makes loud and strange noises -- emphasis on LOUDNESS. I googled far and wide for a clip of the mysterious sound to help prepare myself, and finally found this URL which does have one clip. The loudness via your computer can not do it justice, nor is this the only sound your MRI machine will make. For two of my imagings, the noises, thumping, and ratatatating actually vibrated the cylinder I was in! But this link give you a decent sampling taking some of the "unknown" element away. I also fired off an email off to my co-cure moderators dear friends /family /soulmates. Of course they came through with helpful information. I learned that the headphones they will offer (WGH allowed me to bring my own CD, more about that later) will NOT block out the audio of the MRI. They also told me to not be shy about asking my Tech to "crank it up" in my headphones -- good hint. As they also suffer from a plethora of chronic illness that deal with pain and fatique, they mentioned it would be stressful and painful being still in a single position for that length of time. They all encouraged me to make sure my MD prescribes some good Rx to minimize pain and anxiety. Xanax seems to be the drug of choice. My physician didn't have anything specific for me to use, just suggested I manage my current truckload of meds myself to get to a place of comfort. 20/20 hindsight, I wish I pressed Dr Waite more for help in this, but what I ended up doing is starting the night before adding low mg of Rx and taking my last PRN pill about 30 minutes before the testing, which helped, but was not perfect. FWIW, none of my Rx include Xanax. I spoke to my therapist, and she was wonderfully supportive. She mentioned that there was a hospital in Western Washington that does have an "open" MRI, but since I wanted to get it over with, I opted to try this first, and cry uncle if I couldn't do it, and ask for it later (FYI, I asked my Tech, and he told me that it was located in Everett). I also learned that Marilyn also had an MRI, and her honesty about the experience was pure love and allowed me to be afraid, but knowing that despite same, one can survive the experience. My thoughts turned to Marilyn often when I felt shakey during the session. I also phoned the hospital yesterday to talk to the MRI folk and try to get their information about the process and what to expect. Knowledge is power for me this time because anxiety and fear of the unkown exacerbated my claustrophobia and anxiety. The tech, Gregg, was very kind. He didn't have much time to give, he was with a patient, but he said, if things got really bad, if I signalled him, he could pull me out between images. Although I know I probably wouldn't do it, or be encouraged, he gave me an option that gave me the feeling of some control. The idea that there would be a fan generating breeze sounded right for me, since I even have to keep windows open, or at least ajar in my house to alleviate that claustrophobic feeling. To give y'all a break from my ramblings for a bit, here's another link that I found so very helpful and comforting while I was searching -- it added the personal touch, and a real experience...a letter by Nancy Conn-Levin; "Coping with the MRI Experience". Back to the future, August 27th 2004. Regarding the option of having someone in the room with you to help ground you, as Nancy mentioned in the above paper, I learned that if you want to accomplish this (Gordy was discouraged from doing it because he didn't have paperwork et al ready) you should make sure that the papers and questionaires that you have filled prior to the MRI, is also filled out by your "helper". S/he should also make sure s/he is wearing the appropriate clothing (i.e. no metal, watches, or zippers et al) which might tip the scales allowing them to be a part of the process and be in the room with you, touching your leg(s) and grounding you. Now, about what to listen to. For me, I found the perfect CD. You know we're involved with TestingTesting and Live at SoundTrap, so I had access to as yet edited CD of a Live Performance (yet intimate) I attended, and could therefore bring myself back to that time and place. Even when I was healthy, and interested in New Age-ish types of things, I could never manage to get to, nor find, that "special place" people talk about. Nor could meditate and find a "zen moment". So, because this was an actual memory and place -- it allowed me to "ground" myself or find a "special place". It was a real time, and the music was pleasantly distracting, and the chatter made it familiar and friendly. If you have a CD of a concert you saw live, which has a mix of mostly music, with some chatter, and, like me, you are not able to utilize guided imagery, self-hypnosis or meditation, I recommend you use the live CD trick I lucked out with. Greg let me bring my "cheshire cat toy" and keep it on my belly to help ground be, and since my mind races, I needed wood nearby to "knock on" -- a "Monk"-like OCD /superstition of mine which I could hold to "knock on". He didn't even make me feel foolish with these requests. Gregg also let me have a sheet under my lumbar, and per Marilyn's suggestion, a wash cloth over my eyes. All systems go. I highly recommend that if you are claustrophobic, then lie down, close your eyes, put the washcloth on, and let your Tech put the headphones on you. Gregg assured me that he would be monitoring me. He did, and he could talk to me through the headphones. He was very conscious of what was going on. He even saw when I had a "bad moment" one time, and took time, without telling me, to wait until I could relax, ok, BREATHE again . I would like to share with you, that you should work very hard to NOT move your hands, unfortunately, I did. I barely moved, and I touched the top of the cylinder. Dang! Very unsettling. That was a very defining moment for me, to avoid all the negative feelings and thoughts I had that scared me to pieces about small spaces. The fan wasn't enough, I was hot, I had to find my breath. Slowly in and out, finally I worked on, and managed to calm down enough to hear and finally listen to the audio tape and "escape" and traverse time and space from inside a casket..er MRI cylinder to the concert yet again. Not soon enough, yet not not as badly as it could have been, I felt a gentle touch on my foot, and next the table I was on, slid out from the cylinder. Gregg gently spoke to me, and helped me get up "slowly", he coached as he grabbed my hands, and he actually congratulated me, and told me "good job", and escorted me back to where my jacket was. He showed me to Gordy, and soon we left, glad to be on my way, and through with the MRI for today. Like Marilyn, I made it through to the other side. I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you. Kind regards,
..Zoe, conqueror of MRI du jour
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