MRI Appointment: Wish me Luck!

Hi everyone,
I get my MRI Friday at 11:20, wish me luck, I am hoping this will put an end to all my anxious moments. He doesn't think I need a spine one just head, so hopefully it will be good enough. I think I am getting some Valium to get through it - I hate confined places
Amy

Hi Amy,
I too had just the head done on my MRI. It took probably 45 minutes in the tube. It is pretty confining, but not too bad. I just kept breathing easy and telling myself that 'of course' I wasn't stuck by any means. Just FYI: they do put a strange mask type thing over your head, to help keep your head still I think. That was interesting---but just be prepared. Also, be prepared for lots of obnoxiously loud beeps.

You'll get through it just fine. Looking back, I think it was a piece of cake---given that there's no pain whatsoever.

Amy

Amy (Blondie) - Again, wishing you good luck (even though you will be fine). Can't wait to hear your good news.

Amy - Good advice

Ginny

Good luck Amy, I'm sure you will be fine. I've had four MRIs (one with Spectroscopy that took 2.5 hours), and it's a piece of cake. I am a little claustrophibic as well, but just close your eyes and think of good things

Thanks everyone - do they have to put your whole body in the tube??? I really hate the tube, I have had an MRI once but I wasn't awake for it.

I would suggest an open mri. I was freaking out before the test, scared to death, but once it started I was completely relaxed even though my headphones to drown out the banging sounds were broken. I just imagined that the sounds were someone jackhammering a sidewalk and it made it less scary. Keep your eyes closed too and try to envision yourself in a different setting.

The body part to be imaged has to be in the isocenter of the magnet; that is to say, it has to be right smack in the middle of the tube. The tube is usually 6-8 feet long. They put me in head first. They will put an RF coil over the body part to be imaged, ie, on your head. It is cut away so you can still see with it on (it's kinda like a hockey face mask but it doesn't touch you). My neuro would not let me do open MRI: the magnets in those are far less powerful, and my neuro said they are not good enough to image MS lesions very well, so he made me "surf the tube". Don't worry, you'll be fine. Closing my eyes really helped for me...they usually have air circulating inside the tube, so it seems more open than it is when you close your eyes.