I went in for a brain MRI. I do have claustrophobia, but no big deal. I took 1 MG of Lorazepam an hour before the procedure, and I've had an MRI done before with minimum issue.

With my mask on, I'm on the MRI table feeling fine though a little warm because of the mask. The technician puts a device over my head that I can best describe as the interior of a football helmet. This is not good. He then inserts wedges into the device to prevent me from moving my head. I go from uneasy to panic mode.

I take another MG of Lorazepam, and we wait ten minutes for the second pill to kick in. We try again. Still no go. We wait an additional five minutes, the give the second pill more time to kick in. We try again. The state of panic is only getting worse. There is no way for me to hold still in my condition. The technician tries something different. Though, against protocol, the technician tells to remove my mask. We try it without the mask. By this time, I'm in such a state of panic that my stomach is bothering me. Afraid that I would vomit, the technician cancels the test.

That was an hour and a half ago. After 2 MG of Lorazepam, time, and listening to "Canon in D" on an infinite loop, I'm starting to feel normal.

If my primary care physician believes a brain MRI is imperative, I'll have to do it in a hospital where I will be sedated.

Jeanette Isabelle

Yikes! Very scary! I hope you're feeling better again now.

Have you tried meditation? Before I retired, my department at Univ of Penn Medical Center had a Penn psychiatrist come in and give meditation classes to the employees. It seemed to work.

Can't hurt.

Has meditation specifically worked for claustrophobia?

Jeanette Isabelle

Jeanette has tried many different approaches and consulted many wellness experts, I'm sure. At this point, she needs our empathy and understanding. She doesn't need more suggestions from us, because we just don't know enough about her medical history to make useful recommendations.

+1. I hope Jeanette seeks and receives good advise and counsel

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience, Jeanette. Is there an imaging place that has an "open MRI" available? As someone who has to get his pituitary gland examined every 5 years, I don't think I could do it anymore without an open MRI.
https://mifimaging.com/2018/05/16/5-reasons-you-might-want-to-request-an-open-mri-machine/

Best wishes!
-Blast

You always have friends here Jeanette.
qjs

I needed an MRI of my shoulder less than two years ago, and everything went smoothly after taking 1 MG of Lorazepam.

As I mentioned, I was having a problem before going into the machine. The problem was the combination of the device that reminds me of a football helmet and the wedges that prevent me from moving my head.

Jeanette Isabelle

Something that crossed my mind yesterday as I started this thread is what if I'm in a survival situation where I have to slither through a cave? I hate to even think about it while comfortably sitting at my desk.

Jeanette Isabelle

In other news, I got back from minor surgery. The dermatologist removed a cist from my back. The worst part was being uncomfortable. I'm not comfortable lying on my stomach.

I'll be in stitches for the next two weeks and, since it is on my back, I will need Mom's help in changing the 4" x 4" dressings once a day. I have plenty of 4" x 4" dressings.

Jeanette Isabelle

I hope you heal up soon, Jeanette_Isabelle!

I wish you the best, and hope you get better

I don't know if it is proper to mention this confession but I am also claustrophobic. And one of the SHTF scenarios that scares me is to be thought to be dead and be buried, then I would wake up, alone, and underground. Yikes. To make it worse, I saw a TV show last month where the guy suggests to his friends that this can happen, and that they should write in their wills to put their cell phones with them whenever they were buried. LOL+Yikes.

Sorry if this annoys anyone.

On the serious side Jeanette, life routinely throws hardships at us, and our ability to face those hardships make us who we are. We should be survivors, and we should always be strong or even act like we are strong.

All the best for you and yours

I can go in a cave if it is big enough that I can walk up straight, if it begin to involve slithering then no thank, ma´m. I´m walking out. I do not want to be in such tight places.

Before the existence of modern medicine, that has happened. Centuries ago, after opening a casket that was once buried, people would find scratch marks on the inside of the lid. People (believed to be dead) desperately scratched and clawed at the inside of their casket, trying to get out.

Edgar Alen Poe wrote about such subjects because that was a common fear at that time.

Jeanette Isabelle

If my memory don´t fail me then Alfred Nobel had the same fear and wrote in his testament that his wrists would have to be cut (after his death) to ensure he is not alive.

I went to my doctor's appointment that was originally intended for going over MRI results. Instead, we talked about alternatives.

I'm scheduled for a C T scan next Monday.

Jeanette Isabelle

Good luck, Jeanette_Isabelle! I hope it goes well for you.

No need to type the underscore. It's Jeanette Isabelle.

There is a cave in southern Arizona with a small, man hole like entrance, leading to a relatively small passage. Eventually you come to a squeeze known as the 'selector".

Once (and if) you pop through that, a tiny opening appears in the sidewall. Go through that and you are in wide, spacious walking passage that continues until you reach a pool which feeds a spring in the canyon beyond.

Wind Cave and Jewel Cave in South Dakota are other examples of extensive caves originally reached through very small, squeeze type entrances.

Caving is a great pastime, especially if you are relatively thin, agile, and hyper flexible.....