My first MRI is coming up

What with my headaches being everyday and all, my neurologist has decided I need an MRI. This means I:

(1) take off all my clothes <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
(2) put on a paper dress <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
(3) remove all metal, including glasses, wedding band, and watch (unlike the airports, the MRI people REALLY mean it) <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
(4) get radioactive dye injected into my head <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
(5) have myself slid into a giant metal tube for god knows how long <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
(6) am utterly and completely helpless all the while <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I'm looking for the upside here, but I don't see one. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

1. MRI´s are expensive , YOU`RE WORTH IT.
2. You are not the first person to have one
3. Hopefully Your first MRI will be your last
4. 1 Hour could save you from ????? Headaches
Remember: YOU ARE A SURVIVOR !

DAM

When in college, I had to do a CAT Scan for a sinus problem. Was in the tube for almost 2 hours while the mapped out my sinuses so they could determine how to "fix" me. I had to lay on my stomache, with my arms at my side and my head pushed back as far as it would go. This was back when the machines were very small and cramped. The machines now are much larger, and often of the "open" type. Plus, the MRI often yeilds much better results than the CT scan. Good luck, you will get through this with no problems.

Craig, I work at an MRI center ( we also do Cat Scans and X-rays etc.) Since MRI is really just a big magnent they do want all metal removed (gold and silver jewlrey is OK as long as it's not over the area to be imaged) Most places don't give you a gown, just wear some sweats with no metal on them. MRI's can get cold, so sweats are preferable. The contrast, or dye is NOT radioactive at all. There is no radiation whatsoever with MRI. The dye used is GADOLINIUM, very safe and reactions are rare (our MRI Tech has seen 2 or 3 in 15+ years). The Gad serves to highlight blood vessels and gives a much better scan (more info). Depending on exactly what studies your Doc wants, plan on at least an hour. MRI is noisy, so you will get ear plugs, if it's not your head you may be able to listen to music. Call the MRI place and ask to speak with one of the Techs about your exam and they can help you out. If you are really apprehensive about it, get someone to drive you and ask you Doc for a little something to sedate you. If you can't hold very still for entire exam, the study won't be as good and your stay will be longer if they have to repeat anything. Hope this helps, PM me if you need any more info, be happy to talk on the phone.

At this point CT is much faster than it used to be. It takes about as long to type in the Patient's info as it does to do a sinus scan. Many people are dissapointed when it takes so little time and complain that it's a lot of money for such a short nothing exam .Since fluid (or yuck) in the sinus is heavier than air it will sink and layer out on the scans, that's why you have to lay face down with your head back.Same reason why sinus and chest xrays are done sitting or standing up. Ct scans are always faster than MRI because they scan things 1 or 2 times. MRI does many different "series" of scans to "see" things differently. In general CT is better for bones and anything in the chest, abdomen or pelvis. MRI is better for brains, soft tissue back & neck injuries and joint injuries.

Craig, I'm sending along my best wishes toward to the outcome of your MRI. I hope that both the experience and the results will prove to be just an interesting experience...and nothing more.

We all hear stories about going through the MRI that are all slightly negative, and I'd like to ask X-Ray Dave several more questions:

When the person is in the "tube," just how tight is it in there? Are you fairly closed in, or is there a fairly good feeling of open space around you?

Also, are both ends of the "tube" open and not sealed off in any way?
(Getting in there and NOT losing my mind and making a terrible scene would be of great importance to my personal dignity.) <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I know that no metal objects are allowed around the MRI, but what happens when the patient has metal within their body? This would be pins or rods in bones, and even metal fillings in teeth.

Craig,

My son had an MRI when he was 6, also due to constant headaches. It was an "open" MRI, and I was allowed to be in the room while he was scanned. He actually fell asleep during the scan! The result: the headaches were due to stress. At 6 years old. Due mostly to his teacher and schoolwork. Hooray for modern education. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> The neurologist wanted to put him on beta blockers, but we said no way. He still occasionally gets headaches, maybe once a month or so. He manages his stress by playing sports and pummeling his little brother. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Good luck, I'm sure you'll do fine.

Thanks for the replies, all.

Since this is about my Chronic Daily Headaches, it involves my head. My only real concern is, I'm kind of fidgety. I'll have to ask for a valium or something.

Having to remove my glasses is okay, I guess, especially if the MRI chamber is a close fit. If a wall is smack dab in front of me, well, I'm not claustrophobic, but I dislike that 'hemmed in' feeling.

Good points, everyone. I'll have to look at my sweats to see if I have any without metal eyelets.

Good questions! Mri tube diameter varies, I think that the largest is 26 inches. Both ends are open and on some tubes the ends are "flared" to give better visability. The bigger you are, the tighter the fit. The body part of interest needs to be in the center of the tube. So if you are tall and it's your knee, your head will be outside. Most places have mirrored glassses so you can see out. Provided that it's not your head or neck that's getting scanned. Some places have music available. Metal in the body, as long as it's in bone or teeth is OK. Stuff like metal fragments in the eye are a BIG no-no. The magnent is strong enough to remove them. The other biggies are, heart pacemaker, brain clips and inner ear prothesis. Coins left in the pocket can heat up and leave a red mark. Watches, cell phones, pagers etc don't do very well either. A word about "open" MRI. An open MRI is 2 slabs with the patient in between them. If you can turn your head, you can see out. Great! but if it's a head or neck MRI you get to look straight up at the slab in front of you. So "open" can be a little missleading, also quality of the scan is normally not as good as with the tube. The newest open MRI allows you to sit or stand and see out, even watch tv or a movie(provided you stay still) There are a LOT of claustraphobic people and we can give them some oral valium for relaxation as long as they bring a driver. The valium works for people that are just nervous as well. I should mention that in order to shield the magnent there are no windows, and that patient can hear and talk to the Tech during the exam. Any time any one has a CT scan, MRI or injection in x-ray it's a good idea to call and ask questions. Most MD's do a poor job explaining the procedure. They may have ordered 100's of the test, but they may never have actually seen one. I'm at work, so I'm being brief.

Dave

For years, I had migraines. Sometimes they would last two weeks straight--day and night. Then a friend mentioned that certain foods prompt headaches. In particular, this friend mentioned that chocolate is a very common cause of headaches.

During that period, I would get the munchies at work everyday around mid afternoon and head for the candy machine and buy a chocolate bar. This just fed the migraine on a daily basis.

By all means, get the MRI. But check out your diet also. Some web article I found once said that there are two groups of foods that cause headaches. The two food groupings are based on the presence of one or another chemical that causes the headache.

Well, this is my head, so I guess I'll be staring at a metal plate. Or, since I won't have my glasses, I won't be staring at much of anything at all. I'm extremely nearsighted.

Others have brought this up with me. I try not to eat too much ot anything, including chocolate. And I LOVE chocolate.

My girlfreind recently had an MRI as part of an ongoing oncology series. She is not doing Chemo any more, but they want to make sure. She found that the stuff they gave her made her want to pee A LOT! It also made her taste things slightly differently, like metalic, for about three days afterwards.

Just make sure you have voided beforehand!

I hope that this does not stress you too mauch, leading to more headaches. Good luck!

Rena

Been there, done that.
Upside: WAY cool pictures of your head and (possibly) and explanation of your condition.
Noisy machines, though.

This may sound strange to some, but it is this way with me.

I have worked underneath cars solidly sitting on jackstands with my nose almost rubbing the undercarraige and my arms stretched over my head dong some work that I could not reach otherwise. I do this with no fear and small discomfort of a mental nature (Although sometimes I wish I was rich enough to have someone else do it.). I can work in small rooms with closed doors, in tight places, get on elevators, and scrunch up in cars and buses without trepidation.

I can not get into a sausage stuffer MRI!

I used to do some weight lifting when I was younger and although some of the muscles are no longer all there, the large chest and wide shoulders are. I weigh 265 lbs. and am 5' 10" (And shrinking.), so there is a fair sized gut involved.

The last time I tried to get into a tube shaped MRI, my shoulders were so wide that they wanted me to hold my arms above my head for the 45 to 60 minutes that I was going to be in there. Stretching my arms thusly tended to make my belly jut upwards and almost touch the tube. The MRI was for my right knee, and they would still have had to put my head completely in the tube which would have put my face within kissing distance of the tube. Even though I had taken a relaxant pill before hand and it had mellowed me out, as soon as my face started to go into the tube with my arms in an extended position which was not just uncomfortable, but painful because of my arthritis, I demanded out of the tube. I ended up having the MRI done at a place that had an open MRI, with music and a muscle relaxant. My arms stayed at my sides and the only discomfort was having my knee locked up in a jig for that extended period of about 45 minutes.

So why can I crawl under a 4,000+ lb. automobile, while alone, which can slip and crush me, and still fear a solid tube that is monitored by competent and caring people which cannot hurt me?

I believe it is about CONTROL!

If I begin to feel uncomfortable while working on something, I decide if I want to slide in, do not have to remain still (I do a fair amount of twisting, grunting, growning, and swearing.) while underneath, can always slide out, take a break, have a Pepsi, and go back underneath at my time of chosing. Over the years, I have developed techniques for working under cars that make it easy for me.

Back in the old days when I couldn't jack the car up high enough because of my girth to use a mechanics creeper, I would put down some heavy dry cardboard so that I could slide in and out faster and easier than you would be able to on concrete, asphalt, or dirt. I didn,t use carpet because it was not as slippery as dry cardboard that I would get free at the local furniture sellers.

Since I am one of these guys that would look at a new tool catalog before I would look at the swimsuit addition of a sports magazine, I am on a lot of mailing lists. One day I got a catalog from Harbor Freight Tools out of California and went straight to ecstasy. They were selling a 2 1/2 ton floor jack that would lift a car 31+ inches. I made all my bills for that month wait and wrote out the check for $159.00 and ordered one. It took two of us to get that thing off the loading dock, into my van, and into my garage. I then bought four 6 ton jack stands, not for the weight factor, but for the height they offer. When I work on cars now, I can use a mechanics creeper and slide from one end of the car to the other without feeling constricted.

Craig, the MRI is safe!

Craig, the people that are going to be there for you care, and they want to help you.

Craig, my fear is unreasonable and therefore should NOT be your fear.

If you still feel uncomfortable, always know that they will listen to you and remove you at any stage of the examination and in your case that should be enough.

Good luck!

Bountyhunter

Good point. Thank you.

I checked and my favorite sweats have no metal. Thank again.

I know exactly what you're talking about. I work with computers doing programming, but I also enjoy maintaining and supporting them.

To reach computer cables, I can crawl on my hands and knees between filing cabinets and the wall where the space is so tight my hips are squeezed.

Yet I am hesitant (but becoming less so) about the MRI. Why? It involves choice. I choose to get myself into tight little places to fix computer. I am being told, by my neurologist, to place myself in this MRI. It is not my decision, it is my neurologist's.

Just like when I was young and wanted to help my parents by washing the dishes. If they told me to do it, I didn't want to. But if it was my decision, then of course I did it.

I know it will be alright. The key is to educate myself to know what to expect. My doctor is too busy to do so. Same with my neurologist. That's my job, as the patient.

Knowing what we're getting ourselves into is also part of being Equipped to Survive, even if it involves only a trip to the MRI.

So what haven't you done? Grin.

Yeah, I've read they are noisy and cold. I've got sweats without metal eyelets ready to go, and I sleep with earplugs anyway.

I have learned I am quite sensitive to sounds. If I am trying to fall asleep and the cat downstairs yawns, I hear it. Even through a fan, white-sound machine, and shooter's deluxe foam ear plugs.

Have you considered different glasses when using a computer? My computer glasses are diffferent from my bifocal prescription and my screen intensity is set at its lowest level, while my contrast is set sharp.

If you don't wear prescription, have you tried high quality polarized sunglasses or a CRT screen shield to mute the glare? How about different background colors and/or contrasts?

This is probably all old hat to you, but it would be nice if your problem was outside of your head and body as those things are easier to replace, and deal with.

Bountyhunter

Excellent thought. I'll look into it.

And, oh yeah, I've worn glasses since the Fourth Grade. Sigh.

Craig:

I used to do the herron fishing for food neck movements as well as shifting my glasses up and down for a better read on my monitor, and that got old real quick.

I am lucky as our local $.99 store has selections of reading glasses in magnifications from 1.5 to 4.00. I have a set close in magnification to my reading bifocal in my glove compartment, my bedroom, the kitchen, and anyplace I work, just in case I forget to have my main glasses with me. I have a pair of "computer glasses" which are currently 2.25 magnification next to any place I may be using a computer. At 99 cents each, I throw away the old ones as the need for magnification changes and buy new ones only slightly stronger.

The other nice thing I have which I made out of some old vegetable display cases a large grocery store was throwing out is a 34" deep table for my computers. The case was made from old style, very thick (Over 3/4" thick.), plywood with a formica top. It was wider than 34" so I had to trim it down a little. I set the table height at 26" and attached 2x4 legs to it and a 13" skirt made out of 1/2" plywood to three sides of it for added rigidity as well as adding 2x4 stringers around the perimeter and down the center on the underside of the table.

The bottom line is that my monitor sits a good distance away from my face than anything commercially available, and I believe this aids in my comfort when using my systems.

I tell friends that see my tables for the first time and ask me how I ever got them into the basement and why did I build them so massive that a pair of hippos could make love on these tables and not break them.

Bountyhunter

How come our eyeglass magnification only increases? Grin. It never goes the other way.

Craig:

I think it has something to do with pretty women (For those of you on the other side of the fence, draw your own conclusions.), and the aging process.

As I age, I don't seem to get the bulging, oogling eye effect I had when I was younger. This lack of of bulging eyes and racing blood to said eyes does not allow the muscles that focus the eyeballs to stay in tip top shape, so we end up with soft muscles and flat eyeballs that require more magnification.

I think what we ought to do for all of humanity is have some kind of medical proceedure done that puts the mystery back in women and makes us forget the practical sides of long term relationships. I think one of the beneficial side effects would be that we can forget about the kids we have with the women in our lives, and therefore make it easier to kick them out of the house when they turn 18.

No insult intended, but for those of you who have not figured it out, I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.

Bountyhunter <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I had my first MRI recently for a pinched nerve in my neck (to see what was pinching it). I had one of those "open" MRIs so there was no tube/tunnel and they didn't make me wear a dress. I just wore sweat shorts, a t-shirt and socks. It wasn't bad at all and a lot safer than an x-ray or cat scan. Heck they made me so comfortable with pillows and such that I almost fell asleep. The entire process took about 20 mins. If given a choice I would take an open MRI over and x-ray any day. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />