homepage Forums SimHQ Community Community Hall Ever had an MRI scan?

If I ever have to go through it again I will have to ask (beg) for a Xanax before doing it. I'm not "elevator" claustrophobic, but as I learned over the weekend, I am coffin-sized enclosure claustrophobic.

I realize that not all mri scanners are the same size, but St Francis hospital here in Columbus, GA bought the sub-compact version which apparently hasn't undergone any updates since it was first developed in the early 1940s by Dr Von-something-or-another at Camp so-and-so near Dachau.

If you haven't been in one, imagine sliding into a small coffin with 1000 watt surround sound speakers. Then you discover that Satan is a Skrillex fan and wants you to audition his latest electronica creations for about 20 minutes. As I understand it, some folks go in with their torso inside and their heads outside. Not me, I slid in head first. My view in front of me was about half an inch.

The success of a mri scan depends a great deal on you laying still so as not to distort the final image. This is difficult mainly because those Skrillex grooves are extremely infectious - more than once I wanted to pull myself out of there and dance, or as some call it, run home crying.

By the way, if you are ever in the unlikely circumstance where you want to discover how many "Hail Mary" prayers you can say in 20 minutes, don't cheat yourself - do it in an mri scanner with a guinness world records official to keep score. There are no atheists in mri scanners.

I've had a few, all of the "coffin" variety. I just close my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else. Horrible experience, and I've more to look forward to.

I always have them put a big ass fan to keep the air flowning through the magnetic donut. I do wish they had better speakers for the radio music they pump in.

I''ve had two, both coffin style, and even though I'm (situationally) claustrophobic it did't bother me a bit.

You want suck, trying having surgery where you aren't put under sufficiently and can feel everything...

Who was doing the surgery, the Gestapo? Is that a true experience?

Sadly, yes. Its documented that when you're put under, you're paralyzed and unable to signal that you're feeling pain.

I've had a LOT of surgery but never had an experience like that. To me the op is just a discontinuity.

Yeah, I was having nasal surgery and was "awake" for part of it at least.

Let's just say that feeling them peel your nose back is vastly overrated, not being able to breath well was fun too. Thankfully I went all the way under at some point.

Jeez, my last op for prostate removal took seven hours. Feeling that would have been enormously entertaining.

I had only a leg scanned so lying in the MRI scanner wasn't that bad. But during the second phase of the scan they injected the contrasting agent (gadolinium chelate FYI) and I reacted violently with an anaphylactic shock. Had to spent the next hours in intensive care and the rest of the night at the hospital. And I wished I better had emptied my bowels before the procedure It was supposed to be standard procedure. Now my case has an entry in my country's FDA equivalent's registry.
Highlight of this ordeal: I discovered the fantastic hospital cafeteria and went there during my two next stays

Happened to my daughter too, when she woke up from the anaesthetic she could describe exactly what the doctors were saying and doing and that she was in terrible pain, she could not move or let anyone know about it, thankfully after a few hours she had completely forgotten about it, but my wife and I heard her say it as she came round. She had 30cm of small intestine removed during the operation.

I was in for an investigation into my oesophagus, I was sedated and given some drugs that would wipe my memory of it, ok so far, I have a deep rooted fear of choking, I had my throat crushed when I was 8 and fell off a climbing frame landing on the bottom rung with my neck, I could hardly breath and could not swallow, I still have a very slight speech impediment from it.

Anyway, I have titanium implants in my upper jaw to take a denture and for them to put the endoscope down my throat I had to remove the denture, halfway down to where they wanted to view I panicked and bit down hard on the endoscope, 50000€ worth of hi tech medical equipment now has a slice out of it from one of the titanium implants and I'm banned from having the investigation done while awake

I cannot remember anything about it except being in a total sweat and my wife asking if I was ok

I've had a few MRI experiences, the tight confines never bothered me. Thankfully I've also never experienced the pain awareness during surgery either, that sounds horrifying!

my last MRI for my shoulder was in a tight spot, what sucked was it was during the spring and pollen was in the air so I would try to stifle a cough and she would tell me to stay still... It wasn't like I was trying to cough..

They don't put you under for inserting stents. You can feel the 'probe' traveling thru the artery to the heart

A few weeks ago had a PE done and again not put under. (PE - wires are inserted into a vein in the groin and go to the heart. They then zap the heart.)

They do freeze the insertion point.

Krazi's post just made me shudder and wince.

Had an MRI back in 2009 when I developed a condition known as coital cephalalgia (sex headache). I'm not claustrophobic so the enclosure didn't bother me so much, it was the grinding and banging noises and having to stay perfectly still for so long that I didn't care for.

Haven't had general anesthetic surgery since tonsils as an infant. I've seen those conscious during surgery experiences on TV, sounds horrendous.

I've read that hospitals are super-sizing their equipment to accommodate our ever-expanding girth, so maybe MRIs in the future will be a bit less confining.

There was also a monitor the docs used where you could watch the progress of the end of the probe with the attached stent.

Is that now a double shudder and wince?

Interesting inputs from the "other end" of the hospital experience. Awareness during anesthetic is rare so it's also quite interesting to have two accounts of it right here

I had an MRI done before, just had to close my eyes and think of being somewhere else. I don't remember the machine being noisy though.

I'd pass on that. I don't mind needles and stuff, but I'd rather not watch the procedure.

I've had lots of dental work over the past 8 years including braces, extractions and implants. Sometimes I have to stop the doc and ask, "Do I really need to know this?" I appreciate him wanting to explain the gruesome details, but I'd rather not know them (ignorance is bliss), or tell my wife and she can tell me later. Just drug me, let me wear padded headphones so that my tunes drown out the talking and instruments of torture, and do what you have to do.

I had a full head and torso MRI done after a PET scan showed "mets" on my spine, neck, and everywhere else. I was lucky, it was one of those "open air" ones. The dye they put in my IV made me fell all sweaty and sick. I think it is funny that they ask you if you want to listen to music with head phones. I thought some classical music would help me relax, but all you hear is what letterboy1 so perfectly described. I have a terrible time laying perfectly still fro 45 minutes straight (still in pain from several surgeries), so my doctor had me take an Ativan and a small dosage Norco for it. The helped a lot.

Crane Hunter, I have heard some stories like yours. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. I had a needle bone biopsy done while I was awake. They put me on my side and put a long needle into the back of my pelvis. The doctor actually used a small hammer to pound it in deeper, while he twisted it around too. They gave me some goofy juice, but that didn't help.

Still, I feel I can't complain after seeing child birth and seen what some of our veterans have been through.

Having a tooth pulled this Tuesday (one the doctors cracked when they put a breathing tube in during one of my surgeries). Ugh, I am already nervous.