Getting an MRI: Tips and Tricks to Make Your Experience More Comfortable

Being told you need a Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, can sometimes be intimidating. Since this is often a method used to determine or diagnose multiple sclerosis, and since I've participated in a research group for MS studies, I've had more MRIs in the last year than I sometimes care to remember.

I hope this article will ease your mind, better prepare you for what to expect and give you some tips for going through the experience with the least amount of stress.

When you arrive at the location for your MRI you will be asked to remove any metal and to report any implanted metals in your body. For instance, no jewelry, watches, snaps, metal zippers, eye glasses and metal buttons. If you have dentures, they will also ask you to remove those. If you have any implanted metals, like pins or plates, you need to let them know. The easiest thing for me is to remove all my jewelry before I leave the house and dress in completely non-metal clothing, like sweats, right down to a sports bra. That way, I don't even have to undress at the center. Sometimes it can be chilly in the MRI room and having my sweats on can help considerably.

After you've filled out your paperwork and stored your personal items, you will be taken into a room with a large machine with a big hole in the front and a flat cot just below the hole. The best analogy I can think of is a front loading washing machine.

With some MRIs, you will be given the opportunity to listen to music. You will not be able to hear the music that well, as you will find the MRI machine is quite loud, but I also take the opportunity if offered and I chose classic rock as my music. Why? Because the drum beats and guitar sounds seem to blend better with the noise of the MRI. If you do not use the headphones for the music, you will be given earplugs.

You may also find your doctor desires they give you a contrasting element, either swallowed or by injection, usually half way through the process. There has been some talk of issues with contrast dies. You can read about some of it in the link provided at the end of this article and I suggest you certainly discuss any questions you may have with your doctor.

You will also be given a "panic button" to hold, in case you need to end the session. Some individuals become claustrophobic during the MRI and the staff gives you the button to slide you out of the tube if you're under too much anxiety.

Make sure you are comfortable. If you're chilly, ask for a blanket. If the cot feels too hard, ask for a pillow to place at the base of our spine and at your knees. Since you will be lying in the same position for at least a half hour, you want to be very comfortable. Don't be afraid to tell them if you're not at ease.

Once you are lying comfortably on the cot, they have your IV started (if you are having a contrast die through injection), and you have your panic button, your cot will slide into the machine. You will end up lying in a tube, surrounded by the MRI machine. The opening where you slid in is never closed. In my case, with head shot or spinal MRI's, I am placed in the machine, head first, with my feet sticking out the end of the machine.

An MRI is not supposed to hurt. Through all of my MRI's I have never felt any pain because of or during the procedure. However, it is loud...very loud. If you remember the washing machine analogy, it will make sense. Throughout the MRI, you will hear a loud intermittent series of regular pings, twangs, knocks and thumps for approximately ½ to 1 hour. During this time, you are not allowed to move a muscle. You are basically going to lie absolutely still in that tube while the MRI does its work to give the doctors detailed images of the section of your body they are interested in.

The technician will be able to talk to you during the procedure and often will ask you how you're doing. You will be able to hear them and they can hear you.

Once the procedure is over, you will slide out of the machine and they will disconnect your IV. At that point you will be free to go, get dressed and be on your way. In some hospitals or clinics, the MRI's are stored digitally and your doctor will have the results almost immediately.

If you are a stout individual, as I am, the tube of the MRI machine may feel somewhat cramped. This can be very uncomfortable for those of us who also suffer from mild claustrophobia. During a normal MRI, I can get through this experience by closing my eyes before they slide me into the machine and keeping them closed until they pull me out. I also take deep, slow breaths during the procedure. Listening to the music can also keep you calm and thinking of something else.

But for those of you who are having a longer MRI, or have a more severe problem with claustrophobia, I have had great success with a very small prescribed dose of Lorazepam. This is an anti-anxiety drug and was prescribed in a dose as small as .5mg. No matter how long the MRI was, I have never had any panic attacks or suffered acute anxiety while taking this before an MRI. Do note that if you decide to go this route, you must have a driver. Even though the dose seems extremely mild, you should not drive a car while under the influence of this drug until both you and your doctor are comfortable with your reaction to the dosage.

As for my classic rock music, you may find that listening to the sounds of Led Zeppelin, Rush, Jethro Tull, Queen, or some other variation may mingle with the annoying sounds of the MRI after a fashion. Somehow, with that clunking, pinging noise, jazz and the classics just doesn't do the trick for me.

Above all, try to relax. Realize that the procedure will be over before you realize it, you are in control of the test and you can speak to and hear from the technician at all times.

For Additional Information:

Questions and Answers on MRI contrast agents

http://www.dkma.dk/1024/visUKLSArtikel.asp?artikelID=10414

Accessed: 05/15/08

MRI of the Body (Chest, Abdomen, Pelvis)

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=bodymr&bhcp=1#part_one

Accessed: 05/15/08