"Lay still"

Because I have a work related injury it's important that I get treated as soon as possible. No one has any doubt that I really did what they say I did - tore my rotator cuff. That's the bad news. The good news is that surgery is very effective and probably the best source of recovery....sooo they scheduled me for an MRI.

And they asked a couple of million questions.........any sheet metal in my past, any heavy duty welding, any foreign parts inserted in my body anywhere.......and oh by the way are you claustrophobic?

I'm wanting to have the exam done so I put on my big girl voice and say, 'well maybe just a little bit but I should be ok'.

so.........we get nice and comfy and strapped down on this machine.....



yea, that's when the problem started.........

I couldn't do it. Every time the technician got it all ready to go.......she told me to lay still and quit breathing so heavy.........noise, noise, noise, I'm holding it as long as I can...but you know? being 2" away from the ceiling just didn't bring me any comfort. Strapped down on every side? Same thing.

Every test was a fail. Finally after just about an hour she gave up, pulled me out and told me to get my Dr. to prescribe some ativan next time......get so doped up you won't be able to drive yourself and we'll try again.

Here's what I found on the internet:

MRI Disadvantages

Although MRI scans are ideal for diagnosing and evaluating a number of conditions, they do have drawbacks. For example:

* There are many people who cannot safely be scanned with MRI (for example, because they have pacemakers), and also people who are too big to be scanned.

* There are many claustrophobic people in the world, and being in an MRI machine can be a very disconcerting experience for them.

* The machine makes a tremendous amount of noise during a scan. The noise sounds like a continual, rapid hammering. Patients are given earplugs or stereo headphones to muffle the noise (in most MRI centers you can even bring your own cassette or CD to listen to). The noise is due to the rising electrical current in the wires of the gradient magnets being opposed by the main magnetic field. The stronger the main field, the louder the gradient noise.

* MRI scans require patients to hold very still for extended periods of time. MRI exams can range in length from 20 minutes to 90 minutes or more. Even very slight movement of the part being scanned can cause very distorted images that will have to be repeated.

* Orthopedic hardware (screws, plates, artificial joints) in the area of a scan can cause severe artifacts (distortions) on the images. The hardware causes a significant alteration in the main magnetic field. Remember, a uniform field is critical to good imaging.

* MRI systems are very, very expensive to purchase, and therefore the exams are also very expensive.

The almost limitless benefits of MRI for most patients far outweigh the few drawbacks.

My advice? Don't try this at home.