Have any of you ever had an MRI? I hadn't, until last night, and I was in it about 20 seconds before I squeezed the panic button and told them this had to stop. I've never been that close to a complete panic breakdown before.
The restraint for my head also restrained my chest, making me feel like I couldn't breathe. The tube is small - inches away from my eyes. And it's LOUD, even with the earplugs.
I have a new definition of hell.
I was expecting to feel that way about it. In the event I almost instantly disassociated and fell asleep.
And I figured I'd be all right, until they put that shield on my face, and it pressed on my chest. I have an "athletic" build, and my chest/ribcage is significantly larger than is normal for my height/weight/waist. They commented on it, then slid me into the machine, while I felt my chest compressed and I couldn't take a deep breath. It felt like being buried alive. When the noises started, it was way over the line of what I could take.
From what the technician said to me it seems like everyone finds it traumatic - it’s just for some people the response to it is to shut down so they don’t ‘feel’ it the same way. I guess I was just lucky to fall in to that camp.
I hope that the information they get from it makes it worth having gone through it.
My GP told me I really needed the MRI today, so I went back. They gave me Ativan, which didn't do much for me. When I asked the how long we were going to wait for the first shot to kick in, they called the nurse and she gave me a shot of something else - Versed. The combination was stellar. MRI was over before I knew it, chatted with the MRI techs. Now I'm back home, and I'm ready to go to bed.
@ScottSoCal
Ah I’m so glad. So often we’re expected to just endure through traumatic medical procedures and it’s just awful. Glad to hear they helped and it went well.