Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Techno Coffin

This morning I had the weirdest experience.  For those of you who haven't had one, an MRI is a really creepy thing.  I'm not claustrophobic.  But once I saw how small the circumference of the machine that they were about to slide me into I had a mini-freak out.  The techs covered my eyes with a washcloth and that helped.  I knew that if I didn't have something covering my eyes I would have looked at the space and then I would have really freaked out.  You lay down and roll into the MRI machine slowly.  Kind of what I imagine feeding a body into a crematorium is like.  I know morbid!!  But this is how I felt.  So anyway, the roof of the machine was about 3 inches away from my face.  And my elbows touched the sides.  And there is all this weird banging and whirring whenever they take an image.  So they outfit you with earplugs and those industrial giant ear phones to protect you from all the noise.  It is super loud and sounds akin to techno beats.   
The other thing is that you can't move.  Well you aren't allowed to move.  So you have to be in the same position for the entire time.  Not fun.  Some of the images only took 40 seconds.  Some took 4 minutes.  After about 1/2 hour they took me out of the machine and let just move my arms a bit, then the fun increased when they injected me with contrast.  I was ever the IF patient when I asked the lady how they were going to insert the contrast without moving my pelvis.  I figured I'd need a catheter inserted into the nether regions.  Well oddly enough they just needed my arm.  I still don't understand who they inject contrast into your bloodstream to get an image of your uterus 2 minutes later.  Hopefully it did the trick.  The whole process was 40 minutes of strange.

Believe it or not I would much rather have an invasive ultrasound, even the kind where you have to have a full bladder over MRI.  It was just too freaky.  And now I have a crick in my neck from being so rigid.  

Well now I just need to do a follow up with my RE to see what she thinks of the images and how to proceed.  

8 comments:

kate said...

Hmm. Techno-coffin. That's a good description! I've (luckily, so far) never had to have an MRI- I've had a CT scan where they inject the dye, etc. but that wasn't so bad, and only took about 20 minutes or so. It mostly only sucked because the dye made me feel like I had just wet myself, which was a really messed up feeling!

Ariella said...

I hate getting MRIs! I agree they are like a techno-coffin. Mine had music playing so it was a little easier but Overall it sucked! I hope your MRI looks good and the RE likes what they see or at least can 'fix' it. (((((HUGS))))))

SAHW said...

ooh, that does sound creepy! Never had one and hope I won't need to, b/c it sounds kinda scary! Hope your results come back looking good.

pmarie33 said...

I've had one of those. A few years ago. But mine was what they call an open MRI (both ends are open) and it only lasted 16 minutes. I can't imagine the one you described.

Stephanie said...

I hope that the RE can make a good plan with the results of the MRI. Sorry you had to endure that craziness. I've had CT scans but they were open CTs both times, so I have never had the techno coffin experience. I'm thinking of you!

JackiJaguar said...

Hate the techno coffin...I had one a few months ago of my wrist and I was stuck in the most uncomfortable position. It felt like forever! It's nice that they gave you a break....I hope the images look good and glad it's over with.

littlemonkey said...

odd, odd, odd! I'm happy it's over and done (um, for you).

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

dropping by for ICLW - hi! :)

I love the idea of a techno coffin! The one time I had an MRI, it was on of my knee, so I didn't have to be "inside" the tube all the way. I DEFINITELY could not handle that! Brave, brave girl.