Breast MRI Pain

tobie2

I just wanted to join the chorus here. I had MRI-guided breast biopsies on both sides on Monday, and the pressure on the rib cage from the compression plates was excruciating. I talked out loud to myself to get through the procedure, kicked my feet, and eventually did move my right arm since I was losing sensation rapidly and my shoulder was starting to hurt. The lidocaine injection was trivial and I didn't feel a thing with the actual biopsy. I'm still waiting for the pathology results. But I still cry when I think of the pain I was in during the procedure and the doctor's and technician's indifference.

Simbobby

I had my first ever breast MRI this morning and I had no idea what I was in for. I had no anxiety or pre-conceived fear. I certainly wasn't expecting any pain. About six minutes into the procedure my rib cage when into agonizing muscle spasm and cramping. I had to press the call button to stop the procedure. The tech told me she had never seen anything like this. Really?

There was no padding or cushion on the bars and I am still in pain. My Oncologist won't start my chemo until he has a baseline MRI so it is now rescheduled for next week. He has prescribed a muscle relaxer to take right before the procedure. Sure hope it helps.

Thank you all for confirming that I'm not crazy. There has got to be a better way.

gb2115

I would go in there insisting they pad it. My MRI was padded with hospital sheets. There is no reason they can't do that for you.

tobie2

No, you're not crazy, not at all. The muscle relaxant should help. Before the procedure even starts, make sure you're okay with the position and ask for readjustments until you find a position you can withstand for 20 minutes. Tell the doctor s/he may have to talk you through it, Feeling like someone understands your pain makes such a difference.

djmammo

RedWeasel

It's unfortunately a universal problem and varies somewhat with the manufacturer of the breast coil. The depth and shape of the wells that contain the breasts during the exam insure that the entire breast and a portion of the chest wall are included in the image. Adding padding would pull the breast up and out of the well which may cause the posterior portions of the breast to be excluded from the images. The amount of discomfort also varies with the shape of the patient's rib cage and the relative position of the sternum.

Considering the long acquisition time, and even longer times for biopsies, MRI breast coils need to be redesigned from scratch with patient comfort in mind.

Simbobby

Failed again. The MRI was rescheduled to yesterday. (Friday) I had to cancel.

The pain from Wednesday's incident continued to worsen and I awoke Friday morning with what felt like internal bruising on my rib cage and it hurt when I moved. I took the muscle relaxer at the nurses recommendation which eliminated the pain when I moved but still hurt when I pressed on the area. There was no way I could endure the pain of my full body weight on that area for any length of time.

So, they have decided to forego the baseline MRI and proceed with chemo treatment. I start Monday.

I am disappointed in myself that I couldn't complete this procedure but perhaps this could have all been avoided if I had been better prepared. I just never anticipated this cramping problem or the aftermath

Ducati

I had a mammogram 2 days ago. I had severe pain during test, almost cried out loud. I have been in non stop pain for 2 days. My sternum feels likes its broken and with every deep breath I have unbearable pain

ysi

I am surprised they can't figure out a way to share the weight-load across several points on the body-pelvis pad, shoulder pads-or do they already do that? Isn't that the principle behind a bed of nails-the more nails the less weight on each nail?

Simbobby

I am now on day ten of treating this pain from the MRI. As ONC recommended, I am alternating heat and ice and alternating Aleve and Xtra strength Tylenol.

I am 63 years old and I'm sure my limited flexibility and old bones contributed to this injury but I wish someone had warned me. Never again!

Buffyb

Hi, I had a breast MRI on Wed. And it is now Friday night. No one told me a thing so o did not know what to expect.

My rib cage on the right side is extremely sore and has gotten worse since the procedure. I cannot take a full breath with out a lot of pain. And that’s not good as I Have COPD and on O2.

There was NO PADDING ON THE CAGE and no support at all under my ribs or stomach so all the weight was on my rib cage. My arms were extended straight out above me head And elevated about 4” putting further pressure in my ribs. I asked for some padding and Support for under my ribs down to me stomach. Nope can’t do that it interferes with the coils. I told them I needed to change the position of my right arm as I was in treatment for an injury. Nope can’t do that.

So I bit the bullet and continued, the first thirty minutes were barely tolerable, but I made it thru it.

The next thirty minutes quickly went down hill. I told the operator I was in increasing pain in my shoulder and rib cage on the right. If you want to stop we can but it willl have to start over. At about 40 minutes total they injected the contrast. Afew minutes later my shoulder started to cramp and spasm but with the prospect of starting over I simpered thru it. Then the spasm and sharp pain in my ribs just below my right breast started. Crying I continued on to the end.

I had to have the nurse dress me. There was no button to press, just the speaker to the operator who didn’t care if it hurt or not. The staff was more concerned with the fact that Doc’s don’t repare patients for the procedure.

I am on my 2nd full day on pain Meds, icing and heat and expect the same for tomorrow and the next day.

I was looking for info on Pain and found this group. Everything I read about MRI’s of this type say a breeze no pain etc. they lied.

Thank you so much for listening to me vent. And I pray for good outcomes for all of you.😘🍓❤️

Simbobby

Oh Buffy -

I'm so sorry. In reading your post I felt like I was living that nightmare all over again.

My cramping and seizing started 6 mins into the procedure and the pain was intolerable. I had to press the call button and stop the procedure. It took about three weeks to recover from the pain but it feels alright now.

The tech said she had never seen this before - BS! (And I don't mean Breast Surgeon)

Now I have no baseline MRI to measure the tumor shrinkage during chemo but there was just no way.

Cudos to you for powering through it. I hope you feel better soon

djmammo

***Pre and post adjuvent therapy imaging can be done by ultrasound if you cannot tolerate an MRI. I have had to do this a few times over the years. Not as accurate but better than no imaging for this.

Buffyb

Hi this is I probably too late but go somewhere else. My friend who is a BC Survivor said that her doctor said not to go to our local Hospital, our only choice. She sends her patients out of the county to Modesto.  Ours is a rural county and we are held hostage to an extent by a church hospital that controls it all. 

Hugs to you😘😘🍓🍓❤️

Buffyb

Body pelvis pad?  I didn’t have one

Buffyb

Ties Nov 7 

Yesterday was 6 Days post MRI. And I spent yesterday afternoon and evening at the ER of the hospital that did my MRI  trying to get some relief from the pain I have been in for a WEEK as of today.  

 Discharge diagnosis: Rib pain on Ry side aka Chest contusion 

Treatment : 1 lidocaine patch,  script for baclofen 10mg tab, take 1/2 3x a day.  And an Incentive Spirometer to Keep lungs clear.  

This morning I wok u in intense pain when I move  and have some clicks? Or crackles in my ribs.  Getting all me records tomorrow and trying to figure what to do.  I am all ready in slow mode because of COPD. But now I can’t do anything. 

Thanks All 😘😘❤️❤️🍓

linann01

I just had my first breast MRI today. It was so incredibly painful to lie on that table for the 40 minute scan. I felt like I was being a total baby when I felt pain in my sternum no matter how many times they tried to rearrange me. In addition to the pain of something pressing into my chest, I felt like my head was going to explode by the end. I am dealing now this evening with terrible pain in my chest. I feel like I have a broken rib or other injury. I cannot take a deep breath and getting up and down is very painful. No one prepped me for any of this!

How dare they allow me to feel so humiliated thinking I was alone in feeling such terrible discomfort! Thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences, it helps so much not to feel all alone!

Now the wait begins, I do not want to go through the pain of more biopsies, they're even worse! Curious how many may have had false positive results, that scares me!

Veeder14

Hi linann01,

Sorry to hear your in so much pain. The same thing happened to me with my first breast MRI. I have long standing spine/neck problems so the pain was almost unbearable. For a few minutes, ok but 45 minutes, ugh. Unfortunately, I've had several more MRI's since and I started bringing my own strips of memory foam to put on that plastic thing you lean your ribs on. Plus, I have the radiologist put pillows on the main portion of the table. All of that helps a lot but still I'm sure I had bruised ribs and horrible neck/back pain. Try and rest tonight and use ice or heat which ever feels better. I had to go see my PT after every MRI to get pain relief. I hope your results are benign.

linann01

Thank you for your kind words and support Veeder14. Hoping as well that they do not identify any additional tumors. I'm sorry to hear you have had to endure multiple MRI's, not sure I would agree to another. I'm sorry for all the woman who are forced to experience the trauma and painful treatments for breast cancer. There does need to be another way!

pingpong

Thank you to everyone who posted here about MRI experience and pain. My MRI was Sunday, it wasn't too bad, in fact, I fell asleep for part of the procedure. I was disoriented (needed help getting up and to dressing room and back to waiting room) after the procedure. I also felt stiff. Since Monday afternoon I have not been able to breathe without right rib cage pain. I can 'lift' the muscles away from the rib cage and get some relief. The muscles are super touch sensitive, and breathing is rough. This is my second MRI (same hospital, same techs as a year ago) and I am amazed at the different response my body is going through. Tired from the pain, glad for the info posted here, it's validating and 'normalizing' to read of others' experiences. I'm hoping for an all better within the next day or two. It's Thursday night, and I want to sing in choir on Sunday!

Bcky

I had terrible pain during my chest MRI. I am glad to know that other people felt it too. I thought I was being childish or worse there was something wrong. Cancer can grow along the sternum. My sternum hurt so bad. It was really awful being in the machine so long. I was clear before I went into the MRI that I was in pain. Nothing was done. It felt like all my body weight was on that tiny hard piece of plastic that my sternum rested on. Hurt for days afterward. I wish the tech had told me that that was a fairly common experience.

Recap

I desperately want one (financial reasons) now and can't get anyone to order it yet.

Which sounds crazy given I am 5'11" 250lbs over 60 with bad shoulders (which ticks off every box on the pain list!)

But I am glad to read these stories ahead of time and determined to grind thru it once I am scheduled-I just hope I have insurance by then.

Apparently I have to wait 6mos from my biopsy even though I am already at 6mos from my limited imaging which did not include MRI.

Recap

Happy days-just received a msg about scheduling an MRI. Also appt with the ARNP for results. I called to schedule but they didn't follow through with the computer order so the scheduler will call me back. Relieved to be moving forward. I think I will buy some memory foam this weekend ;-)

Recap

Has anyone ever had a breast MRI on their back? My appointment letter says I should be prepared to lay on my back for an hour. I suspect they have just one form letter no matter what type of MRI but just wondered-especially since I ended up sitting for my core biopsy (a pleasant surprise.)

djmammo

Recap

Lying on one's back would defeat the design of the breast MRI. The breasts must "fill" the coils in order to obtain an image. I cannot think of a way to do that supine, but I am not an engineer.

Recap

Thank you, it did turn out to be a form letter and I was on my stomach. Compared to my shoulders mri, this mri machine was enormous-plenty of room with no constriction of body.

Getting on that oddly shaped table was a bit like climbing on a bicycle and doing pushups.

If you remember the old boxing movies from the 40's 50's, my face (forehead-cheekbones-chin) was encased in a boxing mask of cushioned pads, which did flex my head/neck slightly backwards. My feet dangled off the end of the table (I think!)

Interestingly, I believe due to the length of my breasts hanging down, they kept raising ME higher and higher, with custom-shaped cushions (pink lol), the same shape as the hard plastic bridge people have describe as non-padded, that their sternum painfully rested on. They also had my stomach on cushions which created an odd sensation that my pulse was pounding in my stomach. After a while, they came in and repositioned the stomach cushions because they could not get good images. So after repositioning they started all over.

At the very end was when they flowed the contrast thru my IV-honestly could not tell anything different. Very tiny IV, tiny tube, no pain or temp sensation.

When it was over the more experienced tech apologized and said something about the drs having difficulty getting what they needed due to fat and they did the best they could. I didn't ask her if she was calling me fat, but of the many sounds that machine made, one sound was a repetitious Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha :-) I will find my report most interesting/possibly disappointing.

I checked in at 430pm and left at 655pm. I loved the evening time-they were the night shift coming in fresh, free from the stressful daytime hustle and bustle.

I should add that I never spoke the entire length of the imaging, other than to answer a direct question, nor did I move even a fraction of an inch, other than inhale/exhale/swallow (I did wonder if dental suction could prevent even the swallowing lol.)

I was quite stiff when it was over and getting off that table was something like a gymnastic dismount! A Hoyer lift would have been great.

(Oh-ladies-bring a pair of elastic waist stretchy shorts like those Danskin grey cotton ones from Walmart-just make sure there are no metal gromets snaps string ends on them. Mine were light-weight ankle length-perfect for that table and for warmth. They put you in an upper gown with a lower sheet to wrap around you. I am not bashful but appreciated skipping the sheet-too much hassle-and I removed the upper gown before we began and just had the girls throw it over the top of me-less restricting for the arms stretched over the head.)

chronicpain

I tried very hard to “assume the postion" for a bilateral MRI before my surgery, as I have dense breast tissue and my BC wanted to make sure they had not missed a spot of BC.

I did not expect problems and was relaxed because I have no claustrophobia and had had prior MRIs of knee and head without difficulty and have no contrast problems.

But this was something else — we had to stop trying after 20 min of torture, and because I am used to chronic pain, I can endure a lot, My body muscles were too weak to do the pushups to get into position, (many years of prednisone) and I have chronic chest wall and shoulder pain with mere touch from my autoimmune problems ( have not been able to wear a bar for ten years, due to pressure) . So the hard metal pressing was intolerable. I told them we needed to stop as I was getting dizzy and ready to pass out.

djmammo

"Getting on that oddly shaped table was a bit like climbing on a bicycle and doing pushups."

This is possibly the best description I have heard to date.

Prairiedog

Thank you for sharing all of your experiences with MRI. I had my bilateral MRI this afternoon and it was much more difficult than I had expected. Since I am a bicyclist and do push-ups I managed to get on the table fairly easily. Things were going OK until the contrast went into the IV. It was an interesting sensation and I could feel it flowing up my arm and then I could feel a sensation in my mouth. My sinuses began to fill up and I had an uncontrollable urge to sneeze. I fought the sneeze but it won. After three semi aborted sneezes the urge to sneeze went away but now my sinuses were in full flow mode. I wondered if I was having an allergic reaction to the contrast stuff but since I did not want to redo this imaging I moved into endurance mode and made it through to the end. But as I walKed out to my car I sure wished I had asked my husband to be my driver. I drove carefully home

Recap

Prairiedog-I noticed a steady stream of oxygen began blowing at my face early on and seemed to be aimed at one nostril lol which created an overwhelming urge to itch my nose, but I endured as well. Also, they put this squeeze bulb in your hands, which are over your head, which apparently is an emergency squeeze alert. By the end of my mri I had no idea whether I had dropped the ball lol because my hands were completely dead-not numb not tingly just completely dead-wasn't sure I still had hands on.

Recap

I finally found time to look at my MRI images, then of course I googled breast mri images to compare. I get the impression that, like fingerprints, all of our breasts are unique. The image that shows my blood supply was what I was curious about.

When I look at the image (looks just like those u-shaped neck pillows) the breast on the left, extending upward on the picture, is apparently my right breast dangling downward. (Ok, mentally adjusting to upside down inside out?)

So my right breast on the left lol had a strong blood supply along the outer edge of the breast, but not really much of anything visible on the inner sternum side of the same breast where my symptoms/lump/biopsy were-wondering if the inner side is more fatty and MRI didn't capture it as well or if it is just my fingerprint? Some MRI images on the internet show a very methodical map of vessels thru-out the breasts.

There was a black, waterstain if you will, on the inner side of the same breast, up by the arreola where the core bx needle was inserted. Since this MRI was 2mos after my biopsy, would there still be blood there, or is that just old blood/scar tissue/scab/dyed tissue?

Meanwhile on the right side of the picture, my left breast showed a strong blood supply also, but it was only on the inner side of the breast. I assume because heart is on the left. p.s. is there any statistics on breast lumps/cancers by side of the body? (I realize there are statistics for each quadrant of a breast.)

At the base of each breast on the outer corner of each (bottom of the picture with chest wall being the end of the picture) there is an area where blood supply lines converge apparently. Mine, to me, were a little bit foggy like a loose blood blur might be. Images on the internet show some breasts with very well defined terminals/branches, if you will, at that location. Age, maybe? I do have a high calcium score and the usual high blood pressure and cholesterol issues and family history that go with it.