MRI fear

brooke17927

I don't know why I'm freaking out so much about this. I called and moved up my MRI, was the 21st, now the 15th and I'm just super nervous about it, I've heard it's loud, etc, I called them and they said it was a wide bore machine so I should be fine then I read that a friend could go with me and possibly be in the room with me so I'm wondering if I should do that. My appt is at 8am and I have to go to work after so I can't take too much xanax but I do have them. Also, are your arms and head out of the machine?

Bheg79

Try not to freak out about it too much (I know it’s hard) - for my MRI it was an open ended machine on both ends and I was face down - I didn’t feel claustrophobic- it was noisy but not too bad and they gave me ear plugs - it was about 40 mins long - I hope this helps!

djmammo

brooke17927

Here's an explanation of breast MRI (video).

Personally, I have fallen asleep during an MRI scan.

If you are claustrophobic let them know. If you take the Xanax, have someone else drive.

brooke17927

djmammo thanks. What is your take on the mri? I think I’m freaking out too because I worry about it/false positives and needing another biopsy. It didn’t seem anything of concern when you analyzed my mammogram rpt but said I could do it in the future probably, now I feel like it’s worrisom

Spookiesmom

I’ve had 5, have come close to falling asleep during some of them. Yes, they are loud, but not awful. You can get ear plugs. Two way conversation happens. Tech will tell you what’s happening. Mine have always been face up, there is air blowing on it. I hate that, so I ask them to turn it down. They do.

Don’t drug and drive. Can you take the day off, or a half day?

You can do it😍😍

brooke17927

no, I don’t get paid time off, a friend said she would go with me, I watched a video different than what was posted above, I guess it doesn’t look too bad

jessie123

Brook --- I'm exactly like you --- I have cancelled 2 MRI's which is making my total diagnosis take much longer. My 3rd attempt will be next Friday. I wish I could lay on my back, but that's not how mine works. So far, this is the worst part of my new journey into cancer hood.

santabarbarian

Spookiesmom, Me too I fell asleep the last time. I think it's no biggie! They offer headphones and music at my place. Also a little hand clicker you can click and they will stop immediately if you do.

MRIs seem to have the best pickup of cancer so of course it is scary for cancer to potentially appear, but insofar as the procedure it is not bad!

Georgia1

Jessie, I actually prefer lying on my stomach - I fantasize I'm at the spa getting a back massage from a super-nice person from outer space who just happens to make loud noises! That's weird, I know, but when I distract myself, and make myself kinda laugh silently, it helps a lot!

Brooke, you won't be able to see or hear your friend during the MRI, but if she drives and you take a Xanax it will take the edge off. I just ask the techs to tell me exactly what they are doing at all times - it helps to hear a friendly voice.

Good luck! It will be over before you know it.

WC3

The breast MRIs are like being on a massage table. You won't feel like you are in a scanner and the machines these days tend to have wide bore holes, lights, mirrors so you can see out, and sound like electronic music.

The first MRI I ever had for an issue in the 90s was an old small bore machine, no air, mirror or light in side and sounded like a machine gun...it was something like 0.5T and took forever too. They have come long way since the 80s/90s though.

brooke17927

thanks everyone, this for sure helps. Jessie, do not cancel your next appt! There’s no way I will cancel, I mean really, what’s the worst that can happen? I don’t like it and don’t want to do it but I don’t think the machine is going to eat me so I think it’ll be ok, lo

AliceBastable

Just make sure the tech doesn't rush you. Take your time getting settled on the table and into the position they need. I was off just a fraction of an inch and it made me uncomfortable for the whole time. Insist on being able to wiggle around a bit before they start.

brooke17927

thanks Alice, good advice

illimae

For the claustrophobia, close your eyes. I sort of meditate and try to imagine what is making the noises, to me it sounds like an old sci-fi movie, a construction site and kids banging on pots & pans. I’ve imagined some amusing things in there and it no longer bothers me a bit.

Meow13

I probably am weird but I kind of like the MRI. I imagine I am in the future and the bad cancer cells are being zapped with all the strange noises. I have extremely sensitive hearing they give you ear plug and a headset that helps.

Spookiesmom

That’s what I did during rads. Kept thinking die cancer, die. 😂😂😂😂

brooke17927

well thanks for the advice everyone. I also just called them and they said that I have to take out my nose ring so I'm kinda upset about that, dumb, I know. I just am bummed about all of this, ready to get it over with. I've taken it out before for like an hour and basically had to re-pierce my nose.

NotVeryBrave

A couple of things:

I was worried before my first MRI - what would be found, how I would do, how long it would take. It was fine. Much easier than I imagined. Being face down with my eyes closed - no claustrophobia or anything. And they did small segments at a time, maybe 4-8 minutes and told me how long each would be.

I went with two of my kids when they had MRI's of hip and knee. I was able to hold their hand during the procedure but couldn't talk with them.

Can you get a plastic nose ring? You can't have anything metal near the MRI machine due to the strong magnets. That might work.

brooke17927

thank you, that's exactly everything going thru my mind and I guess too, I wonder why they recommend an MRI instead of an ultrasound. I had a biopsy for calcifications that came back benign, it was indicated on my mammogram report that I have heterogenous breast tissue and when I went for the biopsy, they actually wanted me to do the MRI first and then the biopsy but wouldn't have done either that day. My husband and I pushed for the biopsy so did that first. I don't know if I'm just scared or what but obviously would much rather do the ultrasound and not sure why they didn't do that.

AliceBastable

The various imaging procedures are for different things. The MRI is to give the surgeon kind of a road map of your breast, showing the location of the tumor in all dimensions. Remember, when they are in there ready to remove it, the tumor doesn't necessarily look different from normal tissue to the human eye.

brooke17927

I don’t have that tho, I only had calcifications which were benign and dense breast tissue

brooke17927

well i got my appt. moved up to tomorrow but everything i keep reading is about false positives with a breast mri and I've already had one biopsy and I just keep questioning things, I guess maybe cuz I don't want to do it. I'm not sure.

Toyamjj

Brooke,

I get my mri tomorrow, hope all goes well for you. Im not so much afraid of the test itself, but rather what they will find. I was just diagnosed this Tuesday after having a biopsy done. Things are moving fast and honestly I'm terrified. My husband is the only one who knows, I'm afraid to tell my kids and family, this I s so devastating. Im finding so much comfort in this board and grateful for everyones support.

NotVeryBrave

Brooke - So you had calcifications and a biopsy that was benign? If so - I'm not sure why they are doing the MRI. It seems like they most often follow a mammogram with an ultrasound, especially for a palpable lump or dense breast tissue. Have you asked why they want the MRI?

brooke17927

No, I didn't ask, just going with it. I have another friend who has dense breast tissue that does an MRI every 2 years for screening so I'm guessing they're just being overly precatious, I'm just hoping I don't have to go back for another biopsy from a false positive but yeah my mammogram was 3d and nothing was indicated on my report of any suspicion other than the dense tissue.

brooke17927

But anyway, I had the MRI this morning, I ended up getting my appt moved up, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, I never looked up from the time my face was down, and the noises being kind of rythmic, I just counted the noises. I did think about what some of you said about zapping the cancer cells too and that helped so thank you all! Now we wait....again. I kind of wish that I felt more of a sense of relief which I felt after I had the biopsy but I'm just so worried about them finding something and false positives. I did ask the tech at the end how everything looked, trying to get a read from her and she just said everything looked good and they got everything they needed.