Breast MRI - anyone else have a miserable experience?

Hi, The MRIs are not a walk in the woods. My first one, MRI-assisted biopsy, left me with increased tinnitus. I knew they are loud, but didn't prepare for the jack hammer noise. They only gave me cheesy earplugs...no earphones.

 My 2nd MRI, at another facility, was fine. Admitedly it was a bit shorter, but I made such a stink about hearing loss, they were very helpful with the issue. I believe earphones, as they provided, are considered the norm. Now I'm stuck with permanent, increased tinnitus. Hiss, hiss. 

Yeah I got BAD headache after mine. Friend of mine told me how it would be so I closed my and walked every golf course I knew in my head so I would not thnk about where I really was. I now tell folks plan a trip in your head during it so you can get through

My techs gave me headphones with Frank Sinatra playing for the part on my back, but the long session on my belly was so miserable!  I kept transporting myself to Hawaii with my husband and daughter or imagining all my 4-year old daughter's amazing dance moves.  Sometimes I did such a good job at getting my mind off of it that I was surprised to remember where I was.  I almost had a heart attack when my BS told me there had been a malfunction with the MRI, but it only meant that they couldn't summarize the images.  Thankfully they still had my images!  He said they have lost them in the past. : /

If I ever have to have one again I am going to get the earplugs because I was surprised by how loud the MRI is and I could barely hear the music in the earphones. And the unpredictable banging startled me, I almost started laughing at one point because I was envisioning that the whole thing was a hoax and it was just some crazy person banging things against the machine. Kept me amused.

Also, something in my eye started vibrating to the frequency/vibrations at the very beginning of the session. I was a little weirded out and thought I was going to go blind so, I mentioned it and the tech said the MRI can get body parts vibrating... Luckily that went away and I can still see. If I ever have to have another MRI I think I will wear eye patches pressed against my eyes so they don't vibrate. I looked online afterwards to see if anyone else had similar experience, never did see anything.

Last week I had my 4th MRI (in the past I'd had 2 breast MRIs and one pelvic). The ones in the past hadn't been too bad - noisy but only mildly uncomfortable. Last week was a different story! I have asthma, which has been a little bit worse this spring, and lying on my stomach with most of my chest compressed was NOT good for me. I was having trouble breathing towards the end. The doc there saw I was not doing well and removed the IV very quickly so I could get my Ventolin.

Note to self: avoid  breast MRIs in allergy season.

Leah

I had an MRI and an MRI guided biopsy and both times I insisted on not putting my face down into what would have felt like a fish bowl. They let me keep my head to the side. I wouldn't have been able to do it the other way. I would have felt like I couldn't breath and my neck would have hurt.

My first MRI, done before surgery, was like yours--I was incredibly anxious and uncomfortable and felt several times like pushing the panic button. When I had to have another one last year (because the radiologist who did my mammogram saw something too small to diagnose with an ultrasound), I asked my NP for Ativan. Maximum dose. That helped; I also went to a facility run by a larger hospital, so the equipment was more up to date. I was nauseous afterward from the giant dose of Ativan, but the procedure was a piece of cake. And best of all it was completely clear!

So if you have to have one again, ask for Ativan or Valium. If anybody needs those drugs, we do!

And best of luck with your treatment.

I've had a breast MRI and a MRI-guided biopsy. I consider myself to be very stoic pain-wise, but I was not expecting how uncomfortable the two procedures would be. Not only was the body positioning almost unbearable--with arms frozen overhead along with the unrelenting pressure on my breast bone--but with flimsy ear plugs, the machine noise was almost beyond human tolerance. I did not flinch, not even for a second, during both procedures, but was completely shaken and disoriented afterwards. I needed assistance with getting off the table and walking as my balance and gait were affected.

MRI-Guided Breast Biopsy: Am I the only patient who bled like crazy into the clear plastic breast molds? I was not expecting that either!!! It was shocking to see so much blood, but maybe that's to be expected?

GlobalGal

I took valium before my MRI. It was just one 5mg pill (I think that was the dosage). I had to take it in front of the nurse giving me the MRI. It didn't kick in quick enough for my comfort.

If I ever need another one, I want some really good drugs first. That was the most miserable part of the whole BC experience! And I don't get claustrophobic in MRIs, so it wasn't the mental part for me. It was just so effing uncomfortable.