My MRI experience

Yesterday I went for an MRI scan, here’s how it went…

After a smooth two hour journey we got to Guys about 40 mins before my allotted scan time. I had to fill out a consent and declaration form which checks things like whether you have a pacemaker, do you have glaucoma and do you have any metal inside you. As I was having a uterine scan I also has to say if I had been injected with the dye before and whether I had any reaction.

While we were waiting I took all my jewellery off and as I’d read the info that came with my appointment letter I wore an elasticated skirt (no zips) and a jumper so didnt have to put on a robe (phew!).

I was asked to move through to the MRI area and there was a team waiting for me to figure out how best to handle me. My PA fixed the extra long tubing to my ventilator, i adjusted the pressure setting to allow for this.The hoist was there – yippee – so once on the trolley, my carer whipped off my callipers (KAFOs) and a couple of ladies set about making me comfy and put the canunula in my hand for the dye to be injected during the scan. It was suggested that my PA come in the room with the scanner in case I needed help, she agreed to this and had to take off jewellery etc too.

A bit of a wait for the previous person to come out and I was wheeled in on a trolley to scanning room with the ventilator and battery pack being left outside the room. I was transferred to the scanner bed by a team of 4 people, 2 on either side, who rolled me onto a transfer board and slid me over. I felt the bed was a harder surface than I am used to so I had my own pillow for head and shoulders and a curved wedge under my knees to take a bit of the strain – cannot lie with legs flat as hips and knee contractures. Also had a blanket under my heels because they are known pressure areas for me. I was given a buzzer to squeeze should I be in distress, headphones for some music to make it more pleasant and then a plate was put over my middle.

The scan: the bed moved in to the scanner tunnel although not as far as I’d been before but then that was a brain scan. Then I had half an hour of lying still apart from the natural movement of the ventilator tube, with Elton John, Phil Collins et al. failing miserably at trying to drown out the loud whurring, clanging and banging. One noise reminded me if the Simon Says handheld game when you went wrong and another a fruit machine – funny the things you focus on. Towards the end I was asked to hold my breath however the ventilator forces me to breathe. I mentioned this afterwards and the nurse didnt think it would affect the images a great deal.

A few things I would suggest for anyone having an MRI:

Beforehand, request hoist and mention about ventilator if needed.

Arrange longer tubing from your own hospital’s respiratory technicians – mine was 7.5 metres in length.

Take anything that will help to get comfortable for example, pillow, supports.

Don’t wear anything with a zip or any metal then you don’t have to get undressed.

Blow your nose, clear throat if you can before you go in the scanner as I had a build up which made breathing a bit tricky.

Take your own CDs with you if you have an adverse reaction to easy listening music!!