I have to have an MRI on my knee. Anyway, I happen to be claustrophobic and... Am I going to have a problem? I've been worrying about it since my doctor, when making a note to arrange the test, out of the blue asked me if I'm claustrophobic. I was so surprised that it didn't occur to me to ask why he wanted to know.

I'd appreciate any info anyone has that might help me know what I'm in for. Thanks.

ML

Okay, I'm not claustrophobic, but I have to admit, I felt a bit like the filling inside an eclair when I got my round of MRIs and various brain scans last summer. It kind of depends on how claustrophobic you are and how much of you they plan on stuffing inside the tube...I mean, they didn't stick my entire body inside this thing; they were just scanning my head so a lot of me was hanging out in the room, while I listened to the radio. But if you think it's going to be a problem, a lot of places have access to open MRI facilities, and it's not so...enclosing.

JD

I had a brain MRI done several years ago. I am somewhat claustrophobic, but since I knew that it was a narrow enclosed tube I was prepared for that and didn't find it too bad.

You're supposed to lie as still as possible. Of course, when faced with a directive like this, various parts of my body start itching or twitching. If you move too much, your body could change position enough that they have to start the scan over.

The worst thing for me was the racket. The machine is incredibly noisy - you hear all sorts of rattles and clankings, etc. No one had warned me of this, so I hadn't brought ear plugs with me. So I would definitely recommend bringing those with you to help dampen the background. Also, some centers are able to pipe in music to you - my friend a few months ago brought in a CD of soothing music to listen to and help calm her. I don't think all places do that, but you can ask.

Kathy

Ask your doctor about an Open MRI. My mom had to have one because she had a panic attack in the normal tube shaped one. The sides are open, but you're on a table with a large piece of equipment above you.

Open MRI of Canada

The above has some information and a good picture of what I so poorly described.

Yeah, was going to say that they have Open MRIs now. They're rare, but if you're claustrophobic, I'd bet it'd help.

Personally, I've been scanned a few times in a regular MRI tube. It's a tight fit, but not really that bad. As others have mentioned, the noise is more disruptive than anything.

Basically... It looks something like this:





You're inside a plastic tunnel. Circular cross-section just big enough to fit an adult human. You're lying on a rectangular pallet that slides in and out of the tube. There's a plastic grid mask over your face. You're not supposed to move if you can possibly help it. Attached to the mask, directly above your eyes, is a small mirror, which is angled so that if you look up, you can see along the length of your body to the open end of the tunnel.

The tunnel is inside the middle of this giant machine. On the other side of the tunnel walls, powerful magnets will be fired off. (So make sure not to have anything metallic on you... Wear sweatpants without a belt or zipper, etc.) It sounds like someone banging on the tunnel walls with a giant hammer. Sometimes it bangs very loudly. Sometimes somewhat softer. The noises echo through the tunnel. It's kind of like the stupid kids next door have cranked up the stereo and you can hear the drums through the wall pounding at different volumes with a rhythm that would probably make sense if only you could hear the rest of the "music."

One thing I like to do is to bring a favorite CD along with me. They can pipe music in there through something very much like a stethoscope - a Y-shaped plastic tube that carries the sound from the speakers (outside the room) into the tunnel, over your body, and to your ears. (Some labs pipe music in through the computer, giving you an option of whatever's on the radio, but most can play a CD for you.)

Of course, you can't hear the CD at all when the drumming is at its loudest, but that's only for a few minutes at a time. And you're going to be in that tube for about an hour (give or take, depending on what they're scanning, etc).

Oh, and sometimes you have to do it with and without contrast. I doubt they'll do that to you since they're just doing the leg, but it does happen. Basically, they do a scan as-is, inject some dye via IV, wait for it to spread, and then put you back in to run the scan over again.

The other option is to close your eyes, lie still, and find something interesting to think about. For example, plotting out your next story. Something to keep you occupied while you're in there.

Or you could stay up all night and arrive so tired that you actually manage to fall asleep inside the tunnel, despite the semi-rythmic pounding. It has happened...

Anyway, that's about as best as I can describe it off the top of my head. Hope this helps. And good luck.

My grandmother has undergone the procedure quite recently. Since she is claustrophobic, too, they offered her a sedative. At least after she had jumped out of the tube for the first time. Anyway, it's another possibility.

Thanks for all your responses. I'm not sure if they helped or made me even more nervous .

Still, it will hopefully allow me to prepare for it.

So thanks.

ML

They might be able to put you in feet first, up to the waist or so. When I was looking for pictures yesterday, I found one of someone going in that way. It couldn't hurt to ask. Just call up the imaging center and see what they can tell you.

Or you could ask your doctor to send you for an open MRI. If the one Katie linked you to isn't close by, there may be another one that is. Open MRI machines have only (I believe) been around for a couple of years, but they're growing in popularity.

Either way, good luck. I hope the results come back good (whatever that may mean in your case).

Thanks, Paul. I have no idea what it means in my case. But I must admit that I'm hoping he will look at the results and say: "I know what your problem is! You're not eating enough chocolate."

ML

lol!

I suspect that is the problem with many of us. I know the good people at Mars, Inc. are putting a fair amount of money into scientific research to prove that very thing.

In the meantime, all we can do is try our best to keep our daily chocolate intake at a healthy level.

For, after all, if I've learned anything over the years, it's that life is like a box of chocolates... without chocolate, it's empty!

I had an MRI on my knee several years ago, and at least in my case they stuck my legs in and left my torso outside. My understanding of the technology is that they only need to enclose the part of your body which is being scanned (assuming it isn't an open MRI, of course).

I, too, thought the racket was really bad, but I understand that more modern machines are somewhat less noisy. I wish you the best with your exam. It turned out that I no longer had my left ACL and had to have it replaced.

I won't scare you with that story. I'm sure your experience won't be like mine.

I'm not fond of tight spaces either, not sure if I'm actually claustrophobic or not. But I had to have an MRI done on my hand a couple years ago leading up to my surgery. I was nervous but I quickly found that the horrible noise was so distracting and loud that I didn't care about the tight space LOL. They sometimes give you headphones to listen to music, but that does absolutely nothing to drown out the sound of the actual machine. Seriously, after 45 minutes of that you'll be more concerned about the headache you've gotten then the tight space.

Since you are having the MRI done on your knee, I imagine they won't need to place you fully in the tube ... but I'm not sure. Like others said, ask for an Open MRI if possible. If not, all I can say is close your eyes and focus on how irritating the sound is and that might help. It sure helped me LOL. Good luck with everything!

WHATEVER Procedure you do have
MAKE SURE THE OPERATORS OF THE MRI (open or closed) KNOW THAT YOU ARE A CLAUSTROPHOBIC

that way they will be prepared for anything, and will know if they need to stop the procedure prematurely in order to assist you if you do have a panic attack


they can even sedate you beforehand so long as it does-not interfere with the region of interest (depending if it is an f-MRI or not, which measures activity in the brain and responses to music/light/etc.... that would be affected by sedatives) normal (non-functional) MRI just measures the tissues involved, looking for abnormal anatomical features, in comparison to measuring neurological responses

I know for instance that it is the normal procedure in Australia that all children are sedated beforehand, but most f-MRI stuff is not used in kids anyway due to its research functions... etc.

just re-read the thread and only now realised it is a knee procedure


thus they will be probably only too happy to sedate you beforehand if you are that frightened


note you may not be actually unconscious
but more like "drunk" or "stoned" (from cannabis).... just common descriptors, not that they actually use alcohol or cannabis, i meant more as terms that would be familiar....

Don't worry. I suspect even if I forget (and there is not much chance of that), they will figure it out quickly enough

As for choosing where to go... I doubt I'll have any choice. I live in a small city in an isolated area of the country. I suspect the only place that does MRIs is at our hospital.

ML