who's had an MRI? I have a few quick questions.

[Grumpy's Gal]

this is an MRI of a head.

did you have to wear anything particular?
take out earrings? no jewelry?

about how long does it take?

do you have to stay awake? do they talk to you while you're inside the machine?

 

[imabrat]

No jewelry whatsoever. No metal on anything, be it zippers, buckles, etc.

It's going to be loud. They either give you earplugs or a set of big headphones and they play music. You can choose what station you want to listen to or bring in your own CD. They give you a squeeze ball to press if you get to scared and need to take a break. Mostly you stay awake but sometimes they can sedate you. I've had MRIs last anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half.

 

[Kim&Chris]

I recently had an MRI of my neck.

Yes, I had to remove all jewelry.

Do they talk to you? It will depend. I've had MRI's done where they pipe in music and/or talk to you. The MRI I had on my neck...no one talked to me talked during the MRI. I think it was probably because the tech was simply not a 'talky' person. I do believe you will need to stay awake, simply so you can make sure you stay nice & still.

I am guessing it took about 25-30 minutes.

 

[Erin1700]

I had to wear a gown I think, no jewlery at all, even hair ties were not allowed.

they talked to me and also played music for me. My DD was 8 when she had one and she had to be put to sleep to do it.

I hope it goes well for you! Imagine laying in the over head compartment on an airplane. It is not too bad.

 

[Tazicket]

this is an MRI of a head.

did you have to wear anything particular?
take out earrings? no jewelry?

about how long does it take?

do you have to stay awake? do they talk to you while you're inside the machine?

I've had MRI's of my neck, shoulder, and lower back. All 3 were "open" MRI's. I just didn't wear any jewelry (besides my wedding band, and I locked that up in the changing room) - at the facility I went to, you were allowed to bring a guest with you into the room and I believe they had to remove their jewelry as well.

All of mine were pretty quick - no more than 30 minutes or so.

I was on valium for all three (I don't do closed in spaces very well), and probably could have fallen asleep, but it's pretty noisy. You aren't supposed to move, either. I never had anybody talk to me while I was in the machine (mine were all "open" MRI's, if that makes a difference). There was a recording that would tell me when they were going to start (at least I think there was - like I said, I was pretty out of it due to the valium).

They really weren't that bad at all.

Good luck!!

ETA: They provided scrubs for me to change in to, and I had to fill out the paperwork another poster referenced about surgical pins, screws, etc... They were very helpful, and I was able to call to ask them about their processes for the day, so that I was prepared (I really hate going into something not knowing what to expect).

 

[Heidict]

Yes, you will have to remove all jewelry prior to the MRI, the will also ask you a list of questions (have you ever been shot, do you have any pins inside you, have you ever worked at certain places or around certain types of things, etc).

You head will be put in a plastic "cage". I know it sounds weird, but it doesn't hurt! It will take about 45 minutes to an hour.

You can sleep if you want to, but you do have to remain very still during the whole process or they image will not come out. I have given them a CD before, to listen to while the procedure is going on or they can often just turn it to a radio station that you like. The music will help to cover up the noises of the machine, which can be a bit loud. You will hear banging noises.

They generally don't talk to you to much. They will ask if you are okay and let you know how much longer you have to go.

If you are claustrophobic be sure to talk to your doctor about getting something to take prior to the MRI.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

[HM]

I had an MRI of my head. Gown, no jewelry. No music or conversation. Just told me to hold still and be prepared for the loud noise. I don't think it took more than 15 minutes. It's been years, so I'm not really clear on how long. I had been afraid of feeling claustriphobic, but that wasn't a problem since I could see out of the MRI machine just fine.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I have had 3 on head, neck and neck/shoulder.

Like everyone else has said NO jewelry. I did not have to wear a gown and left on my t-shirt and pants except when they did my shoulder.

In all 3 (different hospitals on different states) I could hear the tech through a speaker. They would periodically ask me if I was doing okay. Once I had to sneeze and was twitching and they came on to tell me to be still. I went ahead and sneezed then so that I COULD be still--which was okay. They said they jsut "redid" a sweep

2 out of three times I had the radio to listen to--the other had nothing, just the banging.

Mine lasted anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.

It is basically like lying in a plastic pipe and hearing a bunch of banging. My feet were allowed to stick out of an opening at the end each time which I liked--it would have felt very claustrophobic for me otherwise.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

many of you mention the banging....what on earth is the banging? and if you are laying still and then banging happens, might you "jump"?

 

[NAB]

many of you mention the banging....what on earth is the banging? and if you are laying still and then banging happens, might you "jump"?

I wouldn't call it banging more like clanging. I didnt' find it that loud. It is magnetic forces , that is why you can't have any metal anywhere.

Was in a closed one where your feet stick out. and cage like thing goes over your face. I found if I left my eyes closed the whole time it was fine. Then you don't see that your closed in. They also gave me a button to push if I felt to enclosed and needed out. Some one does talk to you and ask how you are doing or tell you they are almost done. Pretty easy.

 

[NHdisneylover]

many of you mention the banging....what on earth is the banging? and if you are laying still and then banging happens, might you "jump"?

I don't really know--so take this as the VERY non technical and possibly plain wrong answer that it is The way it was explained to me was that there is one big magnet and several small ones in the machine. The little ones have to slide in and out of place fast to take the image and when they move it makes this clanging noises which sounds pretty loud inside the machine.

You might jump the first time, but then you will be used to it. It will go on constantly (like a hammer) for a few minutes, then stop (that is when they told me I could move a LITTLE bit (like licking my lips) if needed, and then start up again (after a warning from the tech).

 

[mamacatnv]

I had an MRI of my left knee last summer, I had a toe ring on the right foot that would not come off and they let it be. I did remove my wedding rings.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

did you have an IV of some kind of liquid (ok, that was pretty silly -- of course an IV is going to be liquid)

but some kind of something -- I don't know what it is called -- the liquid would travel thru your veins or something so they can see where it goes?

 

[Mom3girls]

I had an IV with liquid but that was for a CT scan of my heart. Different procedure, just like you mentioned...to see the dye going through my veins and arteries. Just had an MRI of my knee two weeks ago. Noise is very loud, you will need headphones!!!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I had an IV with liquid but that was for a CT scan of my heart. Different procedure, just like you mentioned...to see the dye going through my veins and arteries. Just had an MRI of my knee two weeks ago. Noise is very loud, you will need headphones!!!

can you tell I've been watching the tv show "House M.D." way too much? I am pretty sure they are always talking to the people they have in the MRI machine. ANd it's always the top notch dr's that are doing the MRI -- they don't have an MRI tech. ha ha

 

[LisaNJ25]

did you have an IV of some kind of liquid (ok, that was pretty silly -- of course an IV is going to be liquid)

but some kind of something -- I don't know what it is called -- the liquid would travel thru your veins or something so they can see where it goes?

I had to have one with my MRI 2 weeks ago. I believe its because mine called for "with contrast". I also had to drink this really nasty stuff the night before and day of. For me they were looking at pelvis and abdomen. I had an open mri and took about 10 minutes.

 

[crashbb]

did you have an IV of some kind of liquid (ok, that was pretty silly -- of course an IV is going to be liquid)

but some kind of something -- I don't know what it is called -- the liquid would travel thru your veins or something so they can see where it goes?

You are probably refering to a "contrast". All of my MRIs have had contrasts (various body parts). They put in an IV line before you get into the MRI room. Once you are in the correct position (but before they slide the bed into the MRI), they attach your IV to the mechanism that will administer the contrast (the exact mechanism has differed at each place I've had an MRI, but it doesn't really affect you).

They take a bunch of pictures without the contrast. Then, the technician will tell you that they are giving the contrast. Generally, they do not have to enter the room to do so.

You can generally feel it go in and you might have a funny (metalic) taste in your mouth or a feeling of warmth. This is normal (your technician should tell you what to expect).

Then they take some more pictures. This is the time to make sure you are really, really still. They cannot redo a "sweep" if you move, since they are carefully timed to the time since they administered the contrast.

many of you mention the banging....what on earth is the banging? and if you are laying still and then banging happens, might you "jump"?

It's the mice falling off their wheels!

There all sorts of different noises - bangs, whirls, and clanks. They tend to go in cycles.

 

[Jockaroo]

My MRI was of my wrist in an open MRI machine. I had contrast and my wrist was inflated with saline so they could get good images. I was very nicely numbed and this didn't hurt. I went into the machine on my stomach in a "Superman flying" position. The worst part was my shoulder cramped some from lying so still.

did you have to wear anything particular? No metal. I wore a knit pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt. I bought a special bra/cami with no underwire, hooks or metal strap adjusters. Slip on tennis shoes, but I think I took these off.

take out earrings? no jewelry? Nothing metal at all. Remove all jewelry, earrings, necklaces, watches, rings. I was told that if I had many metal fillings that I could feel a tingle in my mouth. I don't have many and I didn't feel anything odd.

about how long does it take? It will vary procedure to procedure. Ask the technician--they are so great and want you to be comfortable. I was told how many images they were taking and how many minutes each would take. I believe I had 7-8 images taken and they ranged from 2-5 minutes each. Overall the test was about 45-50 minutes. My tech was awesome and really helped me relax.

do you have to stay awake? do they talk to you while you're inside the machine? I stayed awake. It is noisy. Think of how it would sound if you were inside a shooter video game or a pinball machine. Lots of knocking, pinging and banging. The technician talked to me. You need to lay very still.

Good luck. It really isn't that bad. The worst part for me was when the numbing agent wore off on the way home and my hand was inflated from the saline. That did hurt, but I had a painful injury already. I was told I could drive myself home. I'm glad I didn't try that, I did need someone with me due to the pain and limited mobility in my hand.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I had MRI's of both shoulders and it took about 1 1/2 hours. They played (AWFUL) Mariachi music the whole time and the tech also spoke to me to tell me when they were taking another view and when to be very still.
It was an open MRI, but I am so very claustrophic they put a mask over my eyes before sliding me into the machine and I never felt confined. Oh, my Dr. had given me one valium to take ahead of time, but it didn't really help my apprehension at all...just slowed down my thought processes so I felt nervous AND stupid!

 

[KiKi Mouse]

I have MS so I've had a few of my brain. I just had the latest one on the 8th.
They don't bother me at all. The first one was the scariest as it was my first time. The last time the tech was quick, asked me if she wanted her to talk to me or just get it done. I picked choice B. I was given a warm blanket

You'll be fine. Just close your eyes and relax.