I had one done over the summer. First it was going to be an open MRI; cage didn't fit over my chest. Then they scheduled me for an MRI where they said was open but I would be sitting up in a chair. Once the sides closed in on me I jumped out of the chair. Finally, they put me in the tube. Never again while I am awake! I have had several MRI's before but now I am so claustrophobic I can't do it again. CAT scans are quick, but MRI's are too much.

quote:

Originally posted by dking271:
I’ve never been one to be claustrophobic through many MRIs until the last one on my shoulder. I think the combination of going head first into the machine and the way I was pinned down started getting to me half way through. It took a tremendous amount of mental fortitude to gut my way through the second half. I can completely understand how a person can freak out in an MRI machine.

Yup, this. For the same reason. To make it worse, my bicep started to cramp after 40 minutes and I couldn't control the shaking. The decided that they had enough data and quit at that point.

Miserable machines. Next time is either an Open MRI, or I am drugged into insensitivity.

quote:

Originally posted by 1lowlife:
I've had a few in my life for knees, lower back, and kidney stones, never had an issue..
But I got another one on my lower back early this year and it was very uncomfortable.
I never did open my eyes through the 45 minute process.
I guess at 58 it bugs me more than it used to.

had a few for stones over the years, and one for the intercardia heart health scan years ago,


never felt clostrophobic in one,

did not care for the sound they made, one in particular sounded like someone tossing around a bag of hammers or something

How many of you remember the San Francisco earthquake in 1989? One section of freeway collapsed onto the one below. The cars were crushed. One guy survived in his car even though it was squished down to 18 inches or so. He was there a couple of days until they got to him. I wonder how he is doing... That is some REAL claustrophobia!

Earlier this year I got choked on a piece of meat. It was lodged in my throat just above my stomach and wouldn’t budge. I could breath fine but water, saliva, etc was pooling up in there. I had to go to the hospital and they put me in a tube for imaging. I think it was an MRI. I freaked the fuck out. It was my first time and I started coughing and carrying on and had to get out of there. It was absolutely the worst feeling I’ve had in my adult life.

I’m afraid of ledges and now I must be claustrophobic

I’ve had three since April 2019 (stroke related) and I’ve never felt such claustrophobic reactions in my life...I feel your pain!

quote:

Originally posted by pbramlett:
Earlier this year I got choked on a piece of meat. It was lodged in my throat just above my stomach and wouldn’t budge. I could breath fine but water, saliva, etc was pooling up in there. I had to go to the hospital and they put me in a tube for imaging. I think it was an MRI. I freaked the fuck out. It was my first time and I started coughing and carrying on and had to get out of there. It was absolutely the worst feeling I’ve had in my adult life.

I’m afraid of ledges and now I must be claustrophobic

I hear you on the claustrophobic thing. But now I want to know how they got that piece of meat out???

Since having cancer, I've had so many MRI and CT scans.

The wose ever was the first one I ever had (MRI) in 2003, days after finding out I had cancer.

Was going through nicotine withdrawal, as I had just quit smoking couple days earlier, and was freaked out after learning I had cancer.

The MRI wss to assess the tumor in my neck.

I've had other MRI's since then, some lasting an hour.

You are going to want to skip right over the "stuck in an elevator" thread,
No reason to go there.

I had two MRIs in 2012/13 related to my Achilles tendon injury. They didn't put my head in because A, the problem was on the other end, and B, I have metal in my head.

I can't do the regular MRI, but I can survive the "open MRI" we have in town. The dr. doesn't like it as well, because the images aren't quite as crisp as they are in the regular machine.

I have a meningioma (sp?) small benign tumor or cyst next to the skull, so they scan me every year or two to make sure it isn't growing/changing. The little tiny bit of valium they offered one time didn't change things a bit, but the larger MRI chamber helps enough that I can get through it.


Worst experience I've had so far - I ended up in the far back corner of a 15 passenger van and started freaking out a little because I knew I couldn't get out quickly. On the way back from the site visit I waited so I could sit next to the door and I was fine.

Then they tell you not to move. Que itchy nose.

quote:

I am so claustrophobic I can't do it again.

Went through that with my wife years ago. It took three times and finally they gave her a shot to calm her down. Back then I don't think it was the open style.

On a trip to Ireland she made me drive hours to a site of a well known tourist attraction. It involved walking through a rather small tunnel to get inside the dome. She wouldn't go in.

Several MRI's here.

Before my initial one, I was terrified. So I made my own tube so to speak, sat in it to get over my fear.

Several MRI's later. I still always ask for music, and for the tech to let me know how long each and every scan is before it starts. Works for me.

quote:

Originally posted by rscalzo:

quote:

I am so claustrophobic I can't do it again.

Went through that with my wife years ago. It took three times and finally they gave her a shot to calm her down. Back then I don't think it was the open style.

On a trip to Ireland she made me drive hours to a site of a well known tourist attraction. It involved walking through a rather small tunnel to get inside the dome. She wouldn't go in.

There is a place in New Hampshire, the Lost River Gorge. It has rocks to squeeze through, one called the Lemon Squeeze. No way I could attempt it. Kids loved it, I couldn't get near it.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
I wonder how he is doing...

Off topic, but if it was the same one I remember, he died a couple of days after being rescued. Immediately after he was found, I saw a headline that screamed, “LUCKY BUCK!” (his name, IIRC), and I could only think, No, if he had been lucky in any way, he wouldn’t have been under a collapsing bridge and would have escaped the earthquake unscathed—like billions of other people that day.

THANKS for the update. Really unlucky.

I’ve had several MRIs, in the past, with no problem. About 2 years ago I had one, and I couldn’t do it. They ran me in several times, and I just couldn’t stay in there. They couldn’t do anything about it without the Dr. writing a prescription, and that would mean rescheduling it. The nurse ended up covering my eyes with a wash cloth. I could keep my eyes open and not see anything. That was enough for me to go in, and stay in.

For those who have claustrophobia to some degree and can still tolerate the enclosure, how many have tried some form of meditation technique or mental distraction? I have learned about what meditation involves only in the past couple of years and since my last MRI, but even before that “Don’t think about a pink elephant” was something I could actually do (mostly) and that was the key to my getting through the sessions.

Several years ago, about the same time I developed SAD, I woke up one morning and I was claustrophobic. I couldn't even think about being closed in and where MRI's were no big deal, it suddenly became a very big deal. I'm fairly big and going into an MRI tube is like squeezing a cork into a wine bottle and that lack of mobility is too much. Fortunately the SAD has become less of a problem and so has the claustrophobia, but a closed MRI is still a no go.