Well my new neuro is certainly thorough! I;m booked in for a 2 hour MRI tomorrow evening, plus blood testing for about 12 different things! Hopefully this will at least finally determine if its MS or FND. oh and possibly having LP in next couple of weeks. Hate all this stuff but can’t complain as this neur is looking really carefully to find an answer.
Longest MRI I have ever had was an hour (ish) dreading 2 hours of it, don’t think my bladder will hold out that long and laying on the glass plates really hurts my back.
Ask for the cushion they should have to put under your knees. For me, this makes it so much easier to keep still in comfort. I now know to ask for it if they forget to offer.
Hi Bunnythecat My mum last week went for an MRI which was over 1hr and 30 mins long, the first she has in years due to her epilepsy being at a stable level until recently. The tip I gave her as it helps me when I get one done is to get the person doing the scan to tell at the start of each individual scan how long it’s going to take so when I’m lying there I don’t think I’m here for an hour but for 3 minutes, 7 minutes. I normally start to count the length of the scan but never manage to finish but it does keep me occupied. Hope it goes well. Polly x
Take a CD with you. My local hospital will play your CD through the headphones to you, or if you haven’t taken a CD, they play the radio to you. The other hospital where I’ve had an MRI wouldn’t play music but the person doing the scan was very good at speaking to me between scans and telling me how long the next one would take, telling me we were half-way through, last one coming up etc. I counted the thumps to try and keep track of the duration of each scan - it kept my mind occupied.
And yes, you should be offered a cushion under your knees. You should also be given a panic button to hold - if you press it, they’ll stop the scan and get you out immediately. I don’t like the cage over my face but I just close my eyes. If you’re a bit claustrophobic, a blindfold may help - I know one person for whom a blindfold did help and another for whom it didn’t.
Hi all. Had the MRI last night, it lasted 90 mins rather than the 2 hours they said so not so bad. Was very unpleasant though, having to lay still all that time caused agony in my back and I got told off cos I was having spasms and tremors in my legs so they asked me to see if I could try and control them. Errr…how excatly? So spent the whole 90 mins absolutely rigid trying to control spasms and could barely move by the time it finished. Paying for it today, all my muscles are screaming at me.
Oh well at least its done and hopefully this will be the one that finally determines MS or FND.
Well done hunni! Sounds very unpleasant and uncomfortable, but at least now they can hopefully give you some idea of what’s going on. I think you did well to keep your calm when asked the ridiculous ‘can you control the tremors’. A while back, I was having my eye movements or nerves or whatever tested , and I was told the same. In the end I told him ‘no, there isn’t an off switch’ Best of luck and keep us posted xx
Best of luck and keep us posted xx