Hi everyone,
I have rrms, been diagnosed since 2010.
Over the past few years I have been getting more and more anxious. Really anxious about mri’s, I used to go in mri for numerous years okay, I now find myself getting uncontrollable anxiety. I still get anxiety even without the added anxiety of going in the mri.
Does anyone get terrible anxiety? What do you do to get through it?
At times I keep getting this impending fear, keep going to the toilet, thinking the worst outcome.
Any help please ?
Hi NCM, I know you are anxious about MRIs but is your anxiety becoming more generalised and ongoing?
I think many people with MS experience depression and anxiety. Either as a result of a direct effect of MS on the brain or as a perfectly natural response to having a lifelong and quite unpredictable condition. Like many, I went through anxiety/ depression and I started taking Citalopram (GP prescription). Have you spoken with your GP?
Hi NCM,
Thanks for posting about your anxiety around MRI scans. Trust me when I say that you are not alone in this. Plenty of folks have issues with MRIs which can be related to MS Depression, Generalised Anxiety, or some other trigger. For me it’s Claustrophobia - something I have been working through all my adult life.
There are things you can do to help you mange your fear. For me, meditation has been a game changer. I have the Headspace app and as soon as I get the MRI appointment, I put the Anxiety meditations on heavy rotation and memoize them so I can revisit when I’m inside. I tell myself in between those exercises that I am safe. That my brain is doing what it thinks is best to protect me but it’s confused right now.
I accept that Meditation is not for everyone so here are a few other things I do:
-No caffeine the day of the scan. Caffeine is a stimulant (and diuretic!) so can make anxiety worse.
-No doom scrolling. I give my phone to my other half to stop me reading endless posts about MRIs.
-I ask the MRI folks to not strap my head in. They tend to agree if I say they can put the cadge on if I move so much as a muscle. But I’m so still, I held the record at the Royal Surrey for the fastest scan times for ages…
-Plan something fun for after the scan and think about while you are in there. We always make a point to go get something absolutely unhealthy but oh so good for a meal when I’m out. We eat very clean 80% of the time, but a BK Whopper Meal still makes me drool…
And if all that doesn’t work, or even if you think it might, speak to your GP about a sedative. They sometimes prescribe a tiny dose to take the edge off so you can reason with your brain.
Hope this has been helpful - let us know how you got on.
Claire 