Hi everyone,
I went for a cervical spine mri today ( I’ve had 3 of these before with no problem ) and after 5 mins I had to press the emergency button to stop it as I was in so much pain with my right arm, I couldn’t lie still enough. I was so frustrated and in pain that I just bawled my eyes out in front of the radiographers.
I’ve been having the most awful time with this bleedin arm and hand, intense rushes of pins and needles which is incredibly painful and deep seated pain in the whole of my arm and shoulder area. Ironically this happened after I had visited my neurologist a few days earlier. I had niggles of pain and stiffness when I saw him but nothing as bad as now.
The thing is, that he is now coming to the conclusion that I have an impingement of the cervical spine ( we’ve looked at previous mri’s ) and that is causing many of my symptoms. We are now having some doubts it’s MS at all…I’m so confused as my previous consultant said that I definitely has MS because of a few things he saw in the brain. I must admit I’ve always had at the back of my mind that it may not be MS.
Anyway this mri is crucial and it’s being rebooked as I guess that the impingement is getting a lot worse which the consultant needs to see. I’ve got to see my GP beforehand and try to get some kind of muscle relaxant in order for me to be able to get through the whole of the mri.
Radiographers were very nice but I felt like a right fool.
hi fudgey
don’t worry about the radiographer because they are aware of your illness.
you did the right thing asking your GP for something to relax you.
good luck when the mri comes round
carole x
No way you made a fool of yourself, you were in pain and suffering so did the right thing stopping it.
Hope the meds make itpossible next time
Ell
Your not a fool, pain is horrendous and you need to keep still so there was no alternative but to come out of the machine. When i was booked for a double MRI, i told them i could only stay in for one (head) and then i had to come back for the rest.
With this arm pain, i have had it. It was so bad i was taken to my GP surgery as i swear to god i was having a heart attack. The pain from my shoulder, above elbow, down to wrist was simply horrendous. I have a really high threshold of pain and it was making me feel sick.
The GP did a full exam and even an ECG to check my heart. Everything was fine. She said it was a nerve pain and gave me some diazepam to help calm the pain down and relax me a bit. I swear i was going to die. If i had that pain in the MRI machine i would never have been able to stay in there. Now weirdly enough within less the 48 hours the pain totally went, and i have touch wood never had it since. The neuro said it was part of an MS hug, he thinks as i was in full spasm in my left rib side which radiated through to my arm. I think that kind of made sense as the day before i had awful tightening around my breast bone it was hard to breath. Now i am not saying yours is that, but the pain sounds the same to me.
You need some diazepam and this will help you relax in the MRI machine. BUT if its MS related i expect it will go as quickly as it came. xxx
We’re only human fudgey! When I went for my first MRI they said oh you can get up now, and walked out so a few minutes later they came back in to see if I was dressed to find me still waiting for someone to get me the hell off the MRI machine. They were very apologetic. I was dying for a wee too. I said, if I come here again you will have to help me up quickly or leave a bucket. And they did a terrible thing, I asked for clubbing music on the headphones or something lively and they made a mistake and I was stuck in the machine for one hour listening to the the rat pack arrrrr!
I have been told that I might also have another neurological condition going on but they will leave that alone as there is enough going on. There are so many things that look like this or that, as long as you are getting good care and attention from those who diagnose and look after you, that is really important. I used to work with some heavy duty specialists across the country and they were brilliant, but even they would occasionally diagnose and say that they weren’t 100% sure and very rarely, but sometimes have to re-diagnose at a later date. And, I think of my body as a bit of a jigsaw now and random a bit like my thinking processes, it can surprise at any moment and confuse those who are poking at it with injections or x rays at any moment.
The MRI has gone, so just be well and deal with the next one when it is here. If they offer relaxants, I would suggest although I have no experience, that they might be introduced a few days before to get used to them so you are fully relaxed on the day of the MRI. Double check they are ok with your meds. Also make sure someone can drive you there and back. I have two friends who are not ill but have massive fear of flying (no comparison here just commenting), they are so terrified that they are sick and scream and run to the doors to try to open them. So on the rare occasions they fly, their spouses go to the GPs with them and load them up the day before with whatever is given. They are like floating fairies for a few days but get on that plane and sleep and then more or less wake up properly in their destination. Same on the return journey, it is the only way. Once, the police were called as my friend H was running up and down the isle screaming that everybody needed to get off, oh dear bless her. She’s the most placid person I have ever met.
Anyway, your MRI day was a blip. Put it behind you, formulate a plan to get through the next one, make sure they all go out of their way to find a way to help you through this.