MRI Blues

Aramanth Dawe wrote:
For those who missed my earlier post, about 2 weeks ago a CT scan
serendipitously picked up a tumour on my pituitary gland. I've been
going through a gamut of tests since to get a clear picture of what's
going on the right treatment of it.

My sister had a tumor on her pituitary gland that was baseball-sized. She
had it removed - no problems with the surgery and it cleared up a number
of health problems that she suffered with for years.

Yesterday I had my MRI scan.

snippage of horrible stuff

Aramanth

You have my sincerest admiration for making it through that experience.

Hugs,
Kathi in Huntsville

Oh you poor thing! I know EXACTLY what you mean. I am *terribly*
claustrophobic and do not like enclosed spaces at all. Every time I read
news reports about people being rescued from collapsed buildings after
earthquakes, where they have been trapped for hours or even days in the
wreckage, I have a panic attack. I think how I would feel and realize that
if they rescued me after a couple days it would not matter because my mind
would be gone by then. I would be stark raving mad.

I had to have an MRI many years ago. MRI was in it's infancy then. So much
so that I had never even heard of it, and did not know a single soul who had
had one. I had no idea what to expect, and when I realized I was going to
rolled into a COFFIN I had a major panic attack. I began shrieking "get me
out of here, get me out of here!" They did pull me out so I could sit up
and gasp for breath.

I was given the option of coming back another day with a companion to drive
me, and they would dope me up with valium. But I knew that if I rescheduled
I would think constantly about the ordeal of being rolled into the COFFIN,
and I wanted it behind me, not ahead of me.

Eventually I calmed down, and my shutting my eyes and keeping them tight
shut the entire time, and not moving my arms or hands or anything to touch
the sides of the tube, I did my best to trick myself into not thinking about
where I was. I had no music or option of music however, just the loud boom
boom of the machine.

But once I was done it was still quite a while before I felt recovered
enough to drive home. Boy do I understand your reaction completely. I'm so
sorry, but glad it is behind you now too.

Debbie

"Aramanth Dawe" wrote in message

the bed moves
into the machine. And keeps on moving. Now, not only is my head
caged in one spot, I'm trapped inside a NARROW cocoon. There's not
enough room to have my arms either by my sides OR on my belly - I have
to leave them half-way up my body, pressed firmly into the walls all
along their length. Every breath I take proves to me how tightly
jammed I am in there as there's not enough room to take a deep breath
without pressing them tightly into my chest and belly.