MRI for the Claustrophobic

[Benzgirl]

Wouldn't they put you in feet first for a pelvic MRI? If not, request it since it would be less tramatic. I have had several MRIs. The three that were below the hip were feet first.

[AOII Angel]

Also, did you take anything to help with your anxiety? A little medicine may help take the edge off. The problem with these open MRIs is that you sacrifice quality. In order to cut the magnet in half to spread it apart, it can't be anymore than 1 Tesla (T). (Larger magnets would pull the two parts together.) Just to give you an idea, the state of the art magnets in private practice right now are 3T machines (a huge difference) which increases the signal generated, making it easier to tell what is going on in your pelvis. Generally when reading open scans, subtle findings and details cannot be evaluated. If it's ALL you can tolerate, fine, but if you can drug yourself, go feet first and talk yourself to it, you'll end up with a much more useful exam on a real MRI machine.