An MRI (well, the ones I have had anyway) is made up of a series of sequences. They scan different areas, as well as the same areas in different ways. Each series is anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. Maybe five minutes at the most.
While the machine is scanning, I have to be careful not to move at all, and even swallowing saliva is discouraged. What stinks is that if you mess up a sequence, you still have to finish it out and then begin it over. For me, I usually do not even know I have messed up until after the sequence, when the technician checks it and finds blurriness. Sometimes I swallow or twitch without realizing it. And during previous scans, when I was not as MRI-wise, I did not realize that I could not move my arms. I thought as long as I did not move my head and trunk... sigh... long appointment.
The MRI tube is not the most comfortable place in the world, so I brought my own MRI-friendly clothing, as usual. I wear old scrub pants and a tee shirt. And socks! It always seems to be cold in MRI rooms.
Today I went to a new place, and it was freezing. My goodness. So freezing that when the technician pulled me out of the tube after an hour and a half [of lying in a tube four inches from my face, with my arms pinned to my sides] to inject the contrast, she had trouble getting a vein. Or maybe she just was not very good at it.
The technician tried my right elbow and was surprised that my seemingly good vein rolled. She dug around then pulled out. Left elbow--same. Right wrist--same. Judging by the little puncture wounds, she tried three times in that wrist vein. She was ready to call for backup from another location, because their policy is to stop after three tries, but I told her she could try one more spot. She tried my right hand and the vein "disappeared."
She called for backup from another location.
Meanwhile, I really needed to use the bathroom. I had felt it since right before I came out for the injection, and she had been working on that for about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, I could not get up or even move my head and back. The urge got stronger and stronger.
Luckily the other technician got me on the first try. Yeah! It took forever to inject the contrast, because she had used a tiny needle and the contrast is kind of thick. And my darned vein was not exactly flowing, although I had at least stopped shivering. Because I was freezing!
I cannot believe I made it another 20 minutes in the machine.
I was having proprioceptive issues while I was in the tube. I could not feel my hands, particularly the left--but it was not like numbness. I think. It felt like I did not have hands at all. I could not feel the latex panic bulb in my left hand.
At least the needle sticks did not hurt too much. Either I am getting used to it, or I am getting more numb. I would guess that I am getting more numb, because I remember when I had blood drawn every month for 14 months when I was on Accutane--it was painful every time. So maybe I am getting numb in my arms!
And at least the images were good on the first try, with no repeats. Because I rock at MRIs!
While we were waiting for the other technician to show up, the first technician chatted with me. That was nice, because it helped take my mind off of my potty needs. She commented that we were 80% done, and I asked her why the "with contrast" portion of the program was always shorter. She said that on some series, they can see a lot without contrast. But there are certain types of images where they need contrast. I asked if they were the T2-weighted series. She said no, the T1... And how do you know so much about it? She commented that when I said on the phone, "I'm down for C- and T-spine, with and without contrast, right?", she realized that she was not dealing with your average patient. Apparently most of them say something along the lines of, "You're doing my back, I think, and am I having the dye?" I told her that I have tried to educate myself about my disease and the testing that I have to go through. I want to understand why the tests are ordered, how they are interpreted, and what the results mean.
She brought up Lyme disease. It does occur to me from time to time. The so-called Lyme-literate doctors say that blood and even CSF tests for Lyme are not very accurate. But most doctors say that they are accurate. I am not going to believe something just because the medical establishment says it is so, but on the other hand, I do not want to get involved with fringe people. I guess I could bring it up with the MS Clinic doctors.
Sensory:
-Pins and needles: 1
-Tingles: 0
-Paresthesias (burning): 2
-Paresthesias (other): 1, electric shocks in my left butt and thigh during the MRI, and in my left butt, thigh, calf, and hand (yes, all left) this evening. Moving helps.
-Numbness: 2
-Vision: 2, still blurry
-Nerve pain: 2
Motor:
-Walking: 0
-Sore muscles: 1
-Fine motor: 4, whoa, I had to write something today, and my handwriting was terrible! It was difficult to print my name neatly, or even legibly. Yikes. I usually type everything, so I did not know.
-Weak muscles: 4
-Spasticity: 4, mainly during the second hour of the MRI. And I had muscle twitches in my left thigh/hip for about 15 minutes straight. I probably could have stopped them by moving around, but that was not possible during the MRI.
Cognitive:
-Language processing: 2
-Memory: 1
-Attention: 0
-Confusion: 1
General:
-Fatigue: 2
-Balance: 2, I think I lied the last few days when I rated it at 0. Darkness=suckness for balance.
-Sleep: 2
-Bladder: 1
Emotions: I shed a tear when the MRI tech wondered why I am so knowledgeable about MRIs, and I explained that it is my body, and I want to understand what is going on. I want to understand the tests that are ordered and their results. I do not know why that made me cry. One and done, though (with tears), because I shoved the feelings down yet again. I need to do some processing (translation: crying), but who wants to do that in the evening, after a long day of work?
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