Thursday, March 06, 2008

MRI Update

Yes, I will return your phone call. Thank you for your thoughts & prayers.

Okay, I had the MRI done this morning. I was fine until I realized that I'd also have an IV for the "with contrast" MRI, meaning they inject dye into my body to make the contrast. So.... I had the "without contrast MRI" first, which lasted 30 minutes. Luckily, I'm honing my visualization skills by imagining I'm on a nice beach in Mexico rather than in this tomb-like MRI. That loud noise? It's just the waiter shaking my margarita. (smile)

After 30 minutes, the machine rolled me out. The technician hooked me up to the IV to get the dye in. The scary part -- besides the whole needle issue -- was that he asked if I'd ever had this done before. Uh, no. "Okay," he said. "The dye is going to work its way through your body through all your capillaries. If anything hurts, let me know." Wow. That's comforting. Really.

After the needle being jerked around in my arm, I didn't feel anything. The machine pulled me back into the tomb & the "with contrast MRI" took another 10 minutes. I think I fell asleep at some point, so obviously it was not a big deal.

Unfortunately, the technician wouldn't let me see the scans and said I'd hear from my doctor next week. The process? A radiologist reviews the scans and makes a report, which is then turned over to my doctor. So much for seeing what's in my head. This exercise is just to make sure there are no tumors or anything growing in my brain. I've been so stressed out lately so I know all this is due to stress but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll update you when I hear the news. Please cross your fingers & say at least a prayer. Thanks.

Until the next nap time...