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Got an MRI today


Harry P.

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Some of you may know that I have been diagnosed with Sciatica (severe pain in the sciatic nerve, which runs from the bottom of the spine down each leg). The pain can be intense... it'll completely shut you down at its worst. So the doc ordered an MRI so he could get a look inside and try to see exactly what the problem is.

Well, for those of you who don't know what an MRI is, MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. It's sort of like an X-ray, but where an X-ray shows your bones, an MRI shows your soft tissue.

Again, for those who don't know what an MRI is, lemme tell ya... it's creepy!

You lay flat on your back and then they slide you into a tube that completely surrounds you. But the surface of the tube is like 3-4 inches from your face. Very claustrophopic! Then you have to lay perfectly still for 20 minutes as the thing makes all kinds of loud noises... sometimes it sounds like a jackhammer, sometimes like some sort of weird machine. It makes a whole lot of different noises constantly. In fact, the noises it makes are so loud they give you noise-canceling headphones to wear, but even with the headphones on, the sounds were really loud. I can't imagine how loud that thing is without the headphones!

Anyway, between laying in that tube that's literally 3-4 inches from your face, having to lay absolutely still for 20 minutes, and all the noises, it's pretty hard not to get a little nervous. But I got through it. Wouldn't ever want to do that again, though.

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Sounds nice like you have a "squished" disc in your spine.  Surgery make be able to diminish the constant pain but I've dealt with Sciatica for ten years and have learned what helps and what aggravated it.  Don't rush into treatment - try a chiropractor before you go under the knife.  Good luck.  The MRI did not freak me out - I just closed my eyes and thought about model cars ;-)

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Shouldn't this be in the "What did you get today" thread? :P

Yeah, it's really claustrophobic. I had two done after my accident. Oh, you were provided with noise-cancelling headphones? Lucky you. The sound is like being jammed into a steel pipe and someone is using a jackhammer on the outside. 

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The sound is like being jammed into a steel pipe and someone is using a jackhammer on the outside. 

Un-freaking-believable how loud the thing is! I assumed the thing is silent, like an X-ray. But I tell ya, laying in that tube with the surface right in your face and and all the banging and clanging can really freak you out. I tried to think about other stuff to keep my mind occupied, but it didn't work. I just had to lay there until it was over.

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Those MRI's for me were NO JOKE! I hate being in tight spaces and was truly glad when the one I had done was OVER! This was years ago when I was having foot trouble. I remember being able to listen to music but for all the noise that thing made, it was worthless.

Harry keep us posted when they can tell you what's up. They did the CD thing with me too and for me it was all but impossible to "see" what a trained specialist would see. Sciatic nerve trouble is no fun and I know someone that's struggling with that now.

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Bill... yeah, they asked if I wanted to hear music during the scan. But with how loud the machine is, I would have needed Metallica or something like that going full blast to mask the MRI noise! And to tell ya the truth, I prefer the MRI noise to Metallica! :lol:

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My wife recently went for her one year check up for her heart operation.  The doctor was rather nonchalant  when he said he wanted an echo scan just to see...   then proclaimed all was well.  And it was until we got the bill.   The bill was over $3500.  Our insurance disallowed $1500 as their maximum the hospital agreed to.  Then they bill us for the remaining $2000.... Congratulations!     You just met your annual deductible!   No money out of their pocket. 

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If you like your plan, you can keep it. Only, it'll cost you more and not cover what it used to. 

I was lucky :wacko: when I broke my neck. I didn't spend one thin dime out of pocket for anything, including surgery. Workman's Comp and  the company's employee insurance plan covered everything including the associated physical therapy. 

Edited by SfanGoch
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OK, here's an interesting sidebar to the whole MRI story...

My crapola insurance plan (thank you, Obamacare) didn't have even ONE orthopedic specialist in their network to see me. But I was (and am) in so much pain that I had to see one... so I found one "out of network" and figured I'd just have to pay for his services out of my own pocket. He was the doc who wrote up the MRI order.

Well, it turns out my crapola insurance company refused to cover the cost of the MRI, because the referring doc was "out of their network." After several phone calls between my crapola insurance company and the imaging lab and the orthopedist, Michelle, the admin at the imaging lab, was such a sweetheart! She knew exactly the insurance BS I was going through, and she told me not to worry... they would do the MRI for free as a courtesy to me to make up for all the red tape I was going through, even though the imaging lab was in no way at fault for the mess.

How about that! There still are good-hearted people out there who respond to a patient's needs, not to money. I could hardly believe it. God bless her.

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Harry, I went through the same thing.  A year of PT and suffering trying to avoid surgery. In the end I had surgery for L5 SI nerve impingement from a disc bulge.  I still have pain everyday but can now work and somewhat  sleep without pain pills.   Definitely research your surgeon if that ends up being the solution.  I would also recommend a neurosurgeon rather than orthopedic surgeon if it is against your spinal cord as mine was.  Good luck and better health.

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Un-freaking-believable how loud the thing is! I assumed the thing is silent, like an X-ray. But I tell ya, laying in that tube with the surface right in your face and and all the banging and clanging can really freak you out. I tried to think about other stuff to keep my mind occupied, but it didn't work. I just had to lay there until it was over.

Harry, I have had 5 all together. Every time its brain and neck and then the spine and then repeat with dye. When the do the brain the put the cage over your head but the bars are clear. I am in the 45 min to an hour as the monitor progression. I listen to the classic rock and with the blankets over me because it's cold i relax some as i have gotten use to them. I tell the to turn the music up. It is almost time for another one... 

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MRI had many in the last couple of years ? Still don't like them I almost told them to just turn the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH thing off I'm outta here, being in that tunnel like Harry said is true scary to say the least more so if you are in badshape 

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I had to have an MRI a few years ago, apparently I'm the only patient they've even had that fell asleep while having the scan, they stopped the scan half way through, as they detected my heart rate and breathing were slowing down, after they found out I was OK, they carried on with the scan ....

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MRI had many in the last couple of years ? Still don't like them I almost told them to just turn the BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH thing off I'm outta here, being in that tunnel like Harry said is true scary to say the least more so if you are in badshape 

I can see we have a person here that likes to hijack others thread 

who ever wrote Blah Blah and so on in my posting your are a real funny guy however o know how to hijack a thread or to say edit the thread I know who you are here is a clue HIgh..

Edited by XJ6
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