Mri Tomorrow, Nervous About Needing To Be Still - I Have A Dry Cough

[Alison]

Has anyone had one? Will it matter if I cough? I have this dry cough and usually sip water to manage it - I'm not sure how I'm going to manage this during my MRI.

[sue1234]

I've had a number of MRIs, but not having a cough. Possibly you can suck on a lifesaver? When they take MRIs, from what I understand and someone please correct me if I am wrong, is they do it in "sections". Like the first scan might take 8 minutes, then they move on to the next. Total, my MRIs always last around 30-35 minutes, longer if doing two areas of the body. But, between these sections they always ask if I'm doing ok. Maybe you can take time to do a good cough at those times and maybe get a new lifesaver.

[AllAboutPeace]

You will have to be still for the MRI.

I had a persistent cough on my wedding day and had to keep sipping water, too. My friend (a nurse) told me to take Tylenol/acetaminophen to ease the cough. She said she wasn't sure why it works for cough, but assured me it does. I was skeptical, but had nothing to lose and didn't want to hack and cough my way through the vows. It worked for me. I got through the whole ceremony without coughing. Later in the day, it was back in full force, but it got me through that window of time. So, that may be an option to look into.

[Alison]

Thanks for the advice, that makes me feel better, I had thought about a cough sweet, but didn't think it would last. I also have a slight tendency for claustrophobia. I'm just hoping that if I close my eyes and relax I'll be ok

[sue1234]

I am very claustrophobic. I take a little Xanax, then I close my eyes before they slide me into the machine, and don't open them again until they pull me out. That actually helps, just by not seeing how closed in I am.

[AllAboutPeace]

I have significant with claustrophobia too.

A radiology tech suggested to me to put a facecloth over my eyes and put it on before they move you into the scanner. I did that and do think that it may have helped. I had to really focus on the music they were playing and do meditation/self talk to help me get through it. The techs doing the scan told me I should have gotten something (Ativan, Xanax, etc) to help me through it. When my doc scheduled me for a second one, he wrote a Rx for me. It's fairly common for docs to Rx 'relaxing meds' for people, with claustrophobia issues that need MRI's. I did get through the first one without meds, but I probably wouldn't do it again without meds.

I think it depends on how significant an issue claustrophobia is for you. The face cloth over your eyes may be enough to help.

[BeforeTheMorning]

I had an MRI recently, and like sue1234 said it was done in sections, I think the longest section for my MRI was about 5 or 6 minutes and then there's a short break before the next section.

I sometimes tend towards claustrophobia as well, but I found that I was okay. The machine wasn't up against the wall, so I could just about see light coming in from behind me, and somehow that helped as I didn't feel quite so much like I was stuck deep inside something. They also give you a little thing to hold that you can press in an emergency to stop the test, so you kind of feel connected and in control, they will also talk to you between sections of scanning.

Hope it goes okay,

Lyla

[Alison]

Thanks, I was wondering if you had a way to call out - not that I will, but knowing that I can will make me feel better I think.

[sue1234]

One thing that helped with my last one, too, was that that place had a fan behind the head end of the machine, so a breeze was going through. I liked that extra air coming through, and made it feel like it was more open than it was.

[Alison]

Thanks for you support guys, it went fine, I kept my eyes closed, and nearly fell asleep.

[AllAboutPeace]

That's great, Alison! I'm glad it went well