MRI for endometriosis

[Lucie2015]

Hi,

Has anyone had an MRI for endometriosis? Did you have to fully go into the tube or could part of you be left out (for example head and shoulders)?

Has anyone had a sedative and did it help?

I’m severely claustrophobic so I know I won’t manage if I have to fully go in the tunnel. I would probably manage if my head was left out, although I’m not great at lying flat on my back for a long time. Thanks for any advice.

[ChloeV]

Hi Marie,

I’m exactly the same. I’ve had to have an mri recently too. They had to cancel the first one due to my having a panic attack. For the second one I had a note on my file and they suggested I could lie on my tummy instead of my back.this meant I could lift my head up onto my arms (which were free to move around) and loook straight out of the tube into the room. My head was pretty much out the whole time (but I’m 6ft and not sure how much your height matters), I had all gotten a Valium but I think I could have done it without meds just because of lying on my stomach instead of my back.

I have had to have a mri years ago on my back for my neck for the first and did just about manage to get through it by keeping my eyes absolutely shut the entire time.

Try and contact the mri place and see if you can talk to them about positions and suggestions as soon as possible (not on the day) and ask your gp for a sedative prescription. This is the recommended process by the nhs on their website.

I felt like a bit of an idiot for the strength of my fear, but people were nice and they kept on saying I was not the only one and they deal with this regularly. So it was really worth bitting the bullet and asking for all available help.

Good luck.

[Poppy1973]

I had an MRI in September, I was on my back and my head was just out of the machine at the other side. Not the nicest experience as I had to ask them to bring me out 3 times

To calm myself down but they were so understanding and they also changed the times on some of the programmes so I was scanned in the quickest amount of time. They told me how long each session would be, the longest was 5 mins30 seconds, the shortest was 3 mins. It helped no end. Hope it goes well x

[rosesinbloom]

Hi there, I've had an MRI for Endo and my head was out the whole time, I could see the ceiling.

I don't have any claustrophobia, so they didn't do that for me, it's just where I was positioned. I am, however, quite tall, but your head will not need to be in the machine.

Also, no need to panic, you can always get out as it's not fully enclosed, you aren't trapped in there with no way out.

[applebird]

Ask your gp for diazepam or similar and take beforehand for extreme anxiety.

They will give you headphones and you pick music of your choice, it doesn't take too long to do - from the time you enter the room until the time you leave it is about 20-30 minute appointment.

As far as I can remember I had to go head first and it stopped about my stomach obviously as that was the region they were imaging.

Try and practice relaxation in advance and as I said get a sedative if needs be. I've only heard of MRI being ordered for suspected severe disease - so keep in mind that it is so important to have this done - it can give you a diagnosis without surgery (if you need one) and if there is bowel or bladder involvement they need to know about it prior to surgery so they can plan what to do, treat you appropriately and avoid you having life altering problems later.

[Lucie2015]

Thanks for all of your replies. I really appreciate it. I’m still waiting for my appointment date as there is quite a long wait but I’ll definitely ring the department beforehand and speak to someone.

[Fabbird in reply to Lucie2015]

Hi, just to add that it’s very common for people to feel anxious about having an MRI scan. The staff will be used to supporting people through it. As other people have said, it’s also quite common to take a benzodiazepine beforehand (like Valium). If you discuss with your GP, they are likely to help.

I’ve had an MRI for endo and my advice is to take a sanitary towel with you. They filled me up with jelly to do the scan and I leaked for the rest of the day. For some reason NHS towels are awful and I wished I’d had my own.