Does your whole body have to go in MRI scanner if it’s just a head scan?

[SpikeWithoutASoul]

Can’t find definitive answer to this online. I’m claustrophobic and would never cope with my whole body inside the scanner. Has anyone had just a head scan? Found examples of a cage being put around head to scan just that part, but most places don’t state if they use that.

Usually down to your chest in my experience. I don’t like them either and unfortunately have to have them fairly often. They are never as bad as I think they are going to be, but If you are really frightened can you ask your doctor for a small amount of diazepam which might help you relax?

Look up open mri scanners and see if there's one near you that accepts nhs patients, or pay if that's an option

When I had my head scanned only my head went into the scanner. It's really noisy!

Not a pleasant experience especially if you are claustrophobic but I found closing my eyes and focusing on something positive helped. They did give me a buzzer to hold in case I wanted them to stop at any time. Hope it goes well for you 🤗

Close your eyes. Go to your happy place. You may also be asked to take deep breaths - you hear it though the headphones.
the anticipation is worse than the reality
i just pretended I was relaxing and getting ready for a nap

DM is claustrophobic and had to have a few mri scans. She found an eye mask really helped.

I had a head mri scan and they put my whole body in. It’s best to close your eyes. It was uncomfortable but quick.

How long do they last?

I had a head MRI last test and was in to about my shoulders. I was dreading it but I kept my eyes closed and just tried to think calming the thoughts and it wasn’t too bad. Mine only lasted around 10 mins which helped.

*last year

I had a brain MRI on Friday! I think just your head goes in, they place a cage over your head and tell you to close your eyes before you are slid in. It’s REALLY noisy, but the various sounds are quite rhythmic, and best to just zone out until it finishes. Mine took about 10 minutes. Quite a weird experience.

I had an abdominal one, and freaked out. This was as an in patient. Told doctor I would NOT have it unless he gave me something to keep me from jumping out of the room beforehand! He laughed and said OK..... I got xanax or something like that, and put on my eye mask, earphones and it was fine. Not something I would volunteer for though!

Ask for something to relax you. It is very common to feel panicked in those tubes. Bad enough being checked for something you might not want aswell. Hope it all goes well and that you will be ok.

My head MRIs are always head in and body sticking out. They'll probably use the cage so close your eyes before it goes on and keep them closed until it's off.

I agree with keeping your eyes closed, or using an eye mask. I'm claustrophobic and had to have a hip scan - I closed my eyes before I started to go in and kept them firmly closed.

I’ve had a brain MRI a couple years ago. They didn’t use a cage - it was like foam blocks either side of your head with a loose strap, at forehead level (which didn’t touch me, because of the blocks), just to help you keep still. Ask them to show you it and you’ll see it’s not some awful thing.

When you go into the scanner room, have a look at the scanner itself. You’ll see that it’s just a big tube, open at both ends. You lie on a stretcher thing that moves into the scanner. If you urgently needed out, it would take a couple seconds at most.

I found the swirly chasing noises just amazingly relaxing, and felt incredibly calm afterwards! It was lovely (genuinely).

I had one last year and my whole body went in. I was told it would take 40 mins. I had my head in the cage and also had a face mask on.
I lasted about 15 secs. I'm hugely claustrophobic.
I then had a CT scan which was much better.
I would need some sort of sedation before I could get in to mri again. The staff were very kind and said it is very common to see patients who struggle with it.

I had one last week and it was just my head that went in, so my arms etc were free to move if I wanted to although you need to keep still for them to get the images. Knowing they were free if I needed to move them helped though.

I definitely found it better to keep my eyes closed as looking at the thing around my head made me feel more trapped.

They gave me headphones with the radio playing so I just tried to zone out and listen to that.

There was also a microphone and somebody on the other end of the headphones I could talk to if I started to panic or needed to get out.

I also had a buzzer in my hand which if I pressed they would get me out immediately.

I used a trick my mum taught me once when I was having a root canal to distract me when I started to panic, embarrassingly mine relates to love island but you can apply it to any of your interests! For example I tried to remember all the couples that have won love island back to series one, something I know I can figure out but will take a lot of thinking. Or you could try and remember your class teachers names from every year of primary school. Something like that!

I can be claustrophobic and start to panic when I just think about being trapped but it went a lot better and quicker than I expected. Every time I thought about pressing the buzzer I just tried to remind myself that I needed the scan so I would only be prolonging it if I did. I think it only being my head definitely helped!

Up to my chest. Very claustrophobic and loud really loud like a chuddering sound. They can take to you and you can listen to music - you can ask for a sedative in advance - strongly recommend a lavender eye mask and ear plugs

Just my head for me. I was worried about my pacemaker which is near my shoulder but it didn’t go that far. I am claustrophobic too but it was fine, no problem at all.

I worked in an MRI unit abroad , probably depends on the make of MRI machine. It was whole body in. I had an MRI there, I just closed my eyes and despite the noise I fell asleep! I am a bit claustrophobic too. Had to have a neck MRI recently in UK and needed a cage to keep my head completely still. Smaller MRI machine than before less body in. The tech told me how long it would take, but I was feeling a bit freaked. I just closed my eyes before they slid me in and i just kept counting back from 100 in my head . This on average was 1 and a half minutes each time . Kept me sane. It wasnt too bad. They can get you out in seconds so just remember that or if they have the facility to play music while you're in there try that, for 15 minutes that's 5 songs ish. So find out how long before hand , worst case scenario. Then if it finishes early it will be a very pleasant surprise. Plus they talk to you intermittently through the headphones and they can hear you. Good luck.

I had one about 6 years ago and don't recall going all the way in. They did put a cage over my head though. My biggest tip would be to go in with your eyes open. Once you're inside you can then decide whether or not you want to keep them open or close them. I'm not claustrophobic but I went in eyes closed and then opened them and did freak out slightly and then for some reason I then got it in my head that I couldn't close them again cos it would mess the images up so I practically stayed with my eyes forced open forcing myself not to blink. Second MRI was a neck and spinal one so no cage on that one. This time I went in with my eyes open and then closed them a bit later on once I was bored of laying there. It's loud it rattles and even though all you do is pretty much lay there I find it drains me as well. They do give you a panic button so if at anytime you want to come out of the machine just push it, but in all honesty there really is absolutely nothing to it

I had a head in a cage last year. Like a couple of others said, loud but oddly relaxing and only about 10 mins.

I had a head/spine one a few years before and that was more intense but iirc they sort of moved the tube down so my head poked out of the end once it had been done. Took about an hour.

Finally I had my knee done about 15 years ago and just got shoved in a tube up to my hip. That was fine (done in a portable unit).

I had 2 MRIs last year and for the head one (2nd one) I went in past shoulders I think. The first scan was on my neck so in to around my waist and I hated the whole thing.

For the second scan (another date) I said I was nervous and that I’d struggled with the first experience, and they offered an amazing mirror thing on the cage around my head and put a TV screen with calming images on behind the scanner which I could see in the mirror, so it was just like laying back and watching TV. It felt so much less claustrophobic even though it was the same closed machine. And also once I said I was nervous, the radiographer was really nice and jolly and settled me and reassured me that I could him if I wasn’t okay once we started (you’re given headphones to hear them talk to you and you can talk to them). But it was absolutely fine. They also offered to play music both times.

I didn’t go all the way in for my head scan. It’s very low stress.

It’s going to be fine. Promise.

I used to hate them but have had quite a few over the last few years. My number one tip would be to go onto YouTube and type in mri scan sounds. There is a really good video on there and it goes through all the different noises, knowing them before hand really helped. Some sound like workmen digging the road up, others are like buzzing sounds but it did really help.

I kept my eyes closed and was terrified of opening them on a few of the first, I agree with pp that it would be best to see where you are going and its just like a smooth surface above you.

Tell them you are nervous, they know how to calm people down, loads of people are nervousl.

I had one in a hospital in the North West, it was a new scan department and they had mood lighting and on the 'cage' over your head was a little mirror, there was soothing scenes playing on a TV you could watch through it. There was like a bar across the bottom and it moved like a timer for each of the sounds. It was actually the best mri I've had, maybe if you tell them beforehand they can get you In one like this if they have access. (the radiologist told me for my next appointment, when I got the letter, to ring and say I was terrified and ask if they could book me in at that department)

I have been in the scan room with my son when he had one, I sat at the back of the scanner and he could see and talk to me the whole time, well between the noise!
if you are really nervous perhaps they would allow someone in with you? I don't know of they allow for adults but worth an ask.

Anyway, sorry so long but I feel your fear, they are worse In your imagination and it will be over before you know. Another thing I do is count backwards from 1000 in my head to take my mind off it.

Good luck, you have got this x