Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

MRI on lower back- will my whole body and head have to go in?

45 replies

dipsy210987 · 09/10/2023 14:53

Finally got an appointment for an MRI after months of on going lower back problems (suspected slipped disc in lower back)

and now I am pancaking! I've had one MRI before on my knee and my head did not have to go in

will my head have to go in the machine?

I'm not bothered about the rest of my body, the the thought of my head being in there is making me seriously anxious and claustrophobic

OP posts:
Valerianandfoxglovesoup · 09/10/2023 18:19

I just had the same and I don't even know because they gave me this virtual glasses thing, so although I was lying down, my brain thought I was sitting up and I watched a film, it had a menu like Netflix I got to choose before I went in. It was really enjoyable, an hour of peace watching Love Actually

GDIL · 09/10/2023 18:24

To cope with an MRI I

  • attend the anxiety clinic offered before the procedure (traumatised by my first MRI and become anxious at the thought of another)
  • prefer being in my own clothes (free of hooks and eyes or tabs) as it makes me feel less ‘hospitalised’
  • wear swimming ear plugs in addition to the headphones to reduce the amount of noise I can hear (music is N/A)
  • wear the prism glasses supplied to give me a sense of vast space and to watch the radiographers. If they’re relaxed and chatty, it makes me feel so much better. In future, I’d ask for the same brilliant radiographers.
Good luck and may it be over quickly!
Judashascomeintosomemoney · 09/10/2023 18:26

I’ve literally just got home after being in A and E all day because GP was concerned about Cauda Equina. I don’t have that, thank god, but I do have a herniated disc. I went in head first today (and have done previously when I’ve had MRI) but different hospitals have different types of scanners. In your position I’d give them a call first and talk it through.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
AndStand · 09/10/2023 18:29

I had an MRI on my lower back/pelvis and I went in feet first. Head and chest were outside. I had headphones on and it was all completely fine. I'd quite happily have one every day if necessary.

Mumaway · 09/10/2023 18:29

Yes usually head first. I get a 6 monthly top to toe scan. Please try not to worry.
I always regard it as a chance for an uninterrupted nap. I ask them to turn the lights off, take an eye mask and they give me a blanket. The loud noise the machine makes is quite rhythmic and I soon drop off. Sometimes worry about wriggling in my sleep and spoiling that part of scan but hasn't happened yet. I have dribbled though😆

Original poster
dipsy210987 · 09/10/2023 19:09

Thank you all!

I think I will just have to be brave and I think I will just shut my eyes and not open till its over!

Can anyone advise how long it should last ? Google is saying anywhere between 15-90 mins 🤦‍♀️

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/10/2023 19:15

GDIL · 09/10/2023 18:24

To cope with an MRI I

  • attend the anxiety clinic offered before the procedure (traumatised by my first MRI and become anxious at the thought of another)
  • prefer being in my own clothes (free of hooks and eyes or tabs) as it makes me feel less ‘hospitalised’
  • wear swimming ear plugs in addition to the headphones to reduce the amount of noise I can hear (music is N/A)
  • wear the prism glasses supplied to give me a sense of vast space and to watch the radiographers. If they’re relaxed and chatty, it makes me feel so much better. In future, I’d ask for the same brilliant radiographers.
Good luck and may it be over quickly!

Dear God, I had no music and no one spoke to me at all,it was 50 mins too. I will need serious drugs to have another.
Had to wear own clothes, hospital gown wasn't an option. It was pretty shit really .

KnightError · 09/10/2023 19:22

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/10/2023 19:15

Dear God, I had no music and no one spoke to me at all,it was 50 mins too. I will need serious drugs to have another.
Had to wear own clothes, hospital gown wasn't an option. It was pretty shit really .

Show quote history

God, never mind the anxiety clinic - I'll take the drugs any time.

GDIL · 09/10/2023 19:28

We must have been in the same place for the same length of time, Mrs PP.
Now at a different hospital with a wonderful radiographer who can cope with my nervousness, I feel better equipped.

Growlybear83 · 09/10/2023 19:30

My lumbar scan about three weeks ago lasted for around 20 minutes. I always find that I feel quite cold in the scanner so you might want to go prepared with an extra layer to wear if the room feels chilly.

GDIL · 09/10/2023 19:30

I forgot to mention I take the drugs too. My anxiety renders them ineffective.

Lucinda7 · 09/10/2023 19:33

I have had one MRI scan for a suspected lumbar stenosis. I went in feet first and my head was outside of the scanner. I have severe claustrophobia. My next scan was for my knees and it was an open scanner. Completely open, didn't bother me at all. Hope it goes ok OP.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz12 · 09/10/2023 20:00

I had to have my pelvis and abdomen scanned a couple of times so my head was in, the best advice I received was to close my eyes as soon as I got on the bed, and to keep them closed until I was told to get off the bed. Not seeing anything really helped

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz12 · 09/10/2023 20:01

(Oh and I went in feet first)

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 09/10/2023 20:19

I wish I'd known this!! I had to stay inside the damn thing for nearly 50 minutes. I kept having panic attacks for the next two days

I was told I 'needed a scan' for a thyroid issue but nothing apart from that. When I saw the machine I freaked out completely and could only do 15 minutes instead of the 30 I was supposed to do. Luckily 15 was enough. And the NOISE. I apologised to the radiographer when I got out and he said that some people see the machine and don't even make it into the scan room.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/10/2023 22:50

The noise is something you really can't prepare for is it? I had to go to bed when I got home.

QueenofTheSlipstreamVM · 09/10/2023 22:53

I had a MRI on my liver and they let me go in feet first.
I think lower back could be feet first also ?

saraclara · 09/10/2023 23:07

Definitely give the department a call. After a very claustrophobic scan some years ago, when I needed another last year, I was pretty nervous.

I called the department and explained, asking for a bit more information about their scanner (different hospital from last time). The person I spoke to was lovely and said that now she knew, she'd have me allocated to their more open scanner. They have three different ones, and if anyone's known to be claustrophobic they put them in thaf one. It was a very different experience, and I coped a lot better.

But obviously if I hadn't called, they wouldn't have known, and I could well have been in the more enclosed ones.

Peachonthebeach · 09/10/2023 23:15

yes probably. I had to have a few on my lower back and got through it by imagining it was an expensive beauty treatment. I realised I endure a fair bit of discomfort in the quest of vanity.
I invented a little visualisation that it was just a machine which sends you out looking ten years younger with perfectly coiffed hair, a spray tan, a full wax and a bit of lipo.
Homestly I was so into this I was genuinely disappointed when I came out still the same old me 🤣

Garlickmayo · 09/10/2023 23:52

Sedation is via your GP beforehand

New posts on this thread. Refresh page