MRI to check Small Intestines

[libbyhughes]

Hello all

Tomorrow morning I shall be having my very first MRI scan to check my small intestines.

To the people that have had one before- whats it like??

Im really nervous. Ive heard that the drink you need to take is horrible.
Im also claustrophobic so terrified im going to panic while having it done.

My mother in law was coming with me, but now she cant. So I will be alone.

It states that I need somebody to take me home, which will be impossible. Do you think I will need to stay in until the afternoon for somebody to collect me?

I don't want to tell them at the start, incase they say they cant perform it and ill have to wait ages again

 

[Jmrogers4]

You do have to drink stuff, it's very sweet and you have to drink it fairly quickly. My son had one last year as far as the machine itself it's pretty loud and makes loud knocking sounds but they gave him a pair of headphones and played music for him. He had to lay still and hold his breath but the test itself was easy and went fairly quickly.
As far as having someone drive you they did not give a sedative or anything that would mess with ability but he did not feel great. They give you a shot of I think it was glucagon but it slows the intestinal function so they can get good pictures which can make some people feel ill.
Make sure you drink lots of water afterwards to clear it all out of your system.
Good luck

 

[DEmberton]

Found this:
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=38081

Don't know how different it is, but I walked home by myself after a CT scan which was a bit of a mistake as after not eating I was seriously weak.

 

[Asher]

If I remember correctly

I got mine while in the ER. they mixed the drink with apple juice. It didn't taste bad (like what you'd drink for a colposcopy or the barium!) but it was a weird taste. Kinda ruined apple juice for me hahah but it's not that bad at all.

It went fairly quick. You lay down and they slide you in and out. It's loud. OH! And I think they inject you with something? All I remember is that there was something in my system that while getting the MRI, it gave you the sensation like you were peeing! Hahah

Of all the things I went through during my DX with crohns (colonscopy, barium follow through, enemas..) this was super easy!!!! Nothing to be nervous about

 

[libbyhughes]

Thank you for all your comments

Had the MRI this morning. I wasn't allowed music because the machine had to speak to me to tell me to hold my breath etc. The man was very nice - I told him I was nervous and he said I could have a test run, so he slid me in the machine and then brought me out again first. Which I think helped me a lot!

The drink wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was basically water with a horrible taste of metal haha Like I was drinking out of a rusty can, sort of thing!

Overall it lasted 40minutes, and I have to say I am pretty damn proud of myself!

My friend kindly came with me for support, but I did drive. We had to get a coffee first as I was very dizzy after the stomach relaxant injection (?) but soon back to normal.

PHEW. Glad its over!!

Lets see what the results say now. Hmmm!

 

[UnXmas]

Glad it went well! Sorry I'm too late to offer my experience, but I would have been no help to you as I hated the drink! I only had to drink half as well, because I've had so much intestine removed I didn't need it all. If there's a secret to swallowing that stuff please tell me, because you're obviously much better at it than I am. I don't get claustrophobic, so was all right with that, and have several MRIs and CTs of my head, spine etc., but they didn't require drinking contrast, which is a laxative, and so for my small bowel MRI I was desperately pleading in my head for them to finish and get me out, because my stoma bag rapidly filled up to bursting point and as I had to lie on my front for some of the MRI, I was lying on my bag and thought it might just explode over their incredibly expensive MRI machine..... luckily my bag held out though.

See, aren't you glad I didn't get a chance to tell you my experience before you had yours? I'd probably have just made you even more nervous. (I wonder if anyone has had nasty accidents in an MRI. I guess it must happen sometimes.)

Hope you haven't experienced any unpleasant after-effects from your drink, and that your test results bring good news.

Oh, and I also got the feeling like you've wet yourself effect. They did warn me about it beforehand. But my bladder control is rubbish anyway so it made no odds to me!

 

[libbyhughes]

Ha UnXmas!!

Yes, I am glad you didn't mention all that before hand, I would have been a nightmare!

I don't know what I did for the drink.. I took a straw as someone mentioned that it would help bypass the senses - but I didn't use it in the end! It might have been because I was more focused on the machine and what was to come, so didn't notice the taste!

xxx

 

[shamrock375]

Word of warning, the contrast medium gave me bad diarrhea for few days after.

 

[UnXmas]

Word of warning, the contrast medium gave me bad diarrhea for few days after.

Yes - same problem I had, except for me it started before I even got in the scanner and was all out a few hours later! So glad I have a stoma bag and wasn't running to the bathroom. They did warn me it was a laxative beforehand.

 

[libbyhughes]

Ive not been too bad so that's good!!!! Phew. I had noticed more flatulence though, ha!