Seeking the experience of others. For a few weeks now I have been experiencing severe sciatic pain. For those who have had it I don't have to explain how painful it can be. I tried to get an appointment with a specialist but was told I needed a referral from my GP. I got this but was then told the specialist would not see me without having an MRI. So back to the GP who set up the MRI exam.

This was scheduled for yesterday but without going into detail (childhood trauma) I could not handle confined MRI "tunnel" and had to call it off. It was embarrassing but there you are. I contacted my GP's office to see what alternatives I have and so far have heard nothing back.

Has anyone been there who can suggest ways they solved such a situation? Short of being totally out there is no way I can face the MRI.

I had to have a mild sedative for the claustrophobia I get in the MRI tube. Not all the way out but calmed me down. I also kept my eyes tightly closed through the whole procedure.

Good luck!

I'm sorry you are suffering with this. Can your GP possibly discuss what options there are to sedate you enough that you can proceed like gemini did? Maybe they will allow you to wear a headset?

They gave me a headset for music but it did not help. The MRI tube is too confining. I know it is an irrational fear but it is very real. I have read about the open MRI but have yet to learn if it is available.

They did offer a cloth but I think that would be worse as I was already in fear mode just seeing the confined space when I walked in. Once inside that was it and I hit the panic button before they even began.

I’ve heard they have an “open MRI.” Maybe it’s just larger.

Good luck. I feel the same way about confinement.

With the sciatic nerve pain, sitting cross-legged helps. I had a recent injury, and it has worked for me to sit that way, even in the car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2022 02:23PM by Kathleen.

I have claustrophobia and have had two MRI's.

I didn't want the sedative and I knew I would be tempted to open my eyes, so I asked them for a little wash cloth and they put that over my eyes.

I then thought of pleasant places and events. I was even able to laugh at the funny noises the MRI was making.

This probably wouldn't work for everyone, but it helped to have my eyes kept shut and go to my "happy place".

Don't know if this would help.

I am extremely claustrophobic and have had some severe panic attacks because of it. I think it started when my brothers tied me up in a duffle bag when I was a kid and wouldn't let me out. I have found that most is based on a loss of control. When you have an MRI you feel you have no control.

When I have had MRI's I have told the operator that I am extremely claustrophobic and that if I ask to get out immediately I need their promise that they will do just that. They do. Most understand. That gives me back a sense of control and I am able to get in a calm zone where I can do it.

The same happened with my panic attacks. I started to realize they started to subside after about ten minutes and were fully gone in a half hour. That made me feel I could bear and not want to go to fight or flight mode.

Good luck. It's different for everyone.

Sorry about your childhood experience. Somrwhat similar to my own.

Just learned there is no large MRI in Boise. They can do some meds for calming but everything in me says I will not be able to handle even that. It's just the thought. Looking at a chiro and physio clinic.

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seeking the experience of others. For a few weeks
> now I have been experiencing severe sciatic pain.
> For those who have had it I don't have to explain
> how painful it can be. I tried to get an
> appointment with a specialist but was told I
> needed a referral from my GP. I got this but was
> then told the specialist would not see me without
> having an MRI. So back to the GP who set up the
> MRI exam.
>
> This was scheduled for yesterday but without going
> into detail (childhood trauma) I could not handle
> confined MRI "tunnel" and had to call it off. It
> was embarrassing but there you are. I contacted
> my GP's office to see what alternatives I have and
> so far have heard nothing back.
>
> Has anyone been there who can suggest ways they
> solved such a situation? Short of being totally
> out there is no way I can face the MRI.

My sciatic nerve problem was solved by a higly skilled osteopath who manipulated the surrounding muscles bck to their proper place.

They're trying to determine if it is something surgically remediable is all
Besides meds see if techs can try tail-first, just need to get lower back in magnet

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=yVEmI_0guvs&feature=emb_logo

I asked about that but the tech said it would not out my back in the right place. Not sure I understand that but he is the expert.

Kentish Wrote:
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> I asked about that but the tech said it would not
> out my back in the right place.
===============================

Sounds like he's making stuff up. Isn't a brain mri.

These things are best sorted out doc-to-doc -- your doc explaining things to the radiologist and working a solution

I usually fall asleep during MRI. No problem.

I don't know if this will help, but here goes; I have only had sciatic pain once and it was almost totally debilitating.

After a week I made an emergency doctor appointment with my internist doctor. He listened and then recommended a steroid pill treatment. I was skeptical but willing to try anything.

I don't remember the medicine's name but it was a seven day routine starting with seven pills the first day down to one the last day. After the second day I noticed results and by the last day the pain was gone.

The doctor also showed me some sciatic nerve exercises that "stretch" the sciatic nerve so it isn't tight and irritated anymore. Those exercises helped as well.

As for the MRI, The only way I can deal with that is if the technicians verbally count down to when they are done. I closed my eyes and deal with a few seconds at a time. A few seconds added up equal a minute, then a few seconds more, , , Not a fun time at all.

I too use the wash cloth over my eyes. I can't be on the honor system; can't refrain from opening my eyes and subsequently freaking out.

First time I had an MRI I threw up in the MRI. I was not popular. I used to use Valium in preparation but then the aftermath took too much time out of my day.

The open MRI's I've used were not really open, they just had a hole for a fan to blow air through.

Because I'm going through a lot of medical issues, I'm thinking of trying EMDR to get over some of the memories of childhood torture and have an easier time in the hospital.

I would love to spell this out for my abuser, but he will just take it as an invitation to argue.

I miss my old boyfriend who would always physically stand between me and my family.

I can relate because I’m very claustrophobic, to the point that I will take the stairs rather than take the lift (elevator). I had to have an MRI a couple of years ago. I made sure to tell them in advance - I think there was an appointment beforehand. I followed their advice; apparently a lot of people struggle with it.

They told me the maximum length of the scan beforehand (about 15 minutes in my case). I made sure to keep my eyes closed the entire time and they put earphones on me (you have to wear these anyway because of the noise) and chose my favourite music (they out on an 80s channel).
I then counted backwards from 1000 whilst listening to the music and not opening my eyes at all. I knew that songs are roughly 3-4 minutes long, so I could gauge how much time was passing. However I was more focused on trying to count backwards. I think they spoke to me via the earphone periodically which helped.

What also helps is you have a panic button. If you do panic they get you out.

I’d recommend getting some diazepam as a one off prescription to take beforehand. I did that once before dental treatment when I couldn’t afford sedation and it did help me to relax.

My experience is not much help, but I am always surprised at reports of claustrophobia. If anything, I have reverse claustrophobia. Confined spaces are not at all threatening, and may even be kind of comforting. I'm somewhere middle-ish on the aspie spectrum, where I hear that kind of reaction is fairly common.

So in this particular case, it is nice to be an outlier. I've only had 1 MRI. It was kind of uncomfortable and noisy, but that was just a minor annoyance.

My wife has spent a lot of time researching today and has found an imaging company in SLC that has an open MRI. They will take a referral from my Idaho doctor, I have a daughter in SLC so it would be no hardship to make a visit, Additionally there is a clinic in the Boise area that specializes in the spine and their web site does show an open MRI, no closed tunnel whatsoever, in either case. I'll try this one first thing tomorrow and have the SLC one as backup

PS. Thanks for all the comments and advice. I've had kidney stones and root canals but being pushed into that tube yesterday was as real and more stressful even if irrational.

Good luck, Kentish, and please keep us posted on how you do.

in b 4 ~



ziller can confirm ~



the psychotic nerve can be very painful ~



lately ziller has been soaking in rum bottles an it seem to hep a little OPie ~



plz try to avoid the mri tunnels OPie ~



mri tunnels tend to aggravate the psychotic nerve ~



plz stay safe OPie ~

Kentish, I'm sorry for your troubles. I'm wondering if a sleep mask would help (if so, you might try sleeping with one for a few nights to get used to it.) If not that, then perhaps a cloth over your eyes would help, along with some Valium, etc.

Good luck, and do let us know how it goes.

Kentish, did you have any luck today securing a spot on the open MRI ?

Kathleen, just saw this. Driving to SLC in about 10 days for an appointment. OK to sit. Pain is worst standing.

Have you tired paying tithing?  I'm told that it works miracles...

The MRI tunnel freaked my wife out too. The newer MRI units have larger tunnels I believe. Maybe ask about that.

SL has an open MRI machine. The pain is still nasty but pain meds help. It would be great if the MRI was the cure but it only tells what is causing the pain. It was told by an orthopedic doctor that Boise is the back surgery capitol of America so perhaps a shot will solve the problem.

kentish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Seeking the experience of others. For a few weeks
> now I have been experiencing severe sciatic pain.
> For those who have had it I don't have to explain
> how painful it can be. I tried to get an
> appointment with a specialist but was told I
> needed a referral from my GP. I got this but was
> then told the specialist would not see me without
> having an MRI. So back to the GP who set up the
> MRI exam.
>
> This was scheduled for yesterday but without going
> into detail (childhood trauma) I could not handle
> confined MRI "tunnel" and had to call it off. It
> was embarrassing but there you are. I contacted
> my GP's office to see what alternatives I have and
> so far have heard nothing back.
>
> Has anyone been there who can suggest ways they
> solved such a situation? Short of being totally
> out there is no way I can face the MRI.

I have experience with this.

I was told years ago by my then MD that I had sciatica in my left leg.

Eventually it became so painful that I couldn't walk without stopping for a rest.

I'd walk from lamppost to lamppost, counting my steps before resting for a minute.

My new MD referred me to the local hospital. The specialist told me there was no way that it could be sciatica, that my hip joint must be "absolutely shot" and that the X-Ray he was booking me in for was a mere formality, because he knew that I needed an artificial hip.

When the X-ray showed that my hip was, in fact, perfectly healthy he was flabbergasted. "It must be sciatica, after all" he mumbled. As sciatica wasn't his speciality he referred me back to my Doctor.

My wife happens to know a woman who does some TV work and is a heath guru.

She mentioned my hip problem and her friend said "Have him try high doses of CoQ10."

I had nothing to lose, so I did. And within a week my sciatic pain was reduced by about 90% and by the end of the month, the pain had gone and I only get the occasional twinge, often when I have ran out of CoQ10!

Matt, what is CoQ10? Not familiar with that.

kentish Wrote:
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> Matt, what is CoQ10? Not familiar with that.

Here you are!

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-153517/coenzyme-q10-ubiquinol-oral/details

I can stand for maybe 5 minutes. Stenosis on L3,4 &5 is the cause and I received 37 epidural steroid injections over the course of 13 years until they became less effective. I use the services of a chiropractor on occasion when my lower back gets out of straight up and down. I'm hoping to avoid surgery...which wouldn't be fun at my age and living alone in the country as I do. I wish more effective lower back treatments were available. They cause millions of hours of lost time in the workforce.

They may exist but I have yet to meet anyone whose back problems were solved by surgery. In many cases, as with my wife, they re worse after surgery.

Update for anyone interested. Went to SLC last weekend for open MRI. Not entirely pleasant but I did it. Saw a specialist today and he thinks he can fix the problem with very minor "surgery". Small incision. Shave off what is pressing on a nerve. Overnight hospital stay. Waiting on insurance approval for date. His biggest fear besides the continuing pain is that a spasm will cause me to fall and break a hip. Ain,t getting elderly fun!

It sounds like the MRI was worth the inconvenience. Good luck with the surgery.

Good luck with the surgery, Kentish. I've heard of a number of cases of people being helped by spinal surgery.