Fetal MRI

This morning I finally had my fetal MRI. Seeing as though I'm claustrophic, I've been dreading this day. I've experienced an MRI before (for a pinched nerve/bulging disk) and felt like the walls of the machine were closing in on me. Fortunately, it only lasted about 20 minutes that time around so it wasn't so terrible.

Upon arriving at my appointment this morning, the doctor went over the all of the necessary instructions and had me fill out the appropriate paperwork because I'm pregnant and opting to have this MRI. She then explained that this experience would probably be much more pleasant than my last one because the tubes have gotten slightly larger. Yet, on the other hand, the magnet has also doubled in strength. Additionally, they now have the ability to project images (of mountains or other serene landscapes) on the walls of the MRI room (not the inside of the tube itself) which would promote a peaceful environment/mindset. It would last slightly longer than my last MRI (about 30-45 minutes). Additionally, instead of going in head first, this time they had me go in feet first so that my head was at the end of the tube and within eye sight of the opening. What she failed to mention was that after laying on the table, they would strap a belt around my chest and cover me with a heavy mat/shield on my chest. Then, seeing as though they wanted a good look at my uterus, they would have me do the entire MRI with my arms above my head instead of at my side. When they first began the exam, everything was fine. They had covered my legs/feet with a light sheet to ensure that I was warm and comfortable. That's when he began asking me to hold my breath. "Deep breath in. Exhale. Hold your breath. . ." I began counting the clicks and pounds of the machine. By the fifteenth click, I was struggling to hold my breath any longer. He barely let me catch my breath before he began again. After a few of these repetitions, I could hear him say though my earphones, "Are you having trouble holding your breath that long?" Ummm, yeah. Ya think? You aren't letting me take another breath after my exhale before holding my breath. The MRI went on for what seemed like forever. They moved the table back and forth throughout the tube. The further in they put me, the tighter I felt my chest get. After about 45 minutes, my shoulder started to feel a sharp pain. I was very uncomfortable but terrified to move. I just kept telling myself to suck it up. The MRI would be over soon. It had to be over soon. I kept waiting and waiting for him to tell me, "Almost there" yet I wasn't getting any sign that the end was near. I started getting more and more anxious. My whole body started to break out in a sweat and I had to tell myself to take more deep breaths. The baby had started getting restless at this point and I was much more in tune with her little jabs and kicks. I could feel the palm of my hand starting to draw tighter and tighter around the little panic button that he had given me in case I needed to get out of the machine. Finally, I couldn't hold it anymore. My shoulder was throbbing. I squeezed the button and heard the man's voice through my headphones. "You okay?" I told him that my shoulder was aching and I needed to come out to adjust it for a minute. It took him a minute but he finally moved me out of the machine and told me that my doctor said that they had everything they needed. Removing the chest pad and belt felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of me. When I finally looked at the clock, I realized that I had been in there for over an hour. No wonder time had seemed to be moving so slow.

After exiting the MRI room, the doctor was there to meet me outside. She didn't have much new information to tell me. She wasn't in the room to witness the entire MRI but she said that from her initial scan, she believed that it was a type III CCAM in the right lung. She did not see any signs of hydrops at this time. However, she confirmed that she would need to look further at my MRI to perform a more in depth analysis and write up her formal report. It would take about two days to get those results back. Hoping that this report provides us with more information as her breakdown today didn't provide us with any new information. I guess I will know more in the next day or two when I stalk my perinatologist for her report. : )