How To Get Mri Results Online

Although I'grand in skilful health, I'k surprisingly injury-prone. I pull or strain at least one body part every year, and I'm on a first-name basis with anybody at the local physical therapy practice. I've also had three MRIs done and so far—one on my left shoulder, 1 on my left hamstring, and one on my left thumb. (Maybe I should just do less with my left side?)

Getting scanned isn't my favorite thing to do, as I happen to exist claustrophobic and the MRI machine is non known for its roominess. But I know that this test helps my doctor appraise the extent of my injuries, as it uses magnetic fields to create high-definition pictures of my organs and tissues. (MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging.) MRIs are as well used to help diagnose infections, tumors, strokes, and more.

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I was pretty broken-hearted earlier my first scan, but it wasn't as bad equally I expected. Yep, you're pushed into a tube not much bigger than your trunk, and yous're stuck in there for up to an hour. Only I managed to survive (three times) relatively unscathed. (Still worried after reading this? Here are 4 scary health tests made like shooting fish in a barrel.) If yous're facing an MRI in the almost future or you're just curious, here's what you should know.

Y'all'll have to de-jewel yourself.
Got earrings or a golden watch? Leave those at home or in the dressing room. You'll also have to have off any wear that contains zippers, hooks, or buttons (you'll get a gown). Techs fifty-fifty discourage makeup and other cosmetics because they may contain metal particles. That'due south because the MRI machine creates a powerful magnetic field that tin dislodge and motion metallic. If you lot take a pacemaker or implant that may contain metal, be sure to alert your doc ahead of fourth dimension and remind the MRI tech.

You might get an injection or take to drink a solution.
Sometimes a "dye" is used to assistance certain organs, vessels, or tissues show upwards more clearly on an MRI. If your doctor says this is necessary, you'll be given an IV injection, enema, or oral solution before the scan gets started.

Y'all tin can listen to tunes.

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For at least one of my MRIs, I wore a pair of headphones and listened to music that was piped in past my MRI technician. I got to choose the genre; in some facilities, you can choose your favorite radio station. This gave me something to concentrate on bated from what was actually happening (which helps with staying calm). In some cases, y'all may be able to use goggles to spotter something other than the inside of the MRI tube.

You may not take to go all the way into the tube.
For two of my MRIs, I was inserted into the MRI tube feet-starting time. So while my body was in the machine, my caput was out in the open, which I much preferred. Enquire the tech which fashion you'll exist configured.

You'll be posed.
The MRI techs need a articulate view of the body function they're scanning, and they may utilise straps and bolsters to prop you so they can get a clear view. This may feel a picayune awkward, but information technology'south generally non super-uncomfortable (a adept affair since you'll have to concur the position for quite a while).

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There are open-tube options.
If y'all're uber-claustrophobic, y'all might consider seeking out an "open" MRI. This automobile is U-shaped instead of a closed tube, but it might exist similarly narrow and the image quality might be poor. "A lot of the open up MRIs don't have the same degree of imaging capacity," and so your doc might not go the clinical information that he needs, says James Rawson, MD, chair of the American College of Radiology Patient and Family unit Centered Care Commission.

You tin take drugs.

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If the idea of an MRI is stressing you out significantly, enquire your doctor if you can become a prescription to take the border off. "We ofttimes requite patients Valium and then they can be awake and able to cooperate during the test merely relaxed enough so the tight infinite doesn't bother them," Rawson says. Just keep in mind that if yous take Valium or i of its cousins, you'll need someone to bulldoze you home after the examination. (Hither are more health examination secrets doctors don't tell you.)

It'south non placidity in in that location.
Beingness inside an MRI machine can experience like existence in a clothes dryer total of lawn tennis balls. Don't worry, all the knocking noises are totally normal. You can vesture ear plugs if the sound bugs yous, and you can communicate with the MRI tech via intercom during the scan.

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Yous tin proceed your eyes airtight.
Some people (including me) just close their optics earlier they're inserted into the tube and keep them closed throughout the exam. If you don't see the tube, the rationale goes, you aren't really in the tube. But pretend you're on the beach. A noisy beach with a lot of knocking sounds.

Just you must stay awake.

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This is trickier than it sounds, since you're supposed to hold absolutely still and you may take airtight your eyes. But if you doze off, your torso may twitch or move, which can brand the images blurry and necessitate a do-over. Y'all as well need to exist warning enough to comply with any breathing instructions. (You might take to hold your jiff for 15-25 seconds at a fourth dimension during a chest or stomach browse.)

Y'all go breaks.
An MRI generally lasts 30 to sixty minutes, simply the images are taken in a series of sets. Most sets terminal a few minutes, and during that time you'll have to stay perfectly notwithstanding or risk blurring all the images from that round. Your technician will probably tell you when i fix of images has been taken and another is well-nigh to begin, so yous'll have a moment to scratch your nose or wiggle a pes that has fallen asleep.

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At that place's a panic button.
If you really do need to go out of the machine in a hurry, don't just wriggle yourself out like a worm. The MRI folks ofttimes give y'all a button y'all can punch if you showtime to lose it. Says Rawson: "For some patients, having that caste of command makes the exam much less intimidating."