works for me wednesday - MRI goggles(!)

i have oftentimes read my friend shannon's blog with great interest, and her "works for me wednesdays" have always been a good read. this is my maiden voyage into works for me land and being as i always think outside of the box (because we know inside of the box gets cramped and clausterphobia sets in...), i thought this would be a good opportunity for others who share my affliction concern.

i had an mri a couple of weeks ago and was strapped in and practically glued into place before they tunneled me in. anyone who knows me even a wee bit would know i am exceedingly clausterphobic. not just a little, but panic-attack, burst-into-tears-and-made-the-tech-cry-too panicky at the last one (i generate empathy whereever i go...) this time, however, this closed one was "sprung" on me and i didn't have much time to prepare, so i simply prayed and when i was pulled out the first time for suspected hyperventilation (excuse me? i thought 42 breaths per minute was normal??), it was suggested that i watch oprah -- they had these mri-proofed television goggles for patients such as me and they offered for me to use them for my session.

huh? i am not so much an oprah fan, but watching her instead of entertaining thoughts of suicide was a delightful option and can i tell you? the 45 minutes flew by and i was out in a jiff.

please be sure to ask the next time you are scheduled for this lovely exam and it may get you through that tunnel without the need for extra xanax prayer. it didn't even matter i had no idea what the show was about since i couldn't hear it, i am just happy to admit the television goggles totally worked for me;

not that i am rushing back for another one any time soon, mind you...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's interesting. I've only had one MRI so far (and hope to never have another, but you never know). It was neat that the day before in my Daily Light devotional book, all the verses were about being still. I wrote about it here. Still -- last time it was an unknown thing. Next time there would be the anticipation of knowing what it would be like. I think those goggles would help in keeping one's mind occupied. I hope if I ever have another one that the place where I am has those.

Nikki said...

I'm claustrophic too. They had to drug me last time and I was still very nervous. This is a good thing to know!

Lara said...

That sounds like good advice. I wonder if they would let you take an MP3 player in with you.

Anonymous said...

I just recently had one also - I was so nervous that I was swallowing constantly and had to ask for a drink of water before we started! I did the extra prayer, but my dad had driven me there in case I needed to be knocked out. I was like barbara h. - scared of the unknown and worried about the confined space.
Those goggles sound pretty neat - it's amazing what's out there.
~Crabbybull

Anonymous said...

What doesn't work for me is no capital letters. Makes it too difficult to read beyond a sentence or two.

~pen~ said...

i would recommend it for anyone if they needed to have one done. i would do the same thing again but hopefully, my mri days are OVER!

Anonymous,I can type like the big folks do...I used to be a legal secretary and have been typing since the 9th grade in high school. Sometimes, I find I like to type as fast as I can because my time is limited due to two jobs, a sick Mom and as you read here, health issues. So what works for me is no caps (unless I am talking about a Deity) :) Did you notice, I still punctuate well?

~peace
penni