I had an MRI done, and I don’t know if they’re all the same, but I had the one where you’re loaded into a tube … I never thought I would have issues with it, but I did … Shortly after being loaded into the tube I had a brief period where I almost called out and had myself removed … But, I talked myself out of it … Shut my eyes and got it done … I knew it had to get done, and if I didn’t do it then, I would have to do it eventually … and other means may have been … worse …. After that initial feeling of distress passed, my heart pounding, then the sensation of having to throw up, I was able to get through it by closing my eyes … I think anyone should be told this … Just close your eyes … even before you’re loaded in … cause I think that’s what freaked me out … Having the ceiling of this tube about an inch from my nose … Forget about the pounding noises they say you’re going to hear … They were more like buzzing sounds … like someone cutting wood with a power saw next to your head … The nurse had put earplugs in my ears before I went in … She informed me I could scratch an itch or something when I didn’t hear the loud noises, but in all honesty, I don’t think I could have moved my arms … So I didn’t even try … That may have freaked me out even more … In between each “scan”, the nurse came over a speaker somewhere over my head … Or technician (whatever they’re called) … The whole time there is a stream of air blowing over your head and down through the tube towards your feet I guess … This also helped after I shut my eyes, cause you could imagine you were just on your back at the beach or something … It’s the same thing for rides at an amusement park … If you close your eyes on any ride, they’re all about the same … You feel like you’re in a car with the top down … It’s when you open your eyes that you realize you’re going in circles way above the ground, etc …
So, to sum up .. when getting an MRI, close your eyes … wear earplugs … and realize that you will hear power tools next to your head … If you know all this ahead of time, I think you’ll be fine … I was after the first minute or so …