spinal mri

[lmeiser45]

I have my yearly mri tomorrow.  I'm. Gettting 3 mri's 2 of which are spinal.  What does this mean?  What can I expect?  Thanks

[wiggles94]

Sorry - gadolinium was not IV - but  an injection.  (I'm pretty sure) - I guess I wasn't paying very good attention!  

[wiggles94]

Hi lmeiser,

Do you know if you are having your MRI's with gadolinium enhancement?  If you are, then you will be given an IV (not a big deal) and then they will do the MRI's.  I had mine done in a closed machine (better results than an open).  IT took about 1 1/2 hours for all three (brain, cervical and t spine) to be done.  They did 2 spinal first, then stopped to change machine over to do the brain.  Headphones played music and I made sure to keep my eyes closed at all times to avoid feeling claustrophobic.  

Your doc will get results from radiologist, and you should have follow up visit with neuro to discuss results.  Based on results, they can see how your MS is acting - if you are on disease mod drugs, results can be an indication of how your drugs are working on the disease....

All of this was painless and actually, for me,  other than the annoying noise of the machine, I find MRI relaxing.  I almost fall asleep in there!

If you have more questions, make sure you ask your MRI tech.  Hopefully they will be able to go over everything with you so you know what to expect.

Good luck to you, and I hope this helps.

[HVAC]

I have only had a brain and cervical. The c-spine was a waste since I could not hold still enough even medicated.

Alex