Hi I have severe claustrophobia and I possibly may need a mri. Can i be sedated? Or can I pay privately for an open mri? I had a mri years ago and couldn’t go through with it.
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Dear Stafford22,
We all get anxious about having different test, have a word with your breast cancer nurse, maybe they can offer a solution as you have said an open MRI would be better if you feel claustrophobic,
Wishing you well fingers crossed for a good outcome.
Hugs Tili 
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Oh good lord @stafford22 I was literally just coming on to research the same thing. I am going to have surgery in the New Year but have an MRI, would you believe, at 11am on Christmas Eve 
. I am highly claustrophobic (I have dreams in which I’m trapped at least twice a week) and the only other time I tried to have an MRI, I pressed the panic button in less than a minute. I felt so ashamed but the doctor who referred me for it called the next day to say he cannot go in them either so changed it to a CT scan. Unfortunately I have to have both a CT scan AND an MRI before this surgery and the work around without an MRI is too awful to contemplate. So, to answer your question, yes you can be sedated. I have been given one tablet of Diazepam 5mg (Valium) which I’ve been told to take one hour before the MRI. This has meant dragging friends out on Christmas Eve to bring me home. Ask your referring doctor or your GP for it.
My concern and question is, has anyone had Valium or equivalent as sedation for an MRI and, if so, how long did the effect last as I am concerned I am going to be a zombie on Christmas Day.
The other thing I’m worried about is, according to some of the experiences on here, MRIs pick up every little thing which they feel obliged to investigate. The whole thing fills me with dread, so you are not alone.
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I have to have MRIs every 2 years due to a spinal condition . I am very claustrophobic and pressed the button to get out twice . I now always have the MRIs with sedation - this is provided by the hospital not GP as you need to be monitored - they give you Loraxapam - they will not normally do this unless you’ve already tried the scan without . I’ve also had Valium provided by the GP for scans which probably would work for a lot of people . Both sedations wear off within a couple of hours with little further impact .
I’ve also looked into open scanners -NHS can refer you for this if you really can’t cope with any other approach . I find if you let the technicians know how scared you are they will talk to you through the scan which does help . They are used to a lot of people struggling so don’t be embarrassed to flag how you feel .
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Thanks @Jill1998. The first time I tried it, it was obvious to everyone that I was a nervous wreck and so I was told “don’t worry, we’re going to take this slowly” to which I replied “ slowly? No! Take it quickly, as quickly as possible!” But it didn’t matter as I pressed the button within 30 seconds and was a sobbing, shaking mess when I came out, feeling very, VERY ashamed. Everyone was very understanding. I have had intravenous sedation three times before and I go out like a light which I hope doesn’t happen on the Valium as this the MRI is with contrast so they’re bound to be talking to me at points. Surgery? Fine. 6 weeks of recovery? Ok. But the MRI? 
I keep telling myself, it’s just one single hour and then it’s over but my reaction is primal. Off to search for my big girl pants.
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It is a flight or fight response governed by a part of your brain that’s very hard to reason with !! I can’t go in lifts and anywhere I feel trapped I find difficult so MRIs are pretty much top of my list of things not to do . Very few people don’t find MRIs hard .
They can’t give you IV sedation as they cant monitor you properly - oxygen levels etc so Valium or similar drugs are used so they can talk to you .
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I had a mri years ago and freaked out within 30 seconds and was sick all over the scanner. I was I such a state. I’d prefer to be completed sedated but I’ve read it’s unusual to do this. So Valium it is!!!
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The ooen mri’s look so much better. Also with a breast mri are you head down? Not sure if it’s better or worse! I would also prefer to go in feet first so my head is nearer the end!
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My MRI is for my nether regions (bowel and colon) and I’ve been told I can go in feet first but that I’ll still be inside and would have to tilt my head very far back to see outside. I’d still prefer it though, if they honour the promise. My dread is that somehow they’ll tether me in which would be completely insupportable. On occasion, during moments of claustrophobic panic attacks, I have literally taken scissors and cut myself out of clothes if say a zip gets stuck, I can’t be constrained at all, so I am hoping this Valium works. One of my best friends had a BC MRI and was on her stomach with her boobs in cups, which is probably marginally better than being on one’s back. Her brother works for a tech firm in Oxford working on developing much smaller, almost portable MRI machines so there is hope for the future.
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The newer MRI machines that hospitals are getting now are wider than ones in the past thank goodness but still a challenge . They have to get the part being scanned in the middle of the machine when I had my femurs done my head was just out of the machine quite quickly . If Valium doesn’t work for either of you Lorazepam was really good for me -I could see rainbows and the machine was talking soothingly to me 
The hospital has to give you that and it has to be requested in advance by your Consultant after first “failing “ doing it the conventional way !!!
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Hi, Lorazapam has really helped me in the past. My consultant prescribed it for me. He told me to take one tablet half an hour before the procedure. I have used it twice as I get really anxious. My husband told me that as it starts to work my speech becomes slurred although I did not realise this. You do need someone with you as apparently I could not walk in a straight line. I did not feel ill taking the lorazepam, I just felt that I could not care less about anything and nothing seemed to faze me. - Which is just the reaction you want. I did sleep in the car on the way home ( my husband was driving) and I went to sleep in the chair again for about an hour when I got home. I had no nasty effects and was then fine to carry on as usual. Obviously everyone is different but I feel it is worth asking for lorazepam. I hope all goes well for you and all the other lovely ladies on this site. Take care.
Sunshine 21.
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My oncologist prescribed me a very small dose of lorazepam for every MRI scan I had which was several as I’m very claustrophobic and the thought alone terrified me .lorazepam worked fine each time . I was able just to relax and not worry. I do however still keep my eyes closed all the time . I also have a ploy of thinking of fruits / flowers / vegetables starting with every letter of the alphabet as it keeps my mind occupied . I pressed the panic button last tine as I needed to cough . They didn’t mind .
My GP wouldn’t prescribe sedative as they didn’t order the procedure but hopefully you can get a message to your oncologist or your cns to get you a tablet .The only thing is I never drove myself to the scan as I didn’t reckon I would have been alert enough .
All the best .
How lovely to hear from you @Gillmary. How are you? Well, I hope.
I understand there’s a lot of banging and clumping around of magnets in the MRI so I have been working on a strategy of lying with my eyes shut tight, trying to imagine I’m on a beach somewhere and the thumping noise is coming from the club next door. I’m not sure it will work but it’s worth a go if the Valium doesn’t kick in. Your garden idea sounds much better. It would appear very much as if Lorazepam is the NHS go-to but I’m going private and the Valium tablet is in my bathroom waiting for the dreaded day - Christmas Eve. I expect I got that early date as I’m the only person not wrapped up in the festivities on that day!
I can’t comment on the options for claustrophobia as I have generally managed ok (not a pleasant experience but manageable, the worst part for me has been the noise of the machines, even though I’ve always had ear plugs and largish head phones to cover my ears. I find it strange that the MRI operating staff ask if you’d like to listen to music/radio channel when in reality there is no way you can hear anything other than the burring noise of the MRI machine when inside) in the MRI tunnel, but thought I’d add my experience in case it provides information in preparation for anyone getting ready to have an MRI.
I’ve had 3 different types of MRI’s over the last 18 months.
Breast MRI - Stomach down, Head facing down (If anyone has had a back massage, its a bit like how you would be face down on the bed with a hole to place your face, and a forehead rest) & breasts are placed in cups. Typically this MRI is done with contrast so your arms are raised over your head for them to attach the tube to the machine that injects the contrast dye. You go into the tunnel head first. I was in the tunnel for about 30mins in total.
Head MRI (Done in a portable mobile MRI unit at the hospital) - Lying on your back, head facing up. I was in the tunnel for about 20-30mins. Arms raised over your head for contrast to be injected.
Neck, Upper and Lower Back MRI - Lying on your back, head facing up but placed in a frame which looked a bit like a Star Wars helmet which I assumed was to stop me moving around. I was in the tunnel for about 40-60 mins. Having my head in a helmet did make me feel a bit claustrophobic, but I practiced focusing on my breath to get through that. Arms raised over your head for contrast to be injected.
Hope all goes well with the sedative, and you are back to normal for Christmas day. xx
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@Tigress
Yes very noisy process. I had a brain scan, eyes closed from start to finish so I wouldn’t freak out. The ear buds provided were useless. The noise varies depending on the stage it’s at. At times it sounded like an old dot matrix printer and at worse like someone banging pots and pans. May be it was because of the head region, but the noise is amplified. A little disorientated when finished, but only for a brief time.
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Frankly they all sound awful so well done on getting through them. Mine is with contrast but having my arms above my head for any length of time will be impossible because of arthritis in my shoulders - radiotherapy was bad enough for that and that was only for 10-12 minutes, not the 45-60 I’ve been threatened with. Time will tell. Usually I’m a model patient and stoically just get on with any thing without complaint but this MRI business has the potential for turning me into a nightmare if only for an hour! I do hope you’re doing well now after so many investigations.
@stafford22 I understand your feelings, I’m the same. I had to have an MRI recently and didn’t want to do it but decided to give it a go with sedation. As others have said, the GP or hospital prescribe a tablet to be taken about an hour beforehand - I found it took the edge of my anxiety. Also, it seems that the modern MRI machines are more open compared to the older ones, so didn’t feel so enclosed. As someone else mentioned, it is important to tell everyone how you feel, I found them very supportive. They gave me an eye mask which helped but if you don’t want this, I recommend that you NEVER open your eyes…try to focus your imagination on somewhere nice (I imagine I’m on holiday, swimming in the sea, walking on the beach, etc.) and then practice deep breathing techniques. If you really can’t cope, then apparently some London hospitals have open scanners. I believe your GP or hospital can refer you but there is a long wait list. Sometimes, they can just do a CT scan instead. That happened to me last time they wanted to do an MRI but this time I’d been having a lot of headaches and they wanted to check for a brain tumor - I decided to have the MRI. Fortunately, no tumor found so I was relieved to have that ruled out. Hope you can find support and a solution from your medical team. X
Completely empathise with you. For me an MRI is torture. One little trick the nurse recommended that worked for me last time. Go in to the room already blindfolded and do not open your eyes (even behind the blindfold) for the time it takes until they have taken you out. I’m not saying it was a dream, it wasn’t, but it helped enough to get me through. Wishing you luck.
I’m sure Valium will be fine . I had a small amount of that when I had my cataracts done and it kept me calm and relaxed . Another ploy for the mind is thinking of girls and boys name’s beginning with every letter of the alphabet , particularly kids one knows . X is a challenge but there are people called Xavier🤣 .
No more MRI for me I don’t think other than emergency after the last two years ones - sadly my spinal mets have not responded to treatment so am now under the hospice . But at 76 it’s ok . Whatever stage we are at with cancer it’s a long old path to take so my take is one day at a time. All the best
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I am so sorry to hear that the treatment hasn’t been effective @Gillmary. Obviously I only “know” you through your posts but they lead me to believe that you are a lovely lady who has had a very tough time in recent years. In some ways I guess it is a benefit to have this period of certainty with a chance to have quality time with your daughter, son and their families. I hope that there are many more days for you to take one at a time.
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