Magnetic Resonance Imaging
5PM Wednesday May 27, 2009
For the MRI, I was face down . There was a ramp that sloped up with two holes for my breasts to hang down. There was a bend in the ramp, so the part with the holes was flat. The transition from the ramp to the flat pressed against my lower rib cage in such a way that getting a full breath was impossible. My face was supported by a ring like you would have on a massage table. I had to have my arms above my head, so I looked like a diver would on entering the water. Oh, and an IV in my hand connected to a curly tube to deliver contrast at the right part of the scan. The whole test ran about 40 minutes. I had ear plugs, but could still hear the sounds quite well. A sample of MRI sounds is here: http://www.lodestone.co.uk/faqscansounds.htm The technician would tell me how long the series coming up would be: this one will be three minutes, this one will be nine….. What a relief when he called thirty seconds.
Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography
8 AM Thursday May 28, 2009
PET Information
CT Information
I arrived for the PET/CT scan in the morning. “Well hydrated and not having had breakfast”. I was taken in, and told to put everything in the locker, including my puzzles and reading material. They want you to lay quietly so a busy brain does not interfere with the scan. I was prepped with an iv port, in the same vein as used for my MRI….saving my left hand for subsequent use. A nurse came in with a huge heavy cart. I think it was the prep process in a box. There was a tube hanging out and she connected it to my port and hit go and the F-18 flowed in. After that, I was tucked in (in a recliner) and told to lie quietly. I think I slept a few minutes. Before I knew it, they said it was time for the scan. I got to lie on my back this time. The tech was tucking me in and putting pillows under my knees to make me comfy, I was thinking what a breeze this would be compared to the MRI. Just when I thought we were finished, he put a pillow on the table above my head and said: “OK, arms up there….”. By the time I realized that my poor shoulders could really have used two pillows, it was really too late. So, another 40 minutes of lying still and gritting my teeth.
