I've now had several brain MRIs in three or four different facilities, so I thought I would share what the experience is like. A lot of people are afraid of MRIs, and that's fair, but MRIs are also not the end of the world. I guess in a way I was lucky that I didn't have time to think about my first MRI. They just took me from my bed in the ER, down to radiology, and started the procedure. Some of my friends get claustrophobic during MRIs and need to be sedated, so they do their MRIs at night and go home to sleep it off. I'm at a point where I have a pretty good relationship with the MRI tech that I see every couple months, and we do pretty well every time I go in. I also need to say that you can have MRIs of other parts of your body, and I don't know anything about that. It could be better or worse than an MRI of the brain.
With any MRI, you will need to remove all metal from your clothing. No earrings, rings, underwire bras, jeans, etc. If you are in the hospital already, this is easy because they will put you in a hospital gown. If you are coming from home, it's a great day to wear yoga pants and a sports bra (or the male equivalent). During my last MRI, I forgot to take off my wedding ring. Several minutes into my MRI, I felt some tingling and a slight burn right around where my ring was on my finger. I called the tech in and told her, so we took it off. Apparently there is no problem if the ring is in the MRI room, but sometimes leaving a ring or other piece of metal on during the procedure can cause a burn (similar to a sunburn) where the metal is touching your body. This was uncomfortable, so be sure to remove all metal before your MRI.
You also have to answer a list of standard MRI questions before you start the procedure. These questions include information about whether or not you've ever worked with metal or have any metal inside your body. After my surgery I had no idea that I had a titanium plate in my head, so I went on my way saying there was no metal in my body. Later I found out I actually did have metal in my head, and now I put that on my MRI sheet. Obviously, if you have brain tumor surgery the doctors expect you to be getting MRIs for a long time, so they use a metal that is okay for MRIs.
When they call you back for the MRI, you lay on your back on a thin board (maybe 18-24 inches wide. The tech will put a cushion under your legs so they don't fall asleep or make your back hurt too much. Ask for a warm blanket (or two) so you don't get cold during the MRI. Some places just have you put your head in a certain spot and hope you don't move it. At OHSU they put a plastic piece over my head that can be a little bit overwhelming, though I am used to it now. Some hospitals and facilities will offer to let you listen to music or look at a picture of a tropical island or mountain range. MRI machines are incredibly loud, so if you do listen to music your ears are competing for what they hear. I loved having music during my first MRI, but since surgery music and the sounds of the MRI machine combined have been too much for my brain to handle.
The other thing a tech will do at some point during the MRI is thread a needle into your veins. Brain MRIs require a contrast injection so doctors can see if anything lights up in your brain. (Stuff lighting up in your brain is not a good thing--tumors and lesions light up.) The contrast can cause an allergic reaction. The first couple times I had contrast it made me sneeze, which of course means your head moves. Threading a needle can also be a painful experience. If you know you are having an MRI, drink lots of water in the 24 hours before so your veins are easier to see.
During the MRI there will be several short sequences, that I think can last 2-8 minutes. You'll hear banging, whizzing, and several other loud sounds even though you'll be wearing ear plugs and headphones. If you are lucky either the recording or the tech will tell you how many minutes each segment is. If no one is telling you, press your handy little button and ask the tech to tell you. Most of my MRIs have been about 45 minutes of taking images, about half before contrast and about half after. The fMRI was about double that.
When the MRI is done, the tech will come let you out. Don't sit up too quickly--you don't want to fall off the table. Personally, I'm fine after an MRI. I don't plan to do anything crazy on those days (or ever, let's be honest), but once my arm stops bleeding at the contrast injection site, there's no evidence that I've had an MRI. It's not the most fun thing, but it's not horrible either.
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