get some answers that terrify me. Some of you I am sure are knowledgable, but I am sure that there will be those that will like nothing better than to terrify a stranger, but here goes. I have to have a MRI with out contrast. I do not understand exactly how it is that an MRI works. I imagine it to work on the order of a microwave. Bubbling your brain cells. Disrupting them. Causing things to happen that are irreversable. I know this question sounds childish but I am hoping some knowledgable person can help me out. Thank you
2007-07-19 06:34:01 · 6 answers · asked by lauren10901 1 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
I have had multiple MRIs with contrast over the last ten years, and just a month ago was able to undergo a surgery to remove an "inoperable" tumor diagnosed ten years ago. I have been living a mostly normal life over this time period, the MRIs did not bubble anything (it's a magnet and there shouldn't be any metal in your brain). Of course you're scared, the MRI technicians should be able to answer any questions you may have which might help alleviate your fears.
2007-07-19 06:40:04 · answer #1 · answered by SodaLicious 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Please don't worry. Mri's don't burn or bubble anything...LOL. In fact, you will never feel a thing. It works by polarizing your cell to get an image of whatever they're looking for. If you're having contrast with it, they will inject a dye into your arm to help them see small vessels & such. That may or may not cause a slight twinge of pain from the injection, but thats all. The machine is noisey, & it works like a big magnet. So you can't have ANYTHING metal on you while you're in it. Other than that, it's all pretty uneventful. It just looks & sounds intimidating. After it's done, you'll wonder why you even worried.
2007-07-19 13:54:05 · answer #2 · answered by Alemap 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An MRI is magnetic resonance imaging. What they do is apply a magnetic charge to the body area being investigated and use a monitor that detects how the magnetic fields line up in your body.
Normal tissue will have a certain pattern that MRI technicians recognize. Damaged or foreign tissue, such as a muscle tear or a tumor, will cause a deviation in the normal magnetic field. And, the technicians can recognize what is wrong with the normal tissue by studying the deviations in the magnetic field image.
Don't worry about radiation or anything like that cooking or even slightly damaging your body parts. The magnet they use for an MRI doesn't harm you.
2007-07-19 13:46:45 · answer #3 · answered by Paul in San Diego 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wouldn't worry about an MRI at all. The only thing that can be uncomfortable is what area of the body they are taking a picture of. If it's above the waist then no problem, if it's below the waist, ugh, you have to drink this gross drink and well basically get an colon cleansing. That was what sucked the most about the whole thing. But as far as the scanning procedure, didn't take long and was over before I knew it. No frying or scrambling or microwaves and no problems since them, and that's been well over ten years ago.
2007-07-19 14:06:54 · answer #4 · answered by pecksun8 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a very good link as to describing what an MRI is:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/mri.htm
There are 13 informative pages describing about what an MRI is. The link you will click on will lead you to the first page, the introduction page.
2007-07-19 13:44:41 · answer #5 · answered by sulak321 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i had an MRI less than a month ago.
no pain. no bubbling. If they inject you with stuff ( is that the contrast ?) that feels warm, suddenly, but nothing like pain.
2007-07-19 14:22:13 · answer #6 · answered by nickipettis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋