Claustrophobia

As some of you may already know I have been dealing with ear problems all summer long. At the beginning of June I was told by my doctor that I would need a third ear surgery. Since then I have had to undergo a CT scan and now an MRI.

My first MRI was scheduled a few weeks ago and was at an Open MRI facility. Well, I took one look at the machine and didn't see anything open about it. When I talked with the technician she told me she didn't understand why they called it open when it looks the same as the regular one. Basically, you are still closed in with what looks to be a football helmet piece covering your face. I started panicking and decided that I could not do that one. Btw, this one would of taken 40 minutes to complete.

Yesterday morning I went in for another attempt at a place that would do an MRI with IV sedation. They scheduled me with sedation because I was claustrophobic. I was a bundle of nerves just going in and felt a lot of anxiety without even seeing the machine. After talking to the male nurse who was super nice and informative, I committed to giving it a try. He told me that the medicine he would be giving me through the IV would not knock me out completely but would make me feel as if I didn't care (in other words, I wouldn't be afraid of the big bad machine). Well, I remember the medicine kicking in and the nurse asking me questions so I knew it started to work. I was feeling pretty calm. All of a sudden I was crying (so I was told) non-stop so the nurse called the whole thing off. He said he had given me the maximum amount of medicine that he could and that we couldn't go further. I was freaking out!

So, now I have to get an MRI ordered with FULL SEDATION. If I am not completely knocked out, I cannot go through with this. It's awful because I didn't realize I was this claustrophobic until I tried getting an MRI. :-( I've been researching this phobia online and it makes me feel a little better to know that this is a common fear.