Well, I'm off to have an MRI done on my back, again. The doc thinks I'm gonna have to have surgery, yet again. I'm can only walk with a cane now, and that for limited times. Anyway, I'm going crazy thinking about the stupid MRI this afternoon, I'm extremely claustrophobic and the thought of entombing myself in that coffin is gonna drive me buggy!

So, I'm playing frantically on the piano to alleviate the stress. I find the more technically challenging the better, so Chopin etudes and some Liszt are on the docket this morn. My back is screaming from all the octaves but everytime I stop I start to hyperventilate. *sigh* I'm such a weakling!

won't you be laying on your stomach? MRIs are not that bad. I had one done on my head once, that was worse because I was rolled in all the way into the machine.

If you go feet first, then it is not bad at all. Interesting if you will be placed head first.

Don't move, the walls might collapse on you

Joking. Just fall asleep.

Good luck, Nathan. I've never had an MRI before, but don't they let you bring in music - like a CD and they give you earphones? Just close your eyes and listen to something beautiful and it'll be over in no time.

Ha! No, absolutely no metallic objects. A CD player (Mp3 player) will be destroyed in the MRI machine. MRI = magnetic resonance imaging. The magnet is so powerful that those about to receive an MRI are asked if they have worked with metal (i.e. grinding, welding, etc). There is concern that if there are metal shards in the eye, the magnet would rip them out causing damage to the eyes.

Eeewww. But I swear I thought I heard that you can bring in your own music. Maybe that was the birthing room, not the MRI room.

Yeah, those women in labor are sooooo lucky .... *sigh*

In the past I had 4 MRIs, head first, all the way inside the machine. The first one was the toughest, as it was before they added that scope and mirror so that you can see outside the tube. It was more like being in a coffin. The only other thing that bothered me was having no notion of what time it might be. (I'm a time freak, use an atomic clock to ensure that my watches are set within one second of accuracy.) The other MRI sessions went far better.

Just take off your shoes and try to relax. The technician will also give you announcements through an intercom, so you'll still feel connected to the outside world as well as visually getting the periscope view of the room. Or, if you're on your stomach, at least you'll still have the announcements between all the machine noises. You'll be OK. Good luck!