Thank you Trixie! I've planned to put wax earplugs in as with the regular one the noise was horrible. Not sure if it will be the same with the open one, but I'm just counting on it.
I may look for a CD nevertheless. But to be honest, not sure I got any hihi. I do have one with Christmas songs in the car, lol. But the good thing about music is also that you have some time indication, knowing how long you've been in there. 2x20 mins would be about 14 songs... Hmm... A list of things to take with. Shirt, warm socks, earplugs CD if I can find one.
Thanks, good suggestion!

Unfortunately the open scanners are still noisy, but any music may help you to relax. I am claustrophobic so I dread MRI’s, so usually I get someone to take me to the hospital so I can get my doctor to give me some diazepam to relax me.

I panicked the first time in the regular MRI, hihi. I was in there for barely 1 second and already pressed the alarm.
The assistant offered to hold my hand, otherwise I think it wouldn't have worked out. That helped tremendously!! I was chit scared. I opened my eyes in reflex when the bed stopped moving on the track. Seeing how danged close it was to my face, wowza... total panick!
Hence the open one now. Neurologist suggested what you say: have someone drive and take a tranquilizers. But I hate tranquilizers. And I got other medication, not sure if it'd work out well which would worry me even more, hihi.
I considered asking my son but he is rather unreliable with appointments and drives like crazy, which only freaks me out more.
So I decided to do it myself. My daughter has to work, otherwise she would've chauffeured me. And she's going through some really weird ailments that no one as of yet knows what it is so I rather not do that to her now either.
I'll manage. I hope. Hihi.
And good to know upfront the open ones are noisy too. Are they as bad in that sense as the tunnels??

I didn’t like the open one either, but as I said I am claustrophobic. The best thing to do during an MRI is try to relax and think about other things, and don’t open your eyes! I have lost count how many MRI’s I’ve had, but they still scare me. My neurologist is great, but he tells me I still need to have a scan done at least once a year. I had to go to a different hospital for my last MRI, and I had to drive myself because of covid so I couldn’t take any medication. Then when I got there they told me they didn’t have the equipment to play my CD’s .... it was the longest scan ever! My next one is in August and I’m dreading it already

Thinking if you put a mouth wash in the water pick tank , for a fresh clean !!

you welcome

how does it feel to have a day off and after how long ,,,

Thinking... that was a LONG afternoon! But... I DID IT!!!
Checked the oil before leaving. On the way put air in the tyres, and holy cow, that was necessary! (I knew, could feel it)
Then almost panic attack to go through a 6,6km tunnel, but managed to calm myself and it went well.
MRI... chit scared again, but... it doesn't look nearly as scary as the black hole MRI haha. And it wasn't as scary either. Not nearly!!
The assistant stayed in the room, as was agreed, and she held my hand during both MRIs. First was 20 mins of my head. I had chosen that, get the longest over with, hihi. Then 15 mins neck, which flew by!
At some point I opened my eyes a wee bit for a split second. Didn't even freak out!
The worst thing for me is getting up. The first time in between the 2 scans I almost got a dizzy spell again (whole room turning around you). THAT freaked me out!
Another thing is my back started to seriously hurt, my shoulder too. But the MRI itself was okay!
One cycle of sound was god awful, she said that was the worst one.
And the good thing of this MRI machine... you got told each time how long the sound (aka noise) was going to be next! That way you have a sense of how much time has past.
All in all I recommend this to everyone who's scared. Open MRI is a blessing compared to the closed one.
It was well worth the hassle of the long trip, almost in Belgium ffs!

I’m glad to hear it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be Crystal. Unfortunately here in the UK we
don’t have a choice which scanner we get sent to unless we pay privately, and that is really expensive.
Your back and shoulder probably hurt because we do tend to tense our bodies even if we don’t realise it.
When I have an MRI I usually have to have a full head, neck and spine so you can understand why I prefer
to take diazepam . At least it is over for you now and you can relax.

Thinking... that was a LONG afternoon! But... I DID IT!!!
Checked the oil before leaving. On the way put air in the tyres, and holy cow, that was necessary! (I knew, could feel it)
Then almost panic attack to go through a 6,6km tunnel, but managed to calm myself and it went well.
MRI... chit scared again, but... it doesn't look nearly as scary as the black hole MRI haha. And it wasn't as scary either. Not nearly!!
The assistant stayed in the room, as was agreed, and she held my hand during both MRIs. First was 20 mins of my head. I had chosen that, get the longest over with, hihi. Then 15 mins neck, which flew by!
At some point I opened my eyes a wee bit for a split second. Didn't even freak out!
The worst thing for me is getting up. The first time in between the 2 scans I almost got a dizzy spell again (whole room turning around you). THAT freaked me out!
Another thing is my back started to seriously hurt, my shoulder too. But the MRI itself was okay!
One cycle of sound was god awful, she said that was the worst one.
And the good thing of this MRI machine... you got told each time how long the sound (aka noise) was going to be next! That way you have a sense of how much time has past.
All in all I recommend this to everyone who's scared. Open MRI is a blessing compared to the closed one.
It was well worth the hassle of the long trip, almost in Belgium ffs!

Thank goodness indeed! And also happy head and neck was all, more than enough!
We can choose although the neurologist tried to get me to use the normal one. But there are several open MRIs in the country and if you're claustrophobic or too fat for a normal MRI you can get the open one.
My back is from lying flat mostly and not on a soft mattress. I cannot lie flat on my back, and the cushion they put under your knees isn't nearly enough for me. I always keep my legs pulled up at the dentist, even osteopath.
It was my upper back that started to hurt like hell. And you cannot move and reposition a bit. Damned if I'm going to ruin the scan and have to go back to do it all over again, hahaha.
But yeah, I'm happy it's done. I'm actually way less scared now for an MRI than I was before!

My mum had to go for a CT scan two weeks ago, and she gets confused and she was worried it was
a closed scanner like an MRI. I explained to her it wasn’t, and that it was more like a big ring donut so that reassured her. Bless her she is very poorly, and the scan says that her cancer has spread