I had an MRI scan on Tuesday. I've been suffering for a while now with what my GP thinks is sciatica, but he referred me for the scan to check exactly where the problem is, so that I can hopefully get some kind of appropriate treatment because the painkillers really aren't cutting it!
I just wanted to say that the MRI scan wasn't too bad! After all the horror stories that I'd heard about them, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it really wasn't anywhere near as bad as I'd been led to believe. OK...it wasn't the nicest experience of my life, but it certainly wasn't the worst! And as I'd had virtually no sleep the night before, I was almost falling asleep in the scanner by the end of it.....when I told the radiographer, he said that he had seen people do that!
I wanted to post this to reassure anyone who is nervous about having an MRI scan.....believe me, it really isn't as bad as it sounds. It's only 15 minutes, it's a bit noisy but they give you earplugs, and all you have to do is lie there.....it doesn't even feel as claustrophobic as you think it might. It really is nothing to worry about.
(I'm not sure whether you were joking or whether you really get that at your MRI scans, but either way it's a good idea.....I will suggest it if I ever have to go for another one!)
My doctor also prescribed gabapentin for my sciatic pain. He said to take it as when I had pain but a physio and the pharmacist advised taking it as a course of tablets until the pain caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerve had well and truly gone. I took the low dose for a month but the pharmacist said people have to take it for up to three months. My sciatic pain was not as acute as some people get but coupled with other muscle aches, and bursitis in both hips it meant I got little sleep and gabapentin was the only thing that worked for the nerve pain.
Actually my GP has mentioned Gabapentin, but as I am already taking Pregabalin and Cocodamol (as well as my usual PD meds and other meds for other conditions), he decided to wait until we get the results of the MRI scan before he makes a decision re treatment.
Interestingly though, a couple of years ago I was suffering from really bad involuntary movements and I read somewhere that Gabapentin could be helpful for that. I mentioned this to my neurologist at my next appointment and he basically dismissed the idea, although he did admit that a lot of drugs, which are prescribed to treat one condition, turn out to have "beneficial" side-effects for other conditions.
I now take Topiramate for my involuntary movements. Like Gabapentin, Topiramate is a drug which is usually prescribed for epilepsy. But it has been found to have beneficial effects on PD too. And Pregabalin, which I am already taking for my sciatica, is another epilepsy drug! (which is also prescribed for neuropathic pain)
At the end of the day, I guess it's all linked to the brain!
See my reply to Eileenpatricia (no. 6) re Gabapentin.
Re. headphones at MRI scan.....I will definitely put that forward as a suggestion at my local hospital if I have to go for another one. All I got was ear plugs (which didn't really work!)
But even so, headphones or not, like I said originally, the MRI scan was not too bad.....I've endured far worse things in my life!
Sorry....I didn't mean that last comment to sound flippant. The actual purpose of my original post was to reassure people who may be nervous about having an MRI scan, that it's not as bad as it sounds.
I do understand why some people find it claustrophobic and generally unpleasant though. I was just trying to be light-hearted about it! Sorry if it came out wrong.
