MRI

Last Friday I had an MRI - I had been told on the phone that it was my hands and feet that would be done and I had to decide whether the left or right in each case was the worst affected.

This amused and confused us all and many a happy hour has been whiled away (I'm currently taking  a LOT of Tramadol!) deciding which side is worst - left hand and foot both look pretty grim but I have a lot of pain in the right at the moment...

Having been given a timescale of around 'one and a half hours per bit' during the same telephone conversation with the MRI reception I arranged for my folks to drop me off, go to do their shopping and pick me up around three hours later. 

Fella also helpfully told me that when he had his ankle done he just had to stick his foot in with the rest of him outside the machine....so I took some knitting for the feet bit and a book about knitting for the hand bit. 

Turned out it was only my wrist and hand that was of interest after all and as for 'just sticking my hand in.....' that bit was also wrong - de-bra'd (their term, not mine!) and lying face down in a 'Flying Superman' position the whole of me went in! The noise was erm....*noisy* if you have never been in one or accompanying someone having one it's like having roadworks 6" from your head. As you enter the room there's a 'thud, thud, thud' as there is already a background magnetic field - so you don't get a shock (I assume) then donning an impressive set of headphones (not unlike the Boy's Wharfedale's!) the technician warns you that the big noise will start and my goodness...it certainly does and with a minute's break at half-time for a contrast medium to be injected through an IV that is how it is for about one and quarter hours! 

Lying perfectly still and silently, hand strapped into position in a tube with a hammer drill working away...not the best of Fridays but if it gets me some better treatment then totally worth it!

I've just spoken to the MRI department and they say it's already been reported and sent to my new consultant. I'm hoping they will send a disc out to me too, they will accompany my x-rays which I have now discovered are missing their notes!

Oh, and I also had a chance this week to contribute to a book being written about arthritis and how people cope with being diagnosed with a chronic, painful, incurable and difficult to treat condition. The author is now adding another chapter about working with the condition. 

Actually diagnosis is a huge relief as it takes a long time and some of the tests can show false positives or negatives. Diagnosis can direct the treatment in a more productive and positive way preventing a person from becoming permanently disabled...it can be comforting to be able to put a name to the pains that have plagued a person, the fatigue that is invisible to others...

Nic x