[wdfifteen]

I had another one yesterday and it was a challenge. I've had 4 or 5 MRIs in the past couple of years and never had a problem with claustrophobia, but this time - ACK!

I was scheduled for a 9:30 MRI at a place I'd not been to before. Woke up at 6 AM with GI issues, but by time to leave for the appt I thought I had it under control. This was the smallest MRI machine I have ever been in. My arms were pretty much immobilized by my sides and if I'd weight another 20 pounds I don't think I could have fitted in it. By the time they rolled me into the machine the GI symptoms were coming back, and I started getting more and more symptoms of claustrophobia. I started thinking, what if I crap my pants in here? What if I puke? What if this damn escape hatch button thing doesn't work? It was embarrassing, but I had to push the button and get the hell out of there.
I was sick the rest of the day and still freaked out and kinda pissed off about the whole MRI experience. I do have problems with claustrophobia and a fear of drowning. (I have a recurring dream about getting caught in a culvert under a road during a rain storm.) To make things worse, the book I was reading ended in a guy getting locked in a trunk and being thrown over the side of a ship! I guess it just wasn't my day.