I've been hella lucky to have just 3 MRI scans done in my life since i was a child and i don't even recall having any kinda MRI scan done until my mom told me a few years before, As i had Viral Encephalitis as a child in 1991 this caused my brain to swell up like a huge Balloon and i suppose the doctors wanted me to have a Brain scan done to make sure that everything was normal and also nothing else was seriously wrong with my brain. When my mom told me about my very first MRI she said that i was around about 2 or 3 and she also remembers me refusing to go into the scanner because i wouldn't go in without my Pink Panther as i was fussing around and crying so much that i wouldn't even lie on the bed that goes into the scanner, As i couldn't talk at the time my mom told me that once i had calmed down and i was allowed to take my Pink Panther in the scanner with me i calmed down straight away and the scan was taken with no issues at all. When the scan came back my mom told me that i had scaring on the brain from the Encephalitis and also beside my Brain scan was my pink Panther (well the outline of him) and i never knew to this day that i have a MRI scan of my brain with a Pink panther on it.Until my mom told me about this very first Brain scan around about 1991 - 1992 i didn't even know that i had undergone a MRI and it was news to me when she told me all about it as she remembers what happened to me on that day of the scan and i just don't recall having it done,
Skip a few years later to 2003 - 2004 i was experiencing these really painful headaches and no one knew what was causing them and i was also unable to attend school as it was so bad, The doctors gave me tablets to try and stop these attacks coming on in the middle of the night but nothing ever worked for me until the doctor told me that i would have to undergo a MRI scan to check my Brain once again. I said to my mom is it gonna be OK and i am feeling a bit scared as i was just a teenager and i just didn't wanna be in that tunnel once again, The appointment didn't take that long to come and i knew that i had to take a day of school for the scan and i really cannot remember what happened on the day but i do know the experienced that i faced that i wouldn't ever have a MRI scan done ever again not even on my brain due to what had happened to me. As the scanner was kinda old at the time and i can recall seeing it and thinking i am not getting in that thing i am? The people who was doing the scan at the time said yes you will be also wearing a head cadge so we can get some photos of your brain and i said OK, My mom was also allowed with my in the room and she was able to speak to me and touch me while the scan was being taken so i knew that my mom was with me ever step of the way, As i was getting ready for the scan i was shaking like a leaf and also very Nervous and i wanted it done and finished with as i was so scared as i had never experienced this tunnel before and the people in charge said we will keep a eye on you and gave me a button to press if i needed to stop the scan at anytime.
As i was all ready to go i was placed into the scanner and my mom said to me just stay still and be calm i am here if you need me, As the photos were being taken the machine produced some very loud buzzing noises and beeps and when i Hurd the noise i started to get worried and i shouted to my mom whats that? She replied thats just the machine taking the photos and then a few minutes after the buzzing was still going on i just relaxed and tried to sleep it off as the noise was so loud and i just couldn't block out the noise, As i was in the scanner for a total time of half a hour to 2 hours due to the fact that i had moved few times while they were taking the photos. When the scan was finished i said to my mom that i never ever wanna go though this again and i also said to my mom that i cannot walk and i was also feeling very dizzy and the nurse said to me do you want a wheelchair and i said no i will be OK, I was sat on the bed for about 30 mins until i was able to walk again and then i went home! I also said to my mum that i never ever wanna go though one of these scans ever again in my whole life as it was a frightening experience for me and it also gave me claustrophobia. And i thought that i wouldn't have to go though a MRI scanner ever again in my life until now.As i have been having problems with my jaw for many years now and i have been to every Dentist you can think of around my area with no such luck, i have also been to see the top specialist people in dentistry about my jaw and nothing was ever sorted for me at all. As i have been to so many different people about my teeth and jaw they have all completely said the opposite and no one knows what they are doing basically. So a few months down the line i have been seeing someone at Oasis Dental Care where they have been excellent and they have been providing me all the support ever since i started to see them just a few months ago, My dentist is very good and very understanding when i go and see him and i explain to him what issues that i am having and also the pain from my jaw, When he wants to check my teeth and gums he is very careful and he doesn't try to force anything into my mouth without checking with me first. He completely understands the pain i am in all the time with my TMJ and he knows that i want a quick fix and what also caused this in the first place that he decided that he would make a referral see someone at the Orthodontics at the Hospital for further treatment and tests and to find out whats really going on with my Jaw joints as my dentist only knows the basic stuff and then i would have to go and see him again in 6 weeks time for a check up,
The appointment took a while to come though and when it did the appointment was in Cheltenham and there was no way that i was gonna travel over there for 9.00 am in the morning so i changed the appointment to my Hospital where the appointment came though but they candled it 2 times before i could actually attend, The person who saw me on that day was not very understanding and not very good as i spoke to this woman (who thinks she knows everything about TMJ) and told her everything about the issues that i was having every day of the week, So she asked me to sit down on the chair to see what my jaw was like and she asked me to bite down for me and i said to her don't put your fingers in my mouth as it will completely kill me. So she asked me if i ever had braces and i replied no i haven't (and i asked her why) and she replied that you wasn't biting down properly and i replied when i am in pain i find it very hard to bite my teeth together and then she didn't reply back to me. Then she started poking her fingers into my mouth and moving my jaw and while she was doing all these movements with my jaw i was in so much pain that i asked her to stop as i was in a lot of pain and then finally she did, It took her about 20 mins to examine my mouth and said to me that my jaw isn't out of alignment and you don't have any overbite and your teeth are perfectly fine? and i said i don't think so, At this point of time she did say to me that i have TMJ for sure and then she gave me a list of exercises to do and asked me to wear a night guard for 6 months and also go on a soft food diet and i am thinking you can spin on it. As i was in so much pain and also i was so peed off with the person that i I just wanted to leave straight away and go home as i was in chronic pain and i wanted to sleep. As i was leaving she asked me to go and have a X-ray done as the one my dentist had sent to her was missing due to the copy and then she asked me to also have a MRI done and i was thinking to myself Oh Crap! i don't have to face that tunnel again do I? As i said that i would never ever go though a MRI ever again.
As the woman was sorting this all out for me she did ask me some questions as there are some rules about going into the MRI scanner these days and then once it was all done i was finally able to leave and go for my X-ray, The X-ray was completely fine and then i was just waiting for the letter to come for my scan witch didn't take that long to arrive. So on 21st September 2017 i went for my MRI scan for 1.30pm and i was so nervous about going though this again and i spoke to my dad regarding this and he said that you will be fine and the machines are a lot more safer and less claustrophobic now and i said to my dad sorry but i don't believe you and he also said to me stop worrying and you will be fine i promise, the night before i went to bed and i nearly threw up as i was so scared about going though it all again and i just didn't want it to happen. So the day came and i was pretty calm and i also took my dressing gown with me to make me feel more at home and i walked into the reception and checked myself in and waited to be called for my scan,
When i was called i was greeted by this wonderful person who was going to take my scans today and as i was sitting down talking to him i started to shake like crazy and also asked me a few questions about the previous scans that i had done, I explained what happened on my last scan and he said that you will be fine as we will also put in in ear plugs so you don't hear the noise as it is very loud. As i was waiting for the last person to finish there scan i basically got ready for mine and i was so measured for my hight as i don't actually know my height as everyone asks me about this and i say sorry i don't have a clue,
As the last person left i was able to walk into the scanner room and saw the new machine (Above) and i had a chat with the person and i said this machine isn't nothing to like the one i can remember and they said that all the scanners was replaced by better technology and less claustrophobic and i also asked about how would you take the photos of my jaw? And he replied to me that you would need to wear this head cadge and also you need to have your mouth open for the second part of the scan and hold a splint in your month and i was thinking thats gonna kill me later on when i get home,
As i took my shoes off and got onto the bed and they were also talking to me and told me everything from start to finish i started to calm myself down by now and i was also felt really comfy and kinda relaxed, As i was taken into the scanner it just reminded me of that cadge that i had before on my head for my brain scan and it all came flooding back to me and then i started to feel more relaxed and more calmer. As i was also holding my splint for the second part of the scan it was quite difficult to relax my hands but it was OK and no bother at all,
As i also was feeling tired that day i just basically dropped of into a sleep but i was still able to hear the person in the scanner and told me what i needed to, The scanner was very fast at taking the photos and the machine didn't make that dreadful noise what i could remember as i also had ear plugs in and some cushions on my ears also i could only hear half of the noise so it wasn't to bad and all it reminded me was a woodpecker pecking at wood and also having music playing at a disco it was a amazing experience in this new machine, While i was sleeping i was thinking about the dogs and especially my dad and i think this had calmed me down while i was in the tunnel and drifted of to sleep and the hard part was when they had asked me to put the splint in my mouth and i was in pain the second i had it in my mouth and it was very painful and i don't think that i would wanna do it ever again.
The scan was over and done with and i was so please with myself and also the guy had also treated my claustrophobia and i was so over the moon with the way i was looked after and also explained to me what will happen throughout the scan, I was kinda stiff when i came out as i had to stay still and not move as the images didn't take and i didn't know that i moved until the guy had told me and i was also helped up from the bed as it was so hard to get up on my own!
It was a great experience having a MRI Done in a new top of the range scanner and of course its less claustrophobic now and i am more then happy then having one done now and also the way i was looked after and treated by all of the staff, Everyone was super friendly and helped me with any questions that i had and also kept a eye on me each step of the way as they knew that i had depression and anxiety issues and they were all fantastic towards me and i would like to thank them for looking after me when i had my scan done it was a pleasure and i would love to go though that tunnel again in the near future! I am due to have my scan results in 3 weeks time and i am hoping that they can find out whats wrong with my jaw joints at last.
