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  • Post
    • May 22, 2019 at 3:03 am
    MelanomaMike
    Participant
      Hi ya’all, hope you all are well and in somewhat decent sprits, im good except i bailed out on my PET scan, like i just told sister Julie in SoCal im claustrophobic and got freaked out, hate to say it, havnt had a PET or MRI in a few years, CT scans i can do no problem, 5 minutes and BOOM! Done!.. i have to do it i know, my Surgeon Dr. Rupp wont do the surgery on my stomache till its done, shes avoiding a biopsy because of where its located and a possibility of it breaking up and traveling through my system to set up in another location, plus its a mobile type, it moves very easy…but anyways, just checking in with ya, good 2 be back! Hope you all are well…
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    • Replies
        • May 22, 2019 at 9:40 am
        Lucygoose
        Participant
          Mike
          My PET Scans are done in a donut shaped device and I am not enclosed like an MRI. Perhaps you could ask if that’s an option for you?
          • May 22, 2019 at 9:15 pm
          dbJoe
          Participant
            My oncologist always prescribes a couple 1mg lorazepam (Ativan) tabs for my MRIs. My first attempt back in 2015 lasted about 30 seconds (after waiting almost a year for the procedure). The tech said “Don’t open your eyes,” so, of course I did. Now I sleep through them! As a wonderful side effect, I am able to ride home with my wife driving, which to me is way scarier than small confining metal tubes or melanoma. I think it should be required for all drivers in the greater Los Angeles area, or at least Riverside County (Ativan, not melanoma).
              • May 23, 2019 at 2:12 am
              Mark_DC
              Participant
                Mike – we want you to rcover and flourish – any chance you could take the sedative and see if that does it?
                I am OK with leg MRI just it takes so long (have long legs!) and having to keep still so long stresses me out
                Brain is tough and i just try to pretend to sleep or meditate
                Good luck Mike!!!!!
              • May 23, 2019 at 2:07 pm
              jbronicki
              Participant
                Hi Mike, my husband has the same issue. The ativan didn’t help him, but he’s pretty high intensity, would take an elephant tranquilizer to relax him (think scene from Old School where Will Ferrell gets shot in the neck with tranquilizer). So he hasn’t had Brain MRI (just CT) in several years.
                I had to get three MRIs in a row last August (Brain, neck and back) and again two months ago with no sedative (didn’t have a driver). The only thing that helped me, was I’ve learned never to open my eyes. I don’t look at the machine and I shut my eyes before going in and before they put anything over my head (I don’t want to see that thing) and then picture standing in a large field of flowers and it works. If you open your eyes, the illusion is shattered. But if you never open your eyes, you can really pretend to be somewhere else. Wishing you wide open spaces, I know you can do this, just find your visual that makes you happy and take some drugs if they give them to you. I’m hoping you can stop these mobiles in their tracks now. Keeping fingers crossed for you.
                • May 24, 2019 at 4:02 am
                lkb
                Participant
                  Mike, forgive me if you thought of this, maybe, six years ago, but it really helps me when the technician talks to me. “This set will last 2 min…Are you okay?…This set will last 5 min….We’re halfway through…” I’m not claustrophobic, so I can’t speak directly to that, but the technician’s voice assures me that s/he hasn’t gone out of rlunch and forgotten me in there.
                  • May 25, 2019 at 6:36 pm
                  MelanomaMike
                  Participant
                    Thank you for your replies, i just have to do it (the PET scan) im in a postition where i have to or my surgeon wont do the surgery! And its gettin bigger rather fast, since i noticed it about a month ago, id say its doubled in size and now its starting to protrude…AAAHH,! I hate the scan part of the whole nine yards of Melanoma, surgery, infusions, even pain i can deal with but scans suck! Oh, i didnt mention that i do have the Ativans but my mind is already wired not to even take them and even go!!
                      • May 25, 2019 at 8:39 pm
                      Sharon93065
                      Participant
                        I’m sure you know this, but do the deep breathing slowly, and fantasize about your favorite vacations. I love to cruise so I start pretending with my eyes closes the beginnings of getting on a cruise, or Hawaii. You can do this Mike!
                        Sharon
                        • May 25, 2019 at 8:39 pm
                        Sharon93065
                        Participant
                          I’m sure you know this, but do the deep breathing slowly, and fantasize about your favorite vacations. I love to cruise so I start pretending with my eyes closes the beginnings of getting on a cruise, or Hawaii. You can do this Mike!
                          Sharon
                        • June 16, 2019 at 11:34 pm
                        Captain Serious
                        Participant
                          Mike, how about having some additional engagement & support from the staff; I suspect that a nurse, MA. Navigator. etc. would help in any way they can during the process.

                          My hospital’s Siemens Biograph IV Combo PET/CT Scanner doesn’t have much depth; if is possible to see forward & aft without great difficulty.

                          Listening to music with eyes closed beneficial. Might be easier said than done…

                          Meditation does work. Maybe do :10-:20 minutes before bed or whenever to break in. I recommend Insight Timer app for iOS or Droid. Imaging Center will accomodate you I’m sure.

                          Just another challenge we all are compelled to work through as best we can. It’s what we do in our new order. Best of luck, Mike.

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