Hi Guys:
I just wanted to let you know that I got my MRI done today. I don't ever want to have one of those again. I thought I would go out of my mind before it was done. It felt like I was in a coffin. And the part where they had to have your mouth open for, that was hard. My jaws started to spasm really bad but I am so thankful I got that done. Thankfully the guy who did the MRI was very nice to me and that helped too. Tiffany
Tiffany, Glad to hear you made it through!!! That is something that the thought of it makes me panic. It is great that you had a nice guy doing it to help you through. I remember when I went for just a CAT scan and luckily the tech. was a very nice lady and just the way she talked calmed me down alot. Hope you get the results fast so you know what is really going on and what to do next to help you. Take care, Shell
Hi Guys:
Yes, I am SO glad that MRI is over with. I see my doctor on June 5th so I can get the results then. I got my neurologist to order the MRI for me but he won't be the one to treat me. I wanted the MRI so I could seek out someone who specializes in TMJ. I figured my insurance would pay better if a doctor ordered the MRI. They are always looking for a reason to not pay. I'll let you guys know as soon as I find anything out. Thanks for all your support.
Tiffany
I'm not sure if you're aware of it or not, but you can call your neurologists' office for the MRI results before June 5th. I would think that if you had the test done on Sunday, he'd likely have the results by Friday. They WILL give you the results over the phone.
Your doctor can call the MRI place and have the radiologist give him a "wet reading". The reason it takes a few days to get the reuslts is because they need to type up the report, but they can tell your doc over the phone and he can tell you over the phone. usually the MRI places have the reports ready in 2-3 days. So you should definitely be able to find out the results this week.
I hate the TMJ MRI's! They're sooo evil.
Also ask for your actual MRI films. That way you can bring them to the doctor and if he knows how to, he can look at them himself. The radiologists tend to make a lot of mistakes when reading these MRI's. If yours comes out normal but you feel clicking or popping in your jaw, there's a good chance they read the film wrong.
Goos luck to you!
-Stacie
Hi all,
Just a hint for anyone who still has not had their MRI for TMJ. I kept my eyes closed the entire time! I just layed there and prayed with my eyes tightly closed. I never once got a look at where I was until the end when they had to hand me the sticks to keep my mouth open. At that point I opened once and then had a visual image of where I was. It made my heart race and thank God that it was only about 30 seconds from being over!
Mary
The worse part for me was that loud banging noise!!!
THe technician actually gave me ear plugs!!!
Also keeping my mouth open with at big syringe between my
teeth wasn't so comfortable!!! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/yawn.gif
Don't be surprised if you can't get any MRI report results over the telephone. The new HIPPA rules went into effect on April 14 and the medical facilities are very limited on giving out information. You can, however, go to the imaging facility in person and get a copy of the report, though it usually takes a week for the report to be typed up. Also, I agree that you should get the films and take them to your TMJ specialist appointment. When I read the written report, it told me nothing. I learned what it all meant when I sat down with my TMJ specialist and he pointed out on the film just what he was seeing and what it all meant. Good job getting it over with. As bad as the "tube" is, it is nothing compared to the suffering and pain we have all suffered. Hope it will soon respond to treatment and the pain and suffering will be a thing of the past for you.
Hi Guys:
I will give my doctor a few days probably until the end of the week and then I will call and ask him if he has received the results and if not if he can call the imaging center and get the results for me. And I have every intention of hand carrying my X-Rays with me to my appointment. I agree on that banging sound inside the MRI machine. It was awful and OMG when they had me put that big old syringe in my mouth to hold it open for like 15 minutes. I thought I was going to die. I was in so much pain that I was sweating profusely. I am so grateful it's over. Oh yes...I kept my eyes closed as well although the technician gave me some glasses to use where you can see the room with them. They were pretty cool, and he also gave me ear plugs. Those helped a great deal. For anyone who has not yet had an MRI done I would suggest asking your doctor to give you something to help sedate you. It's a pretty grueling experience.
Tiffany
Hi Sandi:
You asked about the syringe they put in my mouth. It was an ordinary syringe like they use for injections. During one part of the MRI they want your mouth open. The technician doing the MRI said that they sell these fancy sponges to put in peoples mouth to hold it open but they use a syringe instead so they don't have to pay for the sponges although I highly doubt they take a single cent off what they charge us for the MRI. It sounds really strange but it worked pretty well.
Tiffany
Thanks for your reply! That syringe they put in your mouth that looked like a injection thing...well, how long was this thing...I am starting to laugh now at this stupid question...but really, was this thing 2 inches long or what? I only can get 2 finger width in my mouth...I am begining to wonder if this thing is going to give me some trouble!
Hi Sandi:
Well the syringe was like a 15 ml syringe. The technician doing the test told me just to put it in far enough to prop my mouth open, that I didn't need to push it in so far I choked myself or anything. But he did say it had to be in far enough to prop my mouth open because otherwise the test is a waste because they have to be able to see the joints open and closed so they can see if it is out of place. Even though it's difficult for me to hold my mouth open I was determined to do whatever it took to get good pictures. It's the only choice we have if we want to find a way to get out of pain. But I admit that it's a vivid image and makes me laugh too.
Tiffany
Hey, I have had 16 MRI's done - 5 on my jaw, and they are by far the worst. I was in excruciating pain during the MRI and for days after because of the open position. When I had my second MRI theire machine was messed up and they kept redoing the MRI and torturing me. The 1st MRI they used a small suringe and the pictures were clear and great. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th MRI they used a HUGE syringe. That was all they had. I complained that I couldn't get it into my mouth bec I also have limited opening. So they glued ice cream bar sticks together and put that in my mouth. It was horrible. Call and ask before you get the MRI done what the place uses. Also, DO NOT EVER GO TO A CLOSED MRI. The doctors have deals with the MRI places and they claim they can only send you to one place and that it's the best place. They just say that because they get comission from the MRI place. The open MRI's are newer, the pictures come out VERY clear, and they're not as loud. The closed MRI's tend to give blurry pictures and they are sooo noisy. The best MRI place I've gone to so far is a stand-up MRI. It's in NY. They probably have them in other places. They were actually fun believe it or not. You sit or stand, depending on the body part being tested. The images are so clear. And there is hardly any noise. You just sit on a chair and watch tv. You don't even feel like anything is going on. They put in a tape of friends and that was it. That MRI wasn't on my jaw though, but it was really great. PLEASE DO NOT EVER GO TO A CLOSED MRI. They are less accurate and complete torture. I went to one that was very old and completely closed. It lasted like an hour, was so noisy my whole body started to shake. It caused me to have stomach pain and even some bleeding. It happened to my mom too. and she was only sitting in the room. It was absolute torture, and then the films came back so see through and blurry you couldn't see anything.
-Stacie
Hi Stacie:
OMG..I wish you had told me that before getting my MRI. The place my doctor sent me to was a closed MRI. I can't afford to have it done again and I don't think I could stand the pain. My whole body was shaking so badly by the end that I could hardly stand it. My right arm went to sleep about 10 minutes into the MRI and as time went on I began to lose feeling in my legs. The technician said he got good pictures and I hope like hell he did. I most certainly cannot afford another one. I hope one day all these doctors get tortured as they have tortured us and then we can stand back and tell them how sorry we are for them.
Tiffany
Tiffany,
I really hope the pictures came out okay! I keep telling everyone this and you have to do it - get a copy of your films. Then you can see for yourself how good/bad they are and if you can even trust the report. I had one MRI on my neck - that was the worst I ever had - in the very very old and closed machine and it came out saying "this is a normal 17 year old girl" My neck was and still is completely swollen. I saw the films, and they were completely see through. How could anyone tell anything by films that are see through? I've come to realize that you cannot trust any of these doctors. They don't care what happens to you, as long as they get their money. You have to be your own doctor. Do your own research. I've sadly learned that the hard way because I have been tortured by these doctors and physical therapists for the last 6 years. One PT almost killed me. The usual girl who worked on me was okay, and then her boss came in and said to me, "let me try something. just trust me" and without telling me what he was going to do he shook my head back and forth. My whole body went numb and I couldn't move for about 3 hours. It was so horrible, and after that I stopped going to PT. Now I have a lot of problems that may never go away because they have not been treated for so long. So, we learn from this stuff and don't make the same mistakes again. They trick us into getting these closed MRI's just because they get $$ out of it. I hope you don't have to redo the MRI because the TMJ ones are just torture. Just hope for the best, but get the films yourself and take them to your doctor. And if they try to charge you for the films, protest and have them call our doctor. Some of these places have the nerve to charge you an additional $50. I guess $1200 for the MRI isn't enough for them. But if your doctor says he/she wants to see the film, they HAVE to give it to you for free.
Take care!
-Stacie
Originally posted by Stacie212: Tiffany,
I really hope the pictures came out okay! I've come to realize that you cannot trust any of these doctors. They don't care what happens to you, as long as they get their money. You have to be your own doctor. Do your own research. I've sadly learned that the hard way because I have been tortured by these doctors and physical therapists for the last 6 years. But if your doctor says he/she wants to see the film, they HAVE to give it to you for free.
Take care!
-Stacie
Stacie:
I have every intention of getting my films to hand carry to my appointments. I, like you do NOT trust these doctors because I have also learned that most of them only care about their money and nothing more. I have also learned that I have to be a smart patient, be educated on my condition, the possible treatments for my condition and any medications I take. It's a sad thing that we have to do all the work while the doctors get rich. The big problem anymore seems to be that doctors have no accountability for anything and no matter how much they damage someone none of their fellow doctors will speak up against them. Some good old boys club but at all our expenses.
Tiffany
I don't doubt that the MRI was an unpleasant experience for you who have described the horrors of it. However, for those who are reading this and will have an MRI in the future, I have had 4 MRI's, two in the closed tube and two in the open machine. The closed tube gave me a weird feeling, sort of claustrophoric, and I prefer the open machine. The open machine was a breeze. With the TMJ MRI, they had a plastic device that I had to squeeze. It was kind of like a jack and it held my mouth open so that my teeth had something to rest on. It didn't hurt; it was just awkward. The reason I am giving this information is not to discredit those who had a bad experience, I am sure they did. It is to give courage to those who really need an MRI to go ahead with it because the experience may not be so bad.
I got my MRI today 
