Do you know what's scary?

[csziggy]

4. Were they doing the MRI with and without contrast?

I've had two MRIs that way - the first time, they were concerned because I had a reaction in the past to topical iodine and they worried that I would have a reaction to the intravenous iodine dye. I did - but it was only a reaction to the cold of the IV liquid, not to the iodine. My family has a history of Reynaud's Syndrome or extreme sensitivity to cold to the point my sister had to make them warm any IVs she got or the blood in that arm would coagulate.

The second time, they warned me when the iodine was going in and kept asking if I felt any itching or other symptoms. An anaphylactic reaction to an injected dye is life threatening so they want to know as soon as any symptoms show up.

The techs seem to be very controlled and seldom give any clues even if they see a problem. In my case with EKG, echocardiogram, and the MRI with and without contrast, it was very clear that I had severe stenosis of the aortic valve - but the techs doing the tests gave me no clues. The only person to have a strong, almost panic reaction was the cardiothoracic surgeon when he called to tell me that the MRI for my heart showed a mass on my kidney.