On the day of your MRI scan, you should be able to eat, drink and take any medication as usual, unless you're advised otherwise. In some cases, you may be asked not to eat or drink anything for up to 4 hours before the scan, and sometimes you may be asked to drink a fairly large amount of water beforehand.
Since the MRI machines are magnets, it is best to not apply deodorants, antiperspirants, perfumes, or body lotions before the examination. These items contain metals that might interfere with the magnetic field inside the MRI machine and cause you to have distorted images and wrong results.
You should not have to do too much to prepare for a head MRI. You may be able to eat, drink and take your medications as usual. However, if your doctor ordered a scan for other parts of your body, such as your abdominal region, they may instruct you not to drink or eat four to six hours before the test.
It's important not to drink a lot of caffeine before your MRI because caffeine will make your blood vessels constrict. If your scan is monitoring blood flow, constricted blood vessels will give you inaccurate results.
A head MRI and a brain MRI are the same procedure. They both provide images of the inside of your head. While healthcare providers most often use head and brain MRIs to assess your brain, these imaging procedures provide images of other structures in your head, too, such as facial bones, blood vessels and nerves.
How long does a head or brain MRI take? Depending on the focus of the scan, a head or brain MRI generally takes 30 to 60 minutes.
An MRI scan will show a detailed image of your brain, spinal cord, nerve tissue, and more. A neurologist would order an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of your brain if they suspect something is wrong, if they are diagnosing an issue, or if they want to monitor the development or treatment of an injury.
You will not be able to have breakfast the morning of your surgery. You can brush your teeth in the morning, just be sure to spit the water out!
If you are having an MRI scan that does not require you to follow commands, you may be allowed to fall asleep. You should clarify this with your radiologist before the procedure begins.
Can a subject wear deodorant for an MRI scan? It is recommended to refrain from wearing any powder, perfumes, deodorant and/or lotions on your underarms and chest area prior to the procedure.
Depending on which part of your body is being scanned, you may need to wear a hospital gown during the procedure. If you don't need to wear a gown, you should wear clothes without metal zips, fasteners, buttons, underwire (bras), belts or buckles.
The MRI of the brain requires you to lie down on the scanning table, head-first.
A brain MRI can help doctors look for conditions such as bleeding, swelling, problems with the way the brain developed, tumors, infections, inflammation, damage from an injury or a stroke, or problems with the blood vessels. The MRI also can help doctors look for causes of headaches or seizures.
MRI uses no radiation. To date, no side effects from the magnetic fields and radio waves have been reported. The most common type of contrast (dye) used is gadolinium. It is very safe.
Things to remember
Unless you're told otherwise, you can shower and wash your hair the morning of your MRI. Don't use any hair products (such as hair spray or hair gel). Don't wear any metal objects. Remove all jewelry, including body piercings.
Newer, specialized MRIs can measure brain function for detecting changes in brain function and structure because of TBI or evaluate the structure of the brain at an even finer level. MRI might show brain atrophy long after the injury, which results when injured or dead brain tissue is reabsorbed after TBI.
If you need to cough or get an itch, tell them and they can get you out, or give you a short break between sequences. Then you are moved out of the machine, released, have your plastic tube removed and can go home.
You won't have pain from the magnetic field or radio waves used for the MRI test. But you may be tired or sore from lying in one position for a long time. If a contrast material is used, you may feel some coolness when it is put into your IV.
Consider Avoiding the Bathroom for Several Hours Prior to the Scan. If you have to go to the bathroom, then go to the bathroom. On the other hand, do not go to the bathroom unless you must. There is a chance that you may be asked to drink some contrast material before the scan.
You will be asked to fast for 4 hours prior to your exam. You may take your usual medications with small amounts of water. Otherwise, no additional preparation is needed.
There aren't any side-effects from the MRI scan itself. However, if you've had an injection of contrast medium (dye) as part of the investigation, you may have some side-effects which might include a skin rash, dizziness, a headache, and nausea.
Magnetic resonance imaging, also called MRI, uses strong magnets to create pictures of the inside of the body. MRI is often used to detect brain tumors because it shows the brain more clearly than do other imaging tests.
The average cost of an MRI can range anywhere from $400 to $12,000, depending on the place of service, health insurance, location, extra medications, the provider, and body part scanned. Health insurance typically covers authorized MRIs.