What to Expect When You’re Expecting An MRI

(Before we jump in, a disclaimer: This piece follows the author’s personal thoughts through the experience of getting a brain MRI with contrast. It is one person’s subjective experience of symptoms, testing, and results and isn’t meant to diagnose or provide medical advice.)

I’ve been thinking for a while now whether I wanted to share this post… it was written from within a tender, vulnerable space of fear and uncertainty. In many ways, I am still in that space. I have a diagnosis and some prescriptions to manage symptoms, but the root cause of my diagnosis (occipital neuralgia) is unknown, and some of my symptoms (mainly the twitching) aren’t fully explained by this. While I am taking a pause from pushing for more tests (it’s exhausting), there is a nagging fear that something else lurks beneath the surface.

This is rooted primarily in knowing that the experience of being inside my body now is radically different than it was just over a month ago. It stems from being uncertain how much of what I track and note as different is truly a change versus what comes simply from a heightened awareness of my body now that it has, in some ways, failed me.

Ultimately, I’ve decided to be vulnerable because I think these stories are worth telling. I share this story because I don’t want anyone to feel alone through this experience. I share it in gratitude that, whatever may be happening, so far it seems that it is something manageable, something that might even heal entirely with time. With the…