1. The sounds actually made me want to giggle. People told me it would be loud, like the sounds would be stressful and bad, but they were funny to me. I'm sure that's not a typical response, but I wish someone had warned me it could happen because I had a really hard time keeping a straight face.
1a. I have a musical background, and was enjoying noticing different aspects of the sounds. The noises were simply something interesting to focus on. I enjoyed the distraction.
1b. My favorite sound went click click click click whirrr whirrr whirrr whirrr.
1c. Another interesting sound was the one that sounded like it was saying, "Die die die die die die die die die die die." I was amused because that's basically what my brain does much of the time. There's always the thought that I should die and/or helpful opportunities surrounding me with the means to do so. It feels like there is something whispering that to me all the time, so it was interesting to hear it auditorily.
2. There is not only noise, but also lots of vibrations. I got my head scanned, but I felt sensations all the way down my back.
3. Sitting perfectly still was not going to be a problem for me because this is what I do on a regular basis when I feel threatened, either by someone else or by my own head telling me to hurt myself. I actually felt safe in that machine. I like small spaces. I like sitting still. That is when I feel safest.
4. I really wish they could have had a pulsox on me, so I could see how irregular my breathing was and know if when I felt like I wasn't getting enough air, if that was true. I don't feel like I was panicking because I was claustrophobic or because I was trapped; I just always feel like I have a hard time breathing when I'm on my back. Add to that the effort to lie perfectly still and not move from breathing, and I'm sure the numbers would have a wide range. I would love to see that monitored some day.
5. Did you know that it is impossible to force your eyes and tongue to sit still? But the technician said that was fine. I just needed to make sure not to move my entire head. And I tried my darndest to avoid making facial expressions. Which was hard, because I just wanted to laugh much of the time.
6. CONTRAST DYE WILL MAKE YOU FEEL SICK. About a minute after he injected it, I really thought I might throw up. I guess this is normal because he didn't seem phased, and calmly advised me to breathe through it. Even a half hour after I left, I still felt too yucky to eat second breakfast before work.
And now, we wait. Will they tell me I have MS? Will the scan show no abnormalities and cause me to be diagnosed with Conversion Disorder? Will something totally unexpected come out of this test? I will not know until next week. The waiting is by far the worst part of this whole experience, at least for me.