The Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom for August 27, 2023

That’s our Uncle Ted, all right!

I’ m claustrophobic and I need a MRI of my head. Luckily there are open and anti panic machines.

I don’t see how people with claustrophobia make it in that tube. Some take a one-time sedative, which often wears off during a long wait for their turn. I’ve offered to trade places in line before.

I remember that it " thunked" at regular intervals. The worst part was the hideous ’60s music they were playing in the facility.

I’ve had a couple and found them to be very relaxing. Now that I have a pacemaker, I can’t have an MRI any more.

One time I was 21 minutes old.

Yup, the ceiling is smidgeon from the schnoz!

That’ only because that thing’s so narrow.

Grey Matters cartoon is about an MRI today. Cartoonists must have a schedule.

It’s a good thing there’s a cure for claustrophobia.

I’ve been reading this strip for a long time and whenever Uncle Ted comes up, I read it as uncleted (un-cleted), which isn’t really a word. I know; it’s me, not the strip.

about 30 years ago I was scheduled for my first MRI and discovered that the tube was too narrow for my shoulders, I got stuck. There was an open MRI near where the Det. Lions played in their since abandoned domed stadium in Pontiac so I drove about 3 hours each way to use it. Don’t know if they started making them with larger tubes or if I have shrunk but either way I can fit into an MRI easily nowThe first time they did an MRI on my neck the operator told me don’t swallow, so of course I couldn’t stop swallowing the entire time.I found that using ear plugs, plus the cans on your ears helps cut the noise the most, which isn’t saying much, it is so noisy I do not see how anyone can possibly sleep through it

My MRIs have a great beat that I could dance to…if I wasn’t in that darn tube.

after being there for twenty minutes, it’s no wonder. :J

Been there, done that. My MRI was taken at 2 AM, so I guess I managed to sleep through most of it. But, it was a tight fit.

I once had a brain scan but they didn’t find anything.

Like being measured for your coffin.

Most of us do get at least mildly claustrophobic in those machines.

Laying in an MRI machine doesn’t bother me at all. It’s not that noisy. I simply close my eyes and think about whatever comes to mind.

I’ve had 2 in recent years. The first was pretty rough by the end. I almost pressed the panic button. For the second, they gave me a little something. Nooooo problem… ☺

Right on Uncle Ted…….

my first and I told them my last, was the most painful, stressful torture I have been through medically. yes, I am claustrophobic. they had to do 35 minutes total of a 3/4 body scan done 8 times in a row without stopping. over 400 pictures of my spine and pelvis. the only thing that kept me from pressing the button that would have stopped it all is that without the scan they couldn’t do anything more. lying still, flat on my back, NO movement or they would have to start over, no sense of time, just the noise and pain from my back so excruciating and a female voice saying Are you okay? over and over and over again. when they were done I told them whatever they wanted to know. I would have made a terrible prisoner of war. All of that to say, I am glad they found the cause and figured out the treatment, but in all seriousness, I don’t think mentally I could last in that thing again. I would probably crawl (slither) out of it after 5 minutes if physically able.

Most of us share Uncle Ted’s experience. I never thought I was claustrophobic until I had an MRI. Brutus should count himself as blessed to be healthy enough to not have experienced an MRI yet. Although if he keeps frequenting the diner he may not escape it for long.

Fun fact: The method use for imaging is called “nuclear magnetic resonance.”

In a brilliant marketing move, engineers dropped the “nuclear” so as to not freak out patients.

Due to my persistent vertigo, I have had about a dozen head MRIs. I also have extremely loud tinnitus. The noise does not bother me in the least, since my tinnitus is louder. The first time I had any MRI I told them I am claustrophobic. They suggested I take Valium. I said I just need to know how to get out. They let me crawl/slide into the tube and back out. Then I was good to go. For a head MRI, they might snap a piece over your head. It has things in it that help the test (Sorry, I forgot the technical terms.) What I do is close my eyes, and concentrate on not moving so I don’t have to do it again. I control my breathing, which relaxes me completely. I have almost fallen asleep and I am an insomniac. Relax. Don’t move. It could take a bit more than 30 minutes, but I have a benign brain tumor that hasn’t changed in 15 years. I finally asked if we could stop the yearly MRIs, and my neurologist agreed. A tiny tumor that might be an artifact (there at birth) isn’t the cause of my vertigo anyway.

Here’s hoping Uncle Ted gets negative test results!

Same here. I can’t stand tight enclosed spaces. Probably why I was born a little early. Didn’t like that clacking noise that the machine made also……

Brutus probably doesn’t have to worry about getting an MRI, I don’t think he would fit.

Better than the “Chrome Cadillac” test I have coming up!

Some people do react that way!

I like the way some of them give you headphones with music and adjust the volume BEFORE turning on the loudness.

Unbelievable coincidence Chip! I’m having my first MRI in 83 years on Tuesday, open, I’m claustrophobic and will not do the tube. I’m even leary of the “open” mri’s…

every time Uncle Ted appears, I first read it as uncleted (as in no cleats?)

Having once fallen asleep in a torpedo tube, the MRI is like an old friend.