Scheduling a doctor’s appointment is daunting enough, but scheduling your first full-body MRI scan? Well, in the words of our favorite character from The Princess Bride, “Inconceivable!” But it’s up to you to take control of your healthcare journey.
Scheduling any sort of healthcare appointment is intimidating because we never know what to expect from the moment we walk through those doors.
Well, not anymore! At MRI Wellness, our goal is to remove the intimidation and anxiety surrounding what to expect during your first full-body scan.
Keep reading as we break down your first full body MRI scan and exactly what happens before, during and after your appointment.
What is a Full-body MRI Scan?
Before we start to unpack what happens on the day of your first scan, it’s important to understand what a full-body scan actually does.
A full-body MRI scan, also called a whole-body MRI, uses an imaging machine to scan the body’s internal structure, from your head down to your toes!
The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner is a doughnut-shaped machine with a table that slowly moves inside the tube. As your body moves within the scanner, a combination of radio waves and a magnetic field creates images of the inside of your body.
What Does a Full-Body Scan Detect?
When assessed by a radiologist, a full-body MRI scan will detect any abnormalities in your brain, neck, spine, chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
In the brain, the scan may detect tumors, brain volume loss, and aneurysms. In the neck, the test may show enlarged lymph nodes, signs of throat cancer, or other tumors and cysts. In the spine and chest, an MRI scan will detect signs of multiple sclerosis, lung cancer, degenerative disc disease, and other forms of cancer. Moving down to the abdomen and pelvis, a full-body MRI can spot signs of liver and kidney damage, various tumors, endometriosis, enlarged spleen, or prostate, among others.
What to Do Before Your Scan
Before your first whole-body MRI scan, make sure you understand the key details about our three-business-day cancellation policy, as it becomes non-refundable after this period.
How Much Does a Full-Body MRI Cost?
Whole-body MRI scans are a fairly new form of advanced imaging process used for general screening. Therefore, it is not a service typically covered by health insurance plans. However, you do have some options available to you!
Our scans range from 0 to ,200 depending on which you choose: the torso scan, the brain and spine scan, or the full whole-body scan. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Affirm financing, and cash, and HSA or FSA funds can often be used.
Prepping Before Your Scan
We ask you not to eat for four hours before your appointment. This is not a safety rule, it is about picture quality. A quieter digestive system means sharper images of your abdomen, and a gallbladder that has not been emptied by a recent meal is far easier for our radiologists to assess. Keep drinking water as normal and take your regular medications unless your doctor has told you otherwise. If you have diabetes, are pregnant, or have any condition that makes fasting difficult, call us beforehand and we will work out the right plan with you.
Before your MRI, we ask that you bring a list of current prescription medications and supplements to your appointment.
Don’t worry about finding the perfect outfit for your scan – we’ve got you covered! We will provide a set of scrubs to ensure maximum comfort and relaxation. However, given that the scanner uses magnetic fields, we ask that you remove any metal prior to your scan, such as jewelry, watches, or other metallic accessories.
An MRI scanner is a very strong magnet that is always on. It uses no radiation, and for the vast majority of people it is completely safe. But the magnet can move or warm certain metal objects inside the body, and it can affect how some electronic implants work. The risk is to you, never to the scanner, which is why everyone completes a safety screening form with our technologist first. Tell us about all of the following, and bring the device card or your surgeon note if you have one, because many modern implants are perfectly safe to scan once we know exactly what they are:
- Pacemakers
- Implantable infusion pump
- Cochlear implant
- Prosthetic implant
- Implanted neurostimulator
- Any chance of loose metal in your body. Tell us if you have ever had a metal fragment in your eye, or worked as a welder, machinist or metal grinder, even years ago, and about any retained bullet or shrapnel. This one matters most and is the easiest to overlook
- Intracranial aneurysm clip
- A programmable shunt valve for hydrocephalus, or a stent, coil or filter placed in the last few weeks
What to Expect the Day of the Scan
On the day of your scan, we aim to ensure you are as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Our team will provide you with a set of comfortable scrubs and headphones so you can listen to music and escape during your scan.
Once in the exam room, you will lie face-up on the table and slide smoothly into the scanner. The scanner is genuinely loud. It makes knocking, tapping and buzzing sounds that change as the scan moves through its sequences. That noise is normal, it is the machine coils switching on and off to build your images, and it is not a sign anything is wrong. You will be given earplugs, headphones or both before you go in and you will wear them throughout. Hearing protection is standard for every patient, every time. Many people listen to music through the headphones.
If you begin to feel claustrophobic or have questions during the scan, there will be a two-way intercom throughout the procedure, so you will always have contact with your MRI technologist!
Worried About the Enclosed Space?
You are in good company, and it is more manageable than most people expect. Around one person in twenty needs a mild sedative to get comfortably through an MRI, which means roughly nineteen in twenty who were nervous beforehand complete the scan without one. A few things help. The scanner is a tube open at both ends, not a sealed capsule, so there is air moving and light at either end. Your technologist can see and hear you the whole time and will talk to you between sequences. You will hold a call button, and pressing it stops everything. Most people find that closing their eyes before going in and keeping them closed makes the space feel far less confined. If you know enclosed spaces are difficult for you, tell us when you book rather than on the day. If you would like a mild sedative, speak to your own doctor in advance, and arrange for someone to drive you home.
How Long Does a Full-Body MRI Take?
Depending on your type of scan, it can last anywhere from 30 to 75 minutes. Here are the types of wellness scans we offer and their estimated length of time:
- Torso MRI scan: Between 30 and 45 minutes
- Brain and Spine Scan: One hour
- Whole Body Scan: Between 60 and 75 minutes
Schedule Your First Whole-Body MRI Scan with MRI Wellness!
Scheduling your first full-body MRI can be intimidating, and the anxiety only increases as you approach the testing day. But don’t worry – our MRI team is here to help!
At MRI Wellness, we work with you to take a proactive approach to your health, providing peace of mind before, during, and long after your scan.
Our Charleston-based MRI center delivers an experience that is engineered for accuracy, speed, safety, and, most importantly, comfort. Our clinic is designed for you to sit back, relax, and let us do the work in your wellness journey.
Schedule your appointment with us online or call us at 1-833-WELLMRI today!
Frequently asked questions
How should I prepare for my first full body MRI scan?
Do not eat for four hours beforehand, which is about image quality rather than safety. Keep drinking water and take your usual medications unless told otherwise. Bring a list of your current prescriptions and supplements, and the device card for any implant. Leave jewellery, watches and metallic accessories at home, skip makeup and nail polish, which can contain metal particles, and avoid athletic wear with metallic threads or antibacterial silver treatment. We provide scrubs to change into.
What do I need to tell the MRI team before my scan?
Anything implanted or embedded. That includes a pacemaker, defibrillator or implanted heart monitor, any leads left in place from a past heart procedure, a cochlear implant, a nerve or spinal cord stimulator, an implanted medication pump, a brain aneurysm clip, a programmable shunt valve, and any stent or coil placed recently. Most importantly, tell us if you have ever had a metal fragment in your eye or worked as a welder, machinist or metal grinder, and about any retained bullet or shrapnel. Many modern implants are perfectly safe once we know the exact make and model.
How loud is an MRI scan?
Genuinely loud. The scanner produces knocking, tapping and buzzing sounds that change as it moves through sequences. That is the gradient coils switching on and off to build your images and is completely normal. Hearing protection is standard for every patient: you will be given earplugs, headphones or both, and many people listen to music through the headphones.
What if I am claustrophobic?
Around one person in twenty needs a mild sedative to get through an MRI comfortably, so most people who worry beforehand complete the scan without one. The scanner is open at both ends rather than sealed, your technologist can see and hear you throughout, and you hold a call button that stops the scan. Closing your eyes before you go in helps a great deal. Tell us when you book if enclosed spaces are difficult, and speak to your own doctor in advance if you would like a sedative, since you will need a ride home.
How long does a full body MRI take and what does it cost?
Between 30 and 75 minutes depending on the scan: roughly 30 to 45 minutes for the torso scan, about an hour for brain and spine, and 60 to 75 minutes for the full whole-body scan. Pricing runs from $950 to $2,200 across those three options. Screening scans are generally not covered by insurance, though HSA and FSA funds can often be used, and we accept major cards, Affirm financing and cash.
