Why You Shouldn't Sleep Through an MRI

Now I realize that most who have had any experience with an MRI will probably laugh at the idea of sleeping in one of those incredibly loud slightly claustrophobic chambers, but I tend to fall asleep. I have had 5 MRIs in the past year and a half, and I have fallen asleep during 3 of them, but usually just that zoned out state of sleep where you aren't really sure if you are asleep or awake. However, last night I took it to a whole new level. I was post call from a nonrestful night in the NICU and my test was in the early evening. I lay down on the MRI table and dutifully put in my earplugs and off I went a short while later into a dream world filled with nail guns and jackhammers, as I was surrounded by that lovely MRi melody that sounds like they are jackhammering your eardrum even with ear plugs. Well, when my dream assailant starting coming at me with the nail gun I awoke with a start and almost jumped off the bed in the middle of one of the MRI sequences, thus necessitating that they repeat it because my movement messed up the pictures, and it was the longest sequence so I got to spend an extra almost 15 mintues with my ears getting jackhammered. So very fun. The MRI tech stated that he thinks I am the first patient to actually enter REM sleep during an MRI. Sleep deprivation will do that to a person.