I got an MRI scan this afternoon. For some reason, by early evening I was completely wiped out. I wasn’t supposed to eat or drink anything before the scan, and I had to do a little bowel prep, so maybe it was just dehydration or hypoglycemia. Or perhaps it was some kind of weird reaction to gadolinium contrast. It should have been a perfectly straightforward scan but even after taking an involuntary nap, I can’t quite think straight.
A quick search reveals that this is a fairly common phenomenon (20% of patients is a number that comes up a lot). Suspect factors are stress, dehydration, prolonged motionlessness, exposure to loud noises, and reaction to the contrast agent. I hadn’t heard of this in many years of medical practice; apparently you’re never too old to learn.
—2p