The Health Hunt: Real Healing Journeys, Everyday Wellness & Expert Tips

Ep 20 - Inside a Prenuvo Full-Body MRI: One Scan, Two Different Experiences

• Sandi Magder and Daniel Schuman • Episode 20

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Our Prenuvo full body MRI experience: what it’s really like inside the machine, how to prepare, what to expect from the results and whether a full-body MRI scan is actually worth it for preventative health screening.

If you’ve ever wondered what getting full body MRI is actually, especially if you deal with health anxiety, claustrophobia, or fear of medical tests, this episode is for you. We’re sharing the real, raw experience of what happened when we actually showed up for our full body MRI scans at Prenuvo: the nerves, the prep, the panic, the weird little details no one tells you, and the very different ways each of us handled being inside the MRI machine. Because for a lot of people, preventive health screening isn’t just physical, it’s emotional.

In this follow-up to Episode 19, we go behind the scenes of our experience at Prenuvo and talk honestly about what it was like from the moment we arrived to the moment we walked out. One of us felt calm and curious. The other had a full claustrophobic freakout and almost didn’t make it through the scan.

This is not a polished testimonial or a sponsored ad. Prenuvo provided the scans so we could share our experiences with our audience , but there was no expectation that we say anything positive. This episode is simply our honest experience, including the uncomfortable parts.

We talk about:

  • What the Prenuvo full body MRI experience is actually like
  • How to prepare for a full body MRI scan
  • What surprised us most on the day of the appointment
  • Claustrophobia in an MRI machine and what panic can feel like in real time
  • The emotional side of preventive health screening
  • The little things that made the experience easier
  • What the office, MRI setup, techs, and overall environment were like
  • What happens after the scan and what to expect from the results
  • How to think about MRI findings without spiraling into worst-case scenarios

If you’re MRI-curious, considering a Prenuvo scan, worried about being inside an MRI machine, or just want to hear a very human conversation about health anxiety and proactive screening, this episode will make you feel a lot less alone.

And this conversation isn’t over. In an upcoming episode, we’ll be sitting down with Prenuvo’s Chief of Staff to talk about how full body MRIs work, who they’re for, what they’re not for, and how to approach preventive screening without letting fear drive the bus.

Text us your thoughts, questions, or takeaways. We read every message.

All views, opinions, and commentary expressed on The Health Hunt Podcast are solely those of the hosts. They are shared in a personal capacity and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of any current or former employer, including any organizations with which the hosts may be professionally affiliated.

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Sandi Magder

Welcome back to the Health Hunt. A human, humble, and occasionally claustrophobic exploration of all things health. As we talked about in a previous episode, we discussed the emotional side of booking a full-body MRI for NUVO. The health anxiety, the what if spiral, the fear of finding something you can't unknow. This was about the lead up to actually getting an MRI. Well, today, we're talking about what it's actually like inside the machine. Once again, this is an honest and raw conversation about a very real experience. Spoiler alert, one of us handled this calmly, the other one, not so much. You're gonna have to listen to this episode to find out who that was. So let's get into it. Just as a reminder, because I kind of alluded to this, but this episode is a follow-up to a previous episode, which if you're looking at the episode list, is episode 19, where we discussed our thoughts and feelings about these scans that we were getting at PreNouve. So if you really want to sort of go down this journey with us from start to finish, then you might want to go back and start there. And also as a reminder, and to maintain our theme of being transparent here on this podcast, PreNouvo gifted us these scans so that we could share our experiences with the audience, but there was no expectation that we would say anything positive. So this is not a sponsored testimonial. It's just our honest experience, including the part where I almost had nothing to share.

Dan Schuman

So episode 19. If you're gonna get a prenovo scan, and this is maybe a reason to be a catalyst for you to do it, listen to episode 19 because I want the listener or listeners to kind of feel the trajectory that we were on because it's very real. And so if you're feeling or taking away some of the things that we talked about 19 and then today, and then a subsequent episode we're having on Prenovo, um, it's a very much a logical logical progression that would normalize it for you and make you feel like you're, you know, not alone.

Sandi Magder

Absolutely. And that's always kind of our goal here. So I guess the best place to start is let's go back to the day before. Again, we talked about how we felt, you know, going into it, but the day before you get an email and it tells you sort of how to prepare for your arrival and the things that you cannot and cannot do. So it tells you that you can't have any food four hours before. And just for context, we did our scans at 1045 in the morning. And actually, if you're listening to this, we did them yesterday. So this is really raw and really fresh. So no food. Then the part that mortified me was that you can't wear any makeup. Dan was okay with this part, and any kind of really like skincare products, creams, especially. And so apparently there could be particles of, I guess, metals. They use really clean products, but there's certain things in makeup and skin cream, things like that, um, that could show up on an MRI and kind of show like a false result. So I just the reason this freaks me out is because I don't really go out without makeup. And again, I talked about how like this is my own issue. Need to work on this, probably need some therapy. But like I like to have eyeliner and mascara. I just, this is not, and sometimes my skin's not good. So this, you know, I told my sister I might not go, but obviously I wasn't gonna do that.

Dan Schuman

Well, the ultimate compliment, Sanity, is that you did go and you were in front of me. So if you can be um and you look fine, by the way, but in your without the makeup, we you were in front of me and I felt like it was a big compliment because you were here to share share that time with me. Yeah. I I'm not sure if you're always in makeup, but again, um, it's in your head. You look fine.

Sandi Magder

But well, I I am when anyone sees me, but also I don't you may not have noticed I was wearing glasses inside, sunglasses inside the whole time. It's just I'm just uncomfortable. But anyway, I got past it. I showed up in public with no makeup. But the weird thing is that so I don't eat in the morning. I'm not, I've talked about this, especially when we were doing the the continuous glucose monitor episodes. I'm not a morning eater. I never have been. So for me, not eating before I went to the scan was no big deal, except you know how when someone tells you not to do something, it's all you wanted to do. And so I was starving. Like I just I it was the weirdest thing. All I could think about was eating. And then also in the morning, I have my matcha tea, which has all kinds of stuff in it. So I couldn't have that. I also drink electrolytes with extra vitamins and things like that. And I didn't ask them about this, but I checked with ChatGPT and some other resources, and it said that I shouldn't have those things. So in my brain, I felt dehydrated. I mean, I had water, but I felt dehydrated. I thought I was gonna pass out. I'm like, how am I gonna even walk in there? I'm a weak human. It was just like all the things that they told me I couldn't do were somehow now things that I wanted to do.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, I think if you're a breakfast person, that's like part of your regimen, not part of mine either. I I can go to like two in the afternoon without eating. Um, it's just kind of like how my body worked. But, you know, then 1045, you could slide in a breakfast if you wake up really early. Yeah, it wasn't gonna do that. I tend to kind of think that I used to nothing if you're gonna do a 1045. But if you really need food, then you know, maybe postpone it to like an afternoon MRI and then get that breakfast in or something. But um, you know, the food thing does matter, and then all the things Sandy said do matter. I didn't have any of those issues. Um carry on. We're good.

Sandi Magder

No, so I'm clearly a neurotic. I mean, again, I I probably wasn't gonna die without my electrolytes, but I I had them in the car, and the second that I was done, I rushed and like drank a bottle of electrolyte water. I just really thought I was gonna die. But I I wanted to talk about one other thing too. So I think Dan, you had maybe done this about something else, but I called them a few days before the scan for a couple things because first of all, I've talked about having a hip and knee replacement, and I was doing when I was doing the medical background, I put in the dates of when I got these things, and there was a mention that you should call because potentially uh ones that are a certain age are a problem. And not specifically the joint replacements, but like my hip is 30 years old. It's not it's not new, but I don't think the technology's changed much. So I wanted to call them and just let them know because I didn't want to show up and have them say I had an old hip.

Dan Schuman

Sandy, when you called, did you call um the Boca Raton office or was it like more of a general company number?

Sandi Magder

Looked up the Boca Raton office. I called that number, but I think it went through to more of a general number. I don't think I spoke to like a receptionist specifically there. Um whoever I spoke to was was super helpful and walked me through that stuff. And then we talked about the claustrophobia. So apparently I had marked off that I wasn't claustrophobic, which is a lie. Um, I don't know why I did that. Maybe I think because the follow-up question is are you gonna take medication? And I thought it was talking about like Xanax or Valium, which I didn't want to take because I had stuff to do later. And also I it could make me nauseous. So I didn't want to be nauseous inside the machine. But they do prescribe you because they can't give you the stronger medications, but they can prescribe what I understand now is like an antihistamine. So I guess kind of almost like a Benadryl. So maybe that makes you a little bit sleepy. It's supposed to calm you down. So I was like, sure, why not? I'll get it. So they give you three pills, they tell you you could take two before you go, and a third one if you really need it. So I took one because I also wasn't sure if it was going to make me sleepy, and I decided to drive myself. But so the point of this is that like they were very helpful on the phone. You know, they answered a lot of questions. They were very pleasant, and so I appreciated that experience.

Dan Schuman

Yeah. Uh so this is the the interesting dichotomy of this is Sandy's talking about the medicine she took and just the getting into the machine and just that whole experience. And she'll expound on that a little bit. But for me, the question I asked when I walked into the front desk was can I can I take a nap? In like like as in like I would like to, it would be like a my I would love it. Like the sounds would all make me sleepy and go, I would, I would literally fall asleep. And I've done this before in other MRIs where I had to breathe, and we'll talk about the breathing, where I just went went to sleep, uh just knocked me out. And so point being, summary is that each individual has an entirely different experience approaching the MRI. It should be, and neither, either is it is what it is, but um you feel the same type of nerves, but just the focus for Sandy was getting through the MRI, the focus for me, um that that part wasn't an issue. And so, but it's very real for both people.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, it's it's super interesting. And so, you know, it turns out in the morning, if you don't do an elaborate skincare routine and don't do a full face of makeup, it doesn't take you very long to get ready. And so I was ready super early. I think I got there 15, 20 minutes ahead of the third, you know, 30-minute window of, you know, when you're supposed to get there. So I was sort of by myself. But the waiting room is really nice. It uh you kind of feel like you're in a spot. It's relaxing music. It smells nice, the decor is nice. It's not a huge waiting room. And when I got there, no one else is there. They only have, I guess they have three um MRI machines. So there can't be that many people ever at any time. And, you know, the receptionist was very nice when I walked in. The first thing they do is they give you a tablet, and so you could choose a movie or show on Netflix. You could also choose to listen to music on Spotify, but we'll talk about in a minute why I think that the Netflix option is is better. But it's cool. Like I, you know, I'd been watching like Bridgerton. And so I went back on my phone. I figured out what episode I was on, I chose that. I knew it was something that I wanted to see. So, you know, that was a that was a good experience.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, couldn't agree more. The you walk in, I think I might have mentioned to Sandy I was looking for possible rentals in that uh I would I would live there because it was so nice and clean, bigger than my apartment, obviously. But no, it's a it's their nice offices. They have everything, all the they've thought about um the beginning, middle, and end of the experience. And so I think they've got that fairly nailed, and I was impressed.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, it doesn't feel like a medical office. It's very it feels more spa-like. So the one thing that so then because Dan was asking questions, and so obviously I was sitting there when I heard, and for some reason I had it in my head that my, aside from like the brain part, my head would be out of the MRI machine. And so I learned in the waiting room that that's not the case. So a little bit of panic set in. And sort of up to that point, I was feeling okay. I didn't, you know, I don't know if I slept well. I think I was dreaming about it a little bit, but I didn't really feel as anxious as I thought I might. So I kind of had this like, I got this vibe. And then that maybe threw me off a little bit.

Dan Schuman

Just as a foreshadow, and you'll see why this is matters later. Sandy's MRI process started 10 minutes before mine. And um, which was, you know, fine. But like I just, you know, was like, wow, I like you know, I'd like to be 1045 in that machine, but you know, but there was we'll tell you why that matters towards the end.

Sandi Magder

Yeah. And then so the next thing is they get a room ready for you and you go in and you change. And so you have scrubs to put on, um, little booties, I guess, but you get to wear your socks and underwear. Everything else goes and you wear the scrubs. And so Dan can share this, but he loved the scrubs. Me not so much. I can't believe people wear these, you know, for their 29-hour shifts because they're kind of itchy. They have no give. They're like oversized, but I don't know. I was concerned that I'm very sensitive to fabrics and things. Like I don't like when there's a tag in my shirt, but I don't know. I was a little concerned that it was going to bother me. Once I got in it, it was fine, I guess. But um, yeah, that's that's kind of the next step.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, and they fit well. I'm not sure if it was like a men or a female's version, or if they just have like these, they order just one oversized and everyone has like their own type of experience in the oversized, but shoulder it sat well on the shoulders. I like the bagginess. And the true it was a little stiff, but um not itchy for me. But um could have made a cute picture, but didn't think I had to take a picture of Oh, I did.

Sandi Magder

I took a picture.

Dan Schuman

I didn't see. I missed those moments. You're smarter than I am, but uh yeah. So we're in the scrubs.

Sandi Magder

Okay, so why don't you share what happens next on your end? You're going into your MRI machine.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, so you at least you sit there with the door open and you wait for the med tech, the MRI med tech to come uh, you know, pick you up and take you back to where the MRI machines are. And the med tech will I I think I heard the med techs and they generally ask the same questions. I think there was some variability to that. I think there were some other questions that were asked. But typical questions, Sandy Moreover, some, you know, have you had a surgery? You know, are you wearing a CGM or any type of medical device? Do you have any like metal in your body? Um, are you sick? Or I mean, just you know, there's a couple other ones that I'm probably missing some important ones. So, one thing to know, they take you back into um this massive kind of back office of MRI machines. It's like all dark, obviously, and there's like med tech desks, three of them, because there's Sandy mentioned there's three machines. And the one thing that you'll initially notice as you walk in is that the room is like 20 degrees, 30 degrees. It's frigid, it's frigid. And so the first thing they're trained to say is that this yes, the room is cold, and when you get in the machine, everything will warm up due to the you know the heat of the machine. And that is that is the case, at least it was for me. Danny will tell you about her experience. But the only thing I was concerned about with getting in was that I had neck support because I have a really bad neck, which they had. And you know, there's a ball that you actually hold in case there's an emergency. Uh, I I was well aware of that because that's that's similar to other MRI machines. And then I noticed that the audio for the headphones, the earplugs, was better than most MRI machines, meaning that you're you know, you're in this machine and there's loud, loud sounds, but I still I could hear the med tech, I could hear the movie uh and I had earplugs in and headphones on. And so the that audio experience was was pretty good. But um, I'll stop there, Sandy. I guess you I'll let you No, I think you should go through the whole experience because mine's very different. Okay. Um, so they obviously put like a ton of, I don't want to call them plates on you, but they're you're covered in whatever you're covered in. And then I had a James Bond movie on. I've seen it like 10 times, but I couldn't figure out what the hell I wanted to watch. And so I'm like, you know what, I always like a good intro, James Bond, that'll get that'll get me 25 minutes in. So um I will tell you this, I'm not sure who else does this, but the how they there's there's a flat screen in the back where the Netflix plays this movie and then it mirrors to inside the MRI, and the visibility of the movie changes as the MRI machine moves, yeah, in like a really smart way. And so effectively, if you kind of get past like if you're nervous about getting MRI MRI machines, if you get effectively get past like an MRI machine watching a movie and you focus on the movie, it really does a nice job of speeding the process along, but also capturing that you're not in a tube. Um it makes you feel less like you're in a coffin. And it and it was I honestly that expectation that exceeded my expectation. I was super impressed by that technology, and it's not like a sophisticated technology, but it really worked well. And so um running through everything, uh, I think all of the MI went smooth for me. Uh, I there was, you know, a one part but it wasn't on the brain, it was doing kind of like your middle body where there would be excessive breath holding. Um that could be an issue for some, not others. Um I think generally it's more important that, you know, after you take a breath in and a breath out, that you're not just like kind of breathing heavy. I mean, you know, if you can't hold your breath long and you have to like let some air out, like that's fine. But like if you're like, you know, breathing really heavy while they're you know testing and taking images of parts, that's not gonna work. And so uh, but the technician did a really good job of prompting all of that, at least mine did. And I would just just uh so I don't forget, the technicians were great. They're very professional. I think they've probably seen it all. Um mine was very positive. You know, one could say that um, and I'm sure people think about this when they're getting MRIs, is God, you know, I think I mentioned this to Sandy uh after. I'm like, God, I'm like, those medtechs like are seeing my scans, you know. When they like take me out of my my bed, MRI bed, do they like, are they like, you know, do they know something about me and my medical history that I should know? Or are they are they, you know, putting on the smiley poker face? You look at them and like maybe some people always like look at them and like, God, I'm like, they're not smiling as much. Is there something wrong with you?

Sandi Magder

They must know, yeah. They must have seen a brain tumor, they they don't know what to do, and now they just have to escort me out and never think about me again.

Dan Schuman

And I know that people must think that. Um, I have, I mean, I've done two brain MRIs, I've done two neck MRIs. So, you know, you kind of always think that, but they are moving so fast at not fast in a bad way. They're they're so efficient and aggressively, because these scans, people want these scans. Maybe it's maybe you know, South Florida is affluent and you know, whatever. And so there's markets that are such that where there's you know no appointments to get, but they're turning over three MRIs pretty much on time and with people in waiting in in the rooms. So this med tech, after she's like, took all my stuff off really quick, she's like, Thank you. She's like, I'll score you off. You want some coffee and some treats afterwards.

Sandi Magder

They had snap they had a snack room.

Dan Schuman

Snack room. And but like, you know, she like opened the door and she was like on to the next. And I'm just like, which validated a few things. One is that this is very busy, people want these, that these people want to know about their bodies. And two is that there's no way she had enough time to like understand or know anything about my body in that moment because how fast they're moving. And so yeah, that is that was my take. I think that's Sandy, unless there's something you want to ask, that that that kind of sums up my experience.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, I think I mean it's I I didn't have I didn't have any thoughts when I got out, except for I was out of the machine. So I didn't I wasn't worried about what she may have seen. But let's turn it over to Sandy. Okay. Well, let's start with I almost had nothing to talk about today. So I told you, I you know, I went in feeling okay, a little freaked out when they said my head would be inside. And then so yeah, you lay on the table. And I had already been kind of worried about like because I have a lot of stiffness and pain and things, and I'm worried I was worried about not being able to move for 45 minutes to an hour. And then the first thing I noticed, Dan kind of said the same thing is you lay down and my head was much flatter than I usually am, which makes me almost feel like I'm choking or I'm upside down and then I'm nauseous. So that panicked me a little bit. I didn't think to ask to prop my head up. I didn't know if that was an option. So I kind of just sucked that up. And then you have to sit with your, you know, hands beside you, which was another problem for me. They gave me a little pillow for under my knees, which I was happy about because I was kind of worried about that as well. The problem is that my right elbow, which was the first joint that I ever had a problem with, does not straight. And I haven't put it at my side for 30 years. And so it was very awkward for me to not have it resting on my thigh. So she, the vet tech, the vet tech, I go to a lot of vet appointments. The MRI tech. I don't feel like I was gonna say that. The MRI tech, whose name was Katie, and I have to give her a shout out because she was awesome. She was able to kind of put something under my elbow and then something under my wrist. So it, I was able to keep it on the side. And then, like Dan said, they put this, she calls it a weighted blanket, but that's just the euphemism for some kind of heavy thing over your chest. So that goes on. That was a little uncomfortable because of my arm with my right hand was kind of raised a little bit. I could feel it on my knuckles, and then I started to panic. I was gonna, it was gonna bother me for an hour. So she fixed it a little bit. Uh, and then they're ready to slide you in. And so what Dan was describing about the movie, it's not actually in the MRI machine. They put this kind of cap on you, and the cap has almost like a I don't even know how to explain it because I didn't see it, you know, clearly, but it has kind of a visor, I guess, on it. And that's what the movie reflects onto. So you're looking at the visor. So they tell you to focus on that as they're sliding you in. My show hadn't started yet. Something else was on and it wasn't playing. And again, I, you know, I was a little nervous. I felt okay, but I did focus on the screen, but I probably because I had had an MRI before, when they put me in the machine, I knew I was in the machine. And I had an immediate wave of sheer terror and panic. And I felt my like a rush of blood to the head. I felt like I couldn't breathe. And I immediately, I don't know if I squeezed it or if I yelled, I was like, take me out of here. And then I don't know. So she took me out, she took all the stuff off me because I felt claustrophobic with all this stuff on me. And we had talked about this before. Dan said he likes to put something over his eyes and ears and all these things. And I, that to me feels horrible. So I sat up, she brought me some water, and I sat there for a minute, tried to do my four, seven, eight breathing and just tell myself I wasn't gonna die in there, but I could feel that I really wasn't coming out of the nerves. And then that caused me to panic because obviously I wanted to get through this experience. I'm grateful that we have this opportunity. I didn't want to mess it up. You know, she's standing there. And again, she was very kind to me and patient, but I went through probably in five to 10 minutes an entire series of emotions, mostly beating myself up. What's wrong with me? Why can't I do this? Like be a big girl, you know, and I was some of it I was I was embarrassed. I and I, because I wasn't calming down, I didn't know how I was gonna get myself in a state to lay back down, knowing I was going in there for like 45 minutes to an hour. And then just decided to suck it up. Like the big girl pants that disintegrated when I first went in, pulled them off the floor metaphorically, and put them back on. And what we'd also decided, too, was that she would start playing the show that I was supposed to be watching so that there was like some movement and things like that. And I just like fast forwarding, I can tell you, and I should Shared this with her too, in case anyone else. And again, I know they see a lot of people that have claustrophobia and that freak out. I didn't cry, you know, I didn't scream. I didn't get off the table. I didn't run out and never come back. You know, so um, but I I can tell you that it definitely helped when the the show was playing because then there were movements and there's subtitles too, because when you know when the machine gets loud, it's sometimes it's hard to hear. But so I think that helped. And so I just told myself I wasn't gonna die. And you know, I really, really stared at the screen. And the way the screen looks is it almost looks like you're watching a movie because you can see the screen and then you can see all the space around it. So it kind of gives you the perspective of being far away from it, and that makes it feel more expansive inside the space. Like really, if you so I as I noticed that, I started to kind of make sure that my brain kept thinking about it that way. And whatever, 45 minutes to an hour later, I somehow got through it and I was super proud of myself because honestly, I I had moments, I I didn't think I was gonna get back in. I felt that panic and I I just kind of assumed that I'd be able to calm myself down and I couldn't, and so I just couldn't fathom going back in. But again, Katie was awesome. You know, she helped me kind of get comfortable and there was no judgment. I I didn't feel like I was being rushed or anything like that. Because again, I know they're on a tight schedule. So, you know, we just we we got through it and I'm grateful that I did it, but it almost didn't happen. I was sitting here thinking, oh my God, I'm gonna have to tell the chief medical officer that I didn't do it because I'm such a wimp.

Dan Schuman

I mean, hey, you can do all the things. You have to be like telling yourself, I can do all things. I can do all things. I can do all things. And I honestly uh because that's such an experience that I would never have, I am, you know, but I'm kind of totally appreciating, understanding how raw it is. You should be proud of yourself that you got through that. That's like really there's a stigma there. There is it's a real fear. I know a bunch of people who have that fear. I have fears in other ways, but um, you should tap yourself on the shoulder. That's a good one.

Sandi Magder

Thank you.

Dan Schuman

Yeah.

Sandi Magder

I mean, I really, I don't know, I felt okay going into it. So I didn't think that was gonna happen, but I I guess I think there was probably some muscle memory about the first MRI. So once I was in, I just literally I felt the entire world closing in on me. And it was tough. Like Dan mentioned, they do move you up and down through the machine. And so the screen size changes because you get closer to the screen that's on the back of the wall. Yeah. So I, you know, again, I it it's it was still a challenge. Once I was in there, I had to really kind of because I, you know, once it started, there was no way I was coming out. Oh, and kind of a funny story. So when I got back in, you know, I was like, I started to feel okay about it. And then I noticed that she pulled me out. And I'm like, what is going on? And apparently, I guess because it'd taken so long for me to get into it, the machine res it just reset. I don't know what that means, but that's how she explained it. So I had to wait. And I decided not to sit up. I just kind of laid there under all these things I was on. But yeah, so that has so that probably also caused some of the delay because it had to restart or something. So it just had to really stay in the moment because every time I moved, it reminded me, you know, and the breathing was a little stressful, scary, because some of the times that you had to hold your breath felt excessively long. And I already felt like dehydrated and stressed and everything. So that was a little challenging. And like I said, I probably I could have taken the slightest breath without moving, but you know, I was dedicated to getting through this without any issues because I didn't want to delay it or have to redo anything. So it was very meticulous about, you know, the holding the breath part.

Dan Schuman

Um you know, Sandy's a rule follower and she's a perfectionist. So if if there is a challenge to hold the breath, she's going to hold the breath. Yeah. And uh you have to respect that. So that was the spoiler was when I walked out starting 10 minutes after Sandy, she wasn't in the lobby. I was thinking, you know, she'd be waiting for me and like we'd do like our little refresh and download, and she wasn't there. And I'm like, oh boy. I'm like, there's definitely going to be a story when she gets out of there. And so I was just kind of like, I'll just sit down and chill and talk to the front desk people because they were really, really nice. And then um, I think like was like maybe what less than 10 minutes. Sandy walked out, and then she obviously shared what her experience was.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, and I gotta say, I it took me hours to feel like a functional human again. Like I was I was not okay when I came out. I was still in a heightened state of anxiety. I I was somewhat conversational, but I just didn't feel okay. It took me, it just really just I got home. I just needed a couple hours to decompress because I was just in such this elevated state. But again, I was proud of myself for getting through it again. Like props to my tech Katie because she was like very, you know, kind and patient. I didn't feel like she was rushing me, but I just I was, you know, in classic me style, judging myself.

Dan Schuman

I mean, med techs, um, MRI med techs are not, as far as I remember or know, in the business of customer service. Like they kind of just, I mean, I've all of them have been nice, but these med techs, at least, you know, the one that Kate uh Katie that Sandy's talking about, you know, I unfortunately forgot the name of mine, but uh shout out to her. Um they're they're really good. They're really um understanding, you know, I think Prenovo must put time into personalities there and how they're interacting with people that are coming in because um of just all of the the different things happening in their head when they're going through this experience. So I'm gonna give a shout out to Prenovo in that regard. I think it's just um yeah, I was really impressed.

Sandi Magder

Yeah. And so again, like I'm I don't know, I don't realize how claustrophobic I am until I'm in a situation. But even on an airplane, I don't like sitting in the window. I feel like I can't escape. And again, that first MRI I had, I I knew that that was a problem. So if I can get through this, I I think most people probably can. And I was impressed at sort of all of the little things that they have in place to help people like me.

Dan Schuman

There you go.

Sandi Magder

Okay, so the I guess the last thing is so when we also, you know, when we left, there there's two receptionists and they were very pleasant and seemed really to enjoy their jobs and kind of excited about everything. And so we had asked some questions about what to expect with the results. And so they confirmed that they're emailed. They said it doesn't always take 10 days, because Dan Dan had kind of asked them like why it would take that long. They said it doesn't always take that long. And so you get a full report. And then subsequent to that, they schedule a call with a nurse to just preliminarily go over it. Now I'm sure if there's something more, maybe I don't know if they have this is something that the chief medical officer will have to tell us about. I don't know if then they have people they can talk to more or if they give you recommendations on who to talk to for follow-up. But I had made a joke, like, you know, I'm gonna get my results and have to interpret them. And they thought that meant that I thought I I wasn't gonna understand it, but that wasn't my concern. My concern was that I'm gonna read all of this stuff and freak out before somebody can hold my hand and walk me through it. So that we'll have to see how that plays out because I think, Dan, you did a little more research on what these reports entail.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, I think the the the seven to ten business days probably is a function of two things. It's it's a function of they probably have a growing customer base, and you know, it's I'm not sure if you're you know, I don't think radiologists fall off trees. And so there's gotta be they're trying to find good ones, and so there's volume. I also my assumption is we can clarify this with the chief medical officers that um the radiologists probably aren't working weekends, and so they cited in business days because my understanding is probably you know, they get it on a Monday and they're getting these in order of how they've been um recorded. And then they're thoroughly, I think, going through several layers of one making a general assessment, taking some deeper dives, and then printing these reports out. Uh so you're getting radiologists' eyes and ears on these things, but then you're getting the conversation and appointment with nurse practitioners. Um, maybe at some point that'll be doctors as well, but that's kind of seems how it goes. And then I think just as you get the report, as to Sandy said, I think the part that clues you in it to if you don't understand the big words, when you're in that kind of point where like you're left with a report, but you have no one to talk to about it, um, would be the color coding of green, yellow, and red, of maybe like potential severity or of you know, whether or not it requires follow-up. You know, so again, you know, it's it's a lot. I mean, there's there's really no good way of getting this information. Uh, it just is what it is. You get it, it's the reality, and then you have to just kind of learn and process it. But from people I've that I've talked to that have taken these things, um, you're gonna get a lot of information back, especially if you're, you know, in your 40s or or above, and you know, you've you've lived half of your life, um, your body is not brand new. And so there's gonna be a lot of words, and there's gonna be a lot of things that exist, some microscopic, some, you know, that are completely normal. You're you're probably gonna hear words, and I've told say cyst, nodule. There are other words, um, and sizes, and you know, there's a lot. And so if you're coming in and you're hyper vigilant about it and super sensitive, which I can tend to be for sure, um you just kind of can't get overwhelmed. You kind of just have to take a step back and just take it in and then process because you know, Sandy's a perfectionist. Um, I am a perfectionist in some ways, in especially when it comes to health and wellness. And so, you know, I'm gonna see things and I'm gonna be like, there's a thing, you know, like that's not perfect. That's like that's like there's like a bunch of things. And so you have to kind of go through those motions.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm gonna get overwhelmed. I can tell myself not to. And same thing as telling myself, like I'm just laying in an MRI machine, I lay in my bed and nothing bad happens. It doesn't matter that there's sort of kind of a tube covering me, but I'll probably have some sort of reaction and I'll just have to manage it. Maybe we'll talk about it.

Dan Schuman

I mean, the best way to compare it is maybe like you go to Quest Labs or if you're going to labor, and like you take all these lab work, all these biomarkers, and then if people have done this, you get your results back and they're they're either green or red. You know, and so you always gravitate towards the red ones because they're out of range. Of course.

Sandi Magder

I don't want reds.

Dan Schuman

Yeah, no one wants reds. And so um you just have to kind of that's kind of how you're gonna see the report. There's gonna be color codings, and you know, that if you obsess about those things, it's going to be something you need to just kind of be comfortable with and prepare yourself for that you know, you're gonna get stuff back and it's gonna be visual. And if you just kind of zip through it visually and you see a color you don't like, you know, I don't want to make a blanket statement, but you're not dying. You just you know, but it's it's trying to give you clues as to what you might have to investigate further. Um, and you know, that's the point of this. It's it's you know, if you're all green, you know, as the as I they say in my religion, Mazl Tov, like that well, but um you're probably not gonna be. And I know that I'm not gonna be, and I'm prepared, I'm preparing for that.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, I mean, there's no way that my elbow that I haven't been able to straighten in 30 years comes up looking great.

Dan Schuman

I mean, that's well, it's gonna be awfully bloody in the next for me. Very bloody.

Sandi Magder

Yeah. So I'm not I'm not really scared about things that I know. If it tells me my right knee that's still a real one is messed up, like that's not shocking. So those reds won't freak me out. But I, you know, I'm sure there's gonna be some level of anxiety. I can't imagine there won't be.

Dan Schuman

So yeah, I mean, I think it'll probably be like, so the most common cause of of cancer is lung cancer. I've had friends that have that they've picked up stuff and um gotten it removed. Uh, you know, so you're gonna see nodules, you're gonna there's gonna be things on your lungs. There just are, you know. And so some of the sometimes the size of those things can matter, but you know, you just have to know that your lungs aren't clean. Like you're you're you know, we're in our late 40s, you've lived life, you know, and so uh you just kind of have to know there's gonna be some things that are gonna show up. It's just what it is. I I you know you can't, you just want to know. And so there's not there's no really easy way or graceful way of saying it, but um we're not 20.

Sandi Magder

Yeah, I I gotta tell you, I hate that you keep reminding me that we're in our late 40s. But anyway, that's fine.

Dan Schuman

But you have age dysmorphia, so you don't care.

Sandi Magder

Well, it that that yeah, yes, but that makes it complicated. Anyway, that's a whole other that's a whole other episode. So all right, so here we are. If you've ever wondered whether you could handle a full body MRI, or if health anxiety shows up before your medical tests. We hope this episode made you feel less alone. And this conversation's not over. In an upcoming episode, we'll be sitting down with Pre Nuvo's chief medical officer to talk about how full-body MRIs work, who they're for, what they're not for, and how to think about preventative screening without spiraling into worst-case scenarios. So if you're curious about proactive health, nervous system regulation, or how to make informed decisions without fear driving the bus, make sure you're following the show. And if this episode resonated, share it with someone who's MRI curious, but slightly claustrophobic. And if you're enjoying the health hunt, following, rating, and leaving a review generally helps us more than you know. Because it helps other health hunters find conversations that are honest, not polished, and occasionally involve a near meltdown in a giant magnetic tube. We'll see you next time.