I have an MRI of my wrist tomorrow afternoon. It'll be ~25 minutes in a not so great position for claustrophobia. I'll be face down, arm extended in front of my head and then head first into the machine. I don't know that I'd label my claustrophobia as extreme, but it's probably on the upper side of moderate. That said, adding in I started having panic attacks ~6 months ago (just in general, not directly related to claustrophobia) and I'm a bit more concerned about how I'll handle things.

I've had 2 MRIs in the past (before panic attacks) both of the same hip and my head was basically just in line with the entrance side of the machine. So essentially sticking out maybe 4-6 inches or so, and I was OK, but not great. Still had to try relatively hard to not freak out.

I spoke to the wrist specialist who ordered the MRI and she prescribed me 3 tablets of 1mg Xanax for 30 minutes before the MRI. I was told start with one and if I still feel anxious take another, but that doesn't really leave much of a window for the second one to take effect. I've used .25mg in the past for panic attacks and they worked pretty great for knocking the anxiety out, but I didn't really feel sedated or anything.

I know they probably see it a lot, but I don't want to be that guy that freaks out and has to reschedule. Even knowing they see it plenty, it's still embarrassing.

Long post all to get around to this, do benzos really work that well for MRIs? They offered to put me to sleep for it, but that seemed extreme for what amounts to 25 minutes or less of a procedure. Just curious what other's experience may have been like in similar situations.