I don't know whether you may have seen a PM (Pain Management) doc, yet that's what I would suggest - before surgery.

I'm sorry that your MRI was so torture-filled; I'll take a CT scan any day over a MRI or bone scan! Perhaps, if you need future radiographic imaging, your doc(s) may consider sending you for a CT. In my opinion, the process is much swifter and also gives added and clearer dimension and perspective.

This link might come in handy, in relation to understanding terms noted within reports:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post1325-4.html

From what you described about how you felt during your MRI, it may be that you experience a vasovagal response; it's the body's reaction to extreme pain. A cardiologist and/or internal medicine docs can evaluate for it. I recognize it by the symptoms; I've been dx'd with it.