I took an Ativan an hour before the first MRI this time.  That did the trick.  They did both of them back-to-back, but I was totally ok with that.  They gave me a couple of sips of water in between.

Last time I tried, the technician had me enter the machine head first, which I think contributed to my claustrophobia. This time, the technician asked  if I wanted to go in feet first.  Of course I said yes.  All in all, for all my dreading the whole thing, it ended up pretty routine.

Thanks for your insight.  It made me more hopeful that the meds would work for me as well.

Gary