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MRI for toddler



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amother


 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 6:25 am
My 20 month old needs an MRI soon. WE need to rule out seizures. Has anyone done one on a small child (especially in Israel). WIll they put him out? anything I need to know?

chizuk and advice please!
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ray family




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 6:46 am
my not yet 5 year old has had 6 MRI's. 4 in Israel.
for a 20 month old your dc will have to fast and then they will put him/her out w/ general anesthesia. if you have never experienced it before it can be frightening. your child goes from being alive to being "dead" they'll schedule you for early in the morning to make it easier re: fasting. generally they wake up fairly quickly after they come out of the room. your child will be groggy but it'll pass soon enough. bring some food/drinks for when s/he wakes up.
good luck and everything should iyH go smoothly.
oh and be prepared for them not to run on time (at least in Ein Kerem we've never gone to shaarei tzedek) I never obsessed about my daughter drinking 1/2 hr over the time they told us because we've always had to wait longer than that.
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Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 7:18 am
My son had an MRI in Eim Kerem as an infant (7 months old) and they used sedation. He slept through the whole thing. He was inpatient at the time in Har Hatzofim, so we were transported there in the evening when the MRI was available. We had no wait at all.
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kb




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 7:39 am
I was told that until a child is old enough to stay put on his own, they will use general anesthesia, but I have no actual real life experience about it.
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Marion




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 8:25 am
Yup, they used a general on DS when he was almost 5 (day before his birthday). Fasting was not an issue because we had a 9:30 time slot; he just couldn't eat after supper, which he doesn't do anyway.
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ray family




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 8:38 am
one other thing if the nurse can't get a vein to insert the anesthesia request another one. more than one time I've seen them poking babies incessantly until they were able to get the needle in. there's no reason to go through that.
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 11:09 am
I've been thru a few MRIs with a few different babies. They sedate. Finding a vein is hard. Once it's in, the baby is out fairly quickly, but might scream once at the weird feeling.

Just try to stay positive, encouraging, and smile reassuringly (even though you're terrified).

Bring a baby bottle and food for when he wakes up.

Bring yourself food and drink and something to do while you wait.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 11:12 am
amother wrote:
My 20 month old needs an MRI soon. WE need to rule out seizures. Has anyone done one on a small child (especially in Israel). WIll they put him out? anything I need to know?

chizuk and advice please!


My 2 year old DS had a sedated MRI of the brain due to seizures at 2 years of age. It was done in New York. They put him to sleep with a mask, and when it was over he slept for a while...Not too bad at all.
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cbsmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 1:05 pm
chani8 wrote:
I've been thru a few MRIs with a few different babies. They sedate. Finding a vein is hard. Once it's in, the baby is out fairly quickly, but might scream once at the weird feeling.

Just try to stay positive, encouraging, and smile reassuringly (even though you're terrified).

Bring a baby bottle and food for when he wakes up.

Bring yourself food and drink and something to do while you wait.


This.

An MRI takes an average of 45 minutes to an hour. It's too long for a toddler to stay absolutely still while conscious.

Prep your son the morning of the exam by explaining that he's going to the hospital so that the doctor can see what's making the boo-boos in his keppie (or whatever terms you are using to explain his seizures to him). Telling him to soon in advance causes anticipation to build. Tell him that the nurses and doctors are going to be sooooo silly and that they will be wearing special jammies (scrubs)! He'll get to wear special jammies too! And then the doctor is going to give him a special medicine that will make him feel very super sleepy. DO NOT USE THE TERM "Put to sleep" (children conjure up images of euthanized family pets with that term!!!) When he wakes up, ima, and abba will be there.

Some of the screaming stems from fear of the unknown. Prepping a child for an MRI can help them stay calm (or calmer). Keep all explanations simple and avoid making promises. Don't say "it won't hurt".

After the procedure give him toys that he can use to "recreate" his experience. Children process difficult information through playing. He won't remember the MRI machine so he has no need for a big box, but a simple doctor's kit and a dolly, or some paper and thick crayons can allow him to draw out what he went through.

The final thing I would add is that if DS has a blanket or teddy bear - bring that with! I would give the nurse my daughter's teddy so that she had her Dubi from the first moment that she started regaining consciousness.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 1:52 pm
Thank you guys! your support is amazing!

CBS, is 20 months too old to understand all that? he doesnt really have a comfort object, but I have a teddy bear that I am trying to teach him to use as a comfort object. My friends think its crazy taht I WANT my baby to have a comfort object, but he has so much going on that he needs it... Sad

Does anyone know how long it takes to get an appt for an MRI in Israel? And which hospital is best? not sure I want to go to SZ because I dropped my doctor there, but don't want to shlep out to Tel Hashomer. Is it important to go to the hospital that your doctor is in? or it doesn't matter because I can send her the results?
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 2:10 pm
Keeping working on that comfort object! It's a very good thing. I got a 2 yo foster child (with attachment issues) to attach to a a musical teddy bear and her sippy cup of water. A major accomplishment!

Good luck on the MRI!
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 2:23 pm
Chani, tips please? He loves his pacifier...
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cbsmommy




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 2:30 pm
Children notice alot and the toddler/preschool age is a time is a time of active imagination and fear of the unknown.

While 20 months is too young for a lengthy discussion or for too much advance notice, short, sweet and simple explanations are really helpful. He's going to notice that you are taking him to the hospital. He's going to wonder why you are making him wear hospital pjs. He is going to be nervous about the fact that the adults are all wearing masks and scrubs instead of regular clothes. If he is having seizures he has also noticed that something is "wrong". Explaining things and then giving him the time to "work through it" can help.

There are studies show that a comfort item to cuddle with during medical procedures correlates with a decrease in anxiety. If he doesn't go for it, he doesn't go for it. But if he has something that feels like "home" waking up in a scary place might not be so scary. Does he have something that he normally sees at home when he wakes up that you can bring to the hospital? A blanket of his bed (or even the one that you use in the stroller) is familiar. Familiar = comforting.
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chani8




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 2:42 pm
amother wrote:
Chani, tips please? He loves his pacifier...


The pacifier is great! You can clip them on and take them everywhere.

That foster child I mentioned, just had her 3rd b'day today, and we got her a baby that takes a pacifier. Maybe something like that would interest your son?

I just make a big deal about 'routine' and reminding/reassuring the child that this is 'your teddy'.

Example: Time for bed. Lets get your cup ready. Say shema, here's the blanket, give a kiss, there's your cup, here's Teddy. You're all set.

If Teddy or her cup is missing, or even the kiss, she asks for it. And that's great!
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Liba




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 3:30 pm
My daughter had a stuffed dog she was very attached to and brought to her appointments. It was really calming for her. She and managed an unsedated MRI of her brain when she was 4 (almost five, certainly not 20 months!), while holding her dog. If you have a child with medical issues and are trying to attach them to a lovey, try to keep away from metal objects like music boxes inside them. If they are metal free they can go in the MRI and sometimes even be there for x-ray studies.
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amother


 

Post Tue, Jan 22 2013, 10:29 pm
My daughter had MRI done twice also to rule out seizures. One was done when she was 2 1/2 and the other at almost 5. We also did EEG to see brain activity. Both procedures showed normal results. Anyhow, the dr put her on meds kepra, which is known to be the safest to prevent future seizures. Medicine is normally given for two years from the last episode of seizure. I heard that children grow out of it- my biggest hope. At first we thought it is from falling, head trauma, but she kept falling and having seisure symptoms, we had to act.
Best of wishes to you.
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