MRI for a 1 year old

6coop

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:30 pm

I was also very nervous about that aspect of the mri. Really the worst part ended up being them inserting the needle for the iv. My dd fell asleep almost immediately after that. They really monitor pretty closely, so I really think that it's highly unlikely that she would wake up in the middle of the procedure. (If she did by some chance, I don't think that anything would happen to her except that she would ruin the results.) They usually let you stay in the room in a chair right next to the machine, so she won't be in there alone. (I was pregnant when my dd had hers done, so my father went in with her. that was very hard for me.) As far as I know, the risks associated with the anesthesia are extremely rare. This is very routine and they don't usually put them under as deeply as they do for other procedures like surgery. They wake up very soon after removal of the anesthesia.

The prep for the procedure was also a little annoying. They have to fast before the anesthesia and that's always really hard with a young child. They usually schedule the youngest first. Good luck and if you want to know anything more specific, I'll be happy to share.

(I've had 3 of my kids undergo anesthesia for a number of different reasons (this dd I was talking about had it twice) and every experience was pretty similar. B'h, they were all fine with it.)

amother

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:42 pm

6coop, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions! That was really helpful.
I'm b"h pregnant, but it didn't occur to me that I wouldn't be allowed in with her. That's upsetting. I guess I'll have to work it out for someone to come with us (either dh or one of our parents, depending on everyone's schedule). Sorry for rambling. Call it thinking out loud.
Another thing: The doctor gave us the option (he actually recommends this) of putting her to sleep via a certain medicine (he didn't mention the name, but compared it to Benadryl in the way it makes one drowsy) as opposed to using the regular IV-administered anesthesia. As a mom who's "experienced" with these things, I was wondering what your (or anyone else's) opinion of this would be? Dd can be a pretty light sleeper, so I'd be even more worried of her waking up in middle.
Thanks again for walking me through this!

ray family

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:43 pm

my daughter who is now 2 has had 4 mri's.
the first was when she was a month old (not to scare you) she stopped breathing and didn't wake up for more than an hr. after they told me that the anesthesia was supposed to wear off.
the second was when she was 4 mos old (pre surgery) bH e/t went well.
3rd (post surgery) bH e/t went well.
4th- at 1 yr other than having a hard time finding a vein and pricking her a number of times e/t went well.

the scariest part is seeing your baby go from screaming to silent and absolutely still in a matter of seconds.

I wasn't allowed to be in the room while they did the procedure.
bH the kids are well monitored and I don't think that it's likely for them to wake up.
if she was to wake up it would just mess up the results- n/t would happen to her. although she might get a bit scared. it's so loud inside the machine it feels like s/o is drilling in your head x100 (I had to do one prenatally to test my dd)

bsd e/t should go well and you should only have pos results

chaylizi

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:47 pm

amother wrote:

For sedation, they often use Versed. They don't have a memory of anything that happens. I would use that for my child before general anesthesia.

amother

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:49 pm

Thanks everyone, for responding!

Chaylizi, I'm not sure. The reason they're doing this is because she has low growth hormone and they want to pinpoint exactly what's causing this (the brain, the pituitary gland, or elsewhere). Is there a way to find this out through other means? Both her regular pediatrician and a pediatric endocrinologist recommend MRI. Do you think there's a reason for me to refuse this?

amother

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:50 pm

chaylizi wrote:

amother wrote:

For sedation, they often use Versed. They don't have a memory of anything that happens. I would use that for my child before general anesthesia.

What are the chances of her waking up with that? Sorry for obsessing about this, but it's a (illogical?) fear that I have.

6coop

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:52 pm

amother wrote:

Another thing: The doctor gave us the option (he actually recommends this) of putting her to sleep via a certain medicine (he didn't mention the name, but compared it to Benadryl in the way it makes one drowsy) as opposed to using the regular IV-administered anesthesia. As a mom who's "experienced" with these things, I was wondering what your (or anyone else's) opinion of this would be? Dd can be a pretty light sleeper, so I'd be even more worried of her waking up in middle.
Thanks again for walking me through this!

I wonder what effect the medicine has on how they come out of the anesthesia. My dd was disoriented for the first few minutes, but then she was fine. Would this medication make it worse? Also, ask your dr. if your dd being a light sleeper would mean that she needs more medication or not. I never heard that one thing has to do with the other, but I never asked that question. All of my kids had the iv anesthesia (although the other two were initially put to sleep with gas, and then had the iv put in - but both of those were for surgeries.)

Vegieburger

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 2:56 pm

My three year old recently had an MRI and I was pregnant. They let me stay with him until he was sedated and then I left for the procedure and returned when he was waking up. He woke up easily from it and did just fine...and it did help diagnose him so I was very grateful for it. It's a bit unsettling that they fall asleep so quickly, but it's good to be with them so they feel safe. They did have to do another procedure a couple days later and for that I wasn't allowed in the O.R and I could tell the difference in him when he woke up, he was much groggier the second time, so the MRI seems pretty simple in comparison. Good luck, she'll do fine!

amother

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 10:37 pm

6coop wrote:

My experience was similiar. My dd had an MRI at 18 months.
Important to note is that sedation is not the same as anesthesia. Sedation is just chemical sleeping pills. For and MRI, it's pretty light. They just want the kid to stay still, which they won't if they are awake. Anesthesia is much riskier than sedation. Hopes this helps!

Isher

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 10:52 pm

My 7 year old daughter has been under ga sedation way over 10 times including 3 for MRI's. Her first MRI was when she was around 10 months old. We BH never had any complications. I did however have at around the age of 2, she awoke but they haven't yet called me and it took me quite a while to calm her. Since then I always make sure that I'm with her while she's still asleep.

Personally, if she is a light sleeper I would go with GA since an MRI can be scary for a little kid. I had one and it was very noisy and closed in. You must remain completely still in order to get an accurate MRI and the noise might awake her causing her to move and then you end up getting non accurate info.

Hope the above info helps. Good Luck.

amother

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 11:04 pm

Op, my dd is also having an MRI soon for growth hormone deficiency. I am also a little nervous but mostly about putting her thru getting another iv inserted as she just had one (for the stim test) and she is so sensitive (but she'll live!)

I had to have this kind of sedation once for a procedure and it just feels like you took a really good nap.

bnm

Tue, Apr 13 2010, 11:11 pm

My daughter didn't have an MRI, she had an endoscopy but I think she did have general anesthesia, they put on the gas mask thingy and had her breathe in something before they put in an IV. I was allowed to be in the room only because I promised I'm 100% certain that I'm not pregnant-they said the gas can cause birth defects, however they sent me out when she was still screaming, right before she went to sleep. she woke up in recovery even before I got there, she was upset and kvetchy but smiled when she first saw the camera (yes I'm one of those nutty moms) I was told to keep an eye on her and not let her sit herself the rest of the day because her balance might be off but B"H everything was ok....