10 year old having an MRI

ray family

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:50 am

What type of mri?
I’m asking because depending on the location you’ll approach it differently ie head is scarier than a leg.
Will the child be awake or sedated?

amother

Snowdrop

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 7:56 am

My son has head mri's every 6 months
They need 2 injections for dye. It's not pleasant for them but he manages without sedation. Then they need to stay very still whilst they're actually having the scan.
Feel for you. Hope it goes better than you think and the outcome is good iyh.

theoneandonly

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:01 am

My ten year old had an MRI, no dye injections, yes sedation. I think they said here in Israel everyone under 11/12 gets sedated and if over that age they get a choice. I was nervous about the sedation but DS was totally fine with the whole thing.

amother

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:02 am

Thanks, Snowdrop.

Are you allowed in the room with him?
My son is super anxious about having to stay still. Does your son find it hard?

amother

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:02 am

theoneandonly wrote:

Was he asleep or just super calm? Any after-effects?

amother

Beige

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:05 am

My 12 year old had it so it’s not exactly the same but I told him ahead of time about the loud, strange noises. The technician can hear him talk and they can take gime out if need be. Just knowing that should help him feel better. I told him it might help to keep his eyes closed. When he was finished he told me he loved it! He said it was the biggest chill. So relaxing! I couldn’t believe it!

theoneandonly

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:09 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Was he asleep or just super calm? Any after-effects?

They put him to sleep. He was totally fine after with no side effects BH. You should find out if they will be putting your ds out or not because it makes a difference for how you should mentally prep him

imokay

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 8:19 am

I had a few MRIs. The first place just told me not to move and I had no idea for how long or what was going on and I didn’t know they could hear me and I was panicking at all the unknowns.
The second place gave me much more information and I was much calmer. They told me they could hear me if I call out, before each picture they told me about how long the banging would last for so I was able to brace myself because I knew the end point. They offered to play music of my choice. My mom was allowed in and held my toe so I knew someone was with me. Overall, a much more positive experience. Subsequently, I was made aware of an open MRI, which I was a candidate for, and that was a game changer because I wasn’t fully enclosed.

Hatzlacha!! IyH it should go smoothly.

tweety1

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 9:18 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Head. There was no talk of sedation so I assume he'll be awake.

No advice just Hug

. Wishing you the outcome should be what you're hoping for.

Reality

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 9:25 am

My 11 year old son needed an mri of his elbow, so he needed to go in to the machine head first. Definitely prep him in advance. Tell him if he has to get undressed. I was not allowed in the room with him but the technician was really really good with kids.

It is scary but if you are calm and explain things matter of factly to him it really helps! Hatzlacha and refuah shelaimah!

amother

Jean

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 9:37 am

I had an enclosed head MRI as a 9 year old. My parents told me about the noises and reminded me that I could keep my eyes closed. I was allowed to bring along tapes so I chose my favorite story tapes and that helped. Also, the techs called in to me a few times to ask how I was doing, say I was doing a great job, and tell me what would happen next. At one point they offered to give me a break. I was fine!

amother

Snowdrop

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 10:10 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thanks, Snowdrop.

Are you allowed in the room with him?
My son is super anxious about having to stay still. Does your son find it hard?

Yes you can go in the room. My dh takes him.. He watches on a screen up above, he can't really hear it because of the noises from the machines but it distracts him a bit. He gets to chose the video/movie.
He's used to it now. He's needed them for a few years. He does find it hard though...

amother

Maple

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 10:39 am

If it will be a long MRI, and he isn't the type of kid to sit still, then request sedation. My child didn't want to be sedated, but after a half hour they realized that the images were blurry from small movements. We had to start over with sedation.

ray family

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 11:38 am

My daughter is older and still gets sedated because she’s scared and gets anxious.
Let the child know that it’s really loud.
They have to remain still otherwise it will ruin the images and they’ll need to do it over.
If you need an approval for sedation make sure you have it in advance- even if you opt not to use it.

amother

Yolk

Sun, Jun 19 2022, 12:23 pm

Make sure he knows that it won't hurt.
Ask the technician to show him some of the cool machines and images before he goes in which will make it seem cool rather than threatening.

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jun 20 2022, 12:45 am

If you could be flexible with where you can get the mri done- there are diff machines and some are quicker than others-

amother

Chartreuse

Mon, Jun 20 2022, 12:52 am

Another huge thing that helped me- (my 5 year old needed one recently) I called the place directly and asked them all my questions- this way I was fully prepared…- can both parents accompany him to the appointment/ who can b in the room (my husband was) how long will it take/ do they typically sedate children (they told me no) so that meant they were used to doing it without sedation…. The conversation calmed me down A TON!!!

amother

Celeste

Mon, Jun 20 2022, 1:00 am

I think it depends on nature of child. Dd had head mri at around 7. She was totally ok. Waved her right before. And she was fine through out. Good luck. Hope all turns out well.