My 5 yr old is scheduled for a sedated MRI and I am looking for anyone who has gone through one with their child and what should I expect?
Thanks, MsTwiddle

MsTwiddle, my 5yr old had a ct scan, but she was not sedated.Therefore, it was a very limited study, due to her moving. With your child being sedated hopefully they will get all the info they need. Best of luck, Ralinda

Hopefully they will offer at least some sedation as a five year old, unless they are extremely sick, will not be able to "not move at all"during the study.Why is the MRI being done?Sometimes, in children it is much easier to do a ct than an MRI,as some people,even adults will become quite claustraphobic when they are placed in the tube.You are going to have to sit down with your child and really explain fully just how this is all going to go and what to expect and just how important it is for them to remain really still.i would think that someone in the radiology dept who deals alot with children would be able to either talk to your child about this test or at least be able to offer you some help in preparing your child for the test.Maybe they havesome sort of little book or something that could help you.Just a thought.I hope all goes well.Marcia

Hi! Had both unsedated CT and a sedated MRI on my son.
The unsedated CT - they allowed me in the room with him. VERY QUICK too!
The sedated MRI - they would not allow me in the room and was much longer.
The worst part is the IV - call your doctor and see if they will let you have some EMLA cream to numb up his arms before you go in. About 30 minutes before you go in, rub the cream on BOTH arms (you never know where they will give it to him) and then wrap it in plastic wrap. When you take it off after you get there - you will notice that the skin where the cream has been will be white - indicator that it's numb.
Luckily your child will be asleep through it - cause it is VERY LOUD and scary inside the tube. I made sure my son was sedated for him.
Shouldn't be more than 30 minutes long and then he should be out. The next day had the results.
What part is your child having imaged? My 7 yr old was having a brain MRI to rule out enlarged cerebral tonsils.

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate the time you take to help.

Hrt-
She is having it on her lower spine. She has had Chronic UTI's for more than
18 mos. It was finally decided that they were being caused by constipation.
The size of her stools had stretched the colon so it blocked the bladder from emptying completely. So, now they want to try to find out the cause of the
constipation. She has a couple of indications that nerves around her spine are twisted...hence the MRI. Did your son have a sore throat (from the tracheal tube) or any other side effects the next day? How long did it take him to come out of the anesthesia? Thank you so much for your input. I hope everything came out positively with your son. Ms. Twiddle

Ms Twiddle,
Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they put a trach tube in for this type of sedation.
He also had a bronchoscopy and endoscopy the same time (the 3 specialists coordinated this so he would only have to be put to sleep once). Yes - I feel very blessed about it. So he did have a tube down his throat, but it didn't seem to bother him. He still was out to me about 15 minutes once the anesthesia was stopped. And he had no side effects from it - now he had a ENG tube in place (tube from his stomach that come out his nose and hooked up to a monitor) that had to stay in place for another 24 hours, but he was able to eat, drink, and sleep without any problems.
My 5 yr old daughter had the same GI tests done too and she only hated the ENG tube (wanting to pull it out). Other than that - I think she would have been fine.
I know its scary for a mom to think of their child being in a room you're not allowed in for testing. And being sedated is scary (especially the first time for moms), but rest assured that you will be amazed at how fast and easy this will be for your daughter - worse for you cause of you anxiousness.
This was the best thing for my son and my daughter. Undiagnosed acid reflux had led to some asthma (of which the damage proved to be reversible with treatment). So, the both take Nexium and Singulair everyday and it has made all the difference in the world.
As for you daughter - I was reading your other post about the large stools. My son still has issues with this and I was curious about asking the GI doc about it again. He had given us miralax the last time. Does your daughter have to run to the bathroom for either elimination? It's like my son doesn't have the sensation to go until it's urgent.
Hope everything goes well with your daughter!
hrtofluv

Hrt-
Thank you so much for the info. Unless I misunderstood they are going to do a tube. We went on Monday for the MRI and the Anesthesilogist refused to do it because of her heavy cough from a cold. She said that the tube would irritate her esophogus enough without it already being irritated from the cough.

And as for the large stools, no she doesn't have many accidents or close calls. Has your son been tested for Hirshprung's disease? The GastroEndo Dr. said that that disease (which effects the colon) doesn't allow people to feel the normal urges to go that most of us feel. They aren't able to feel it until it is right there. They did a Barium on her which was very simple. More uncomfortable than anything else. They ruled that out. One of the reasons that she was put on the MofM was that the Dr. said that it forces the colon to spasm and signal my daughter that it is time to go. It has made all of the difference in the world (once we found a way to disguise it that is...lol).

I hope all works out for you and your kids. Amazing what we do for our kids, huh? When I was younger I would have turned green if someone even mentioned their child pooping...lol. Ah, the stories we all could tell. Best wishes. Ms Twiddle