Pediatric MRI w/ sedation - experiences are appreciated

[Anonymous]

We did a non sedated mri at Children’s when dc was 7. They were great. Definitely recommend going there. Even if mri doesn’t find anything, and hopefully it won’t, it may be good to have a baseline image. It was for us.

[Anonymous]

We did one for our then 1.75 year old who wasn’t walking or crawling properly. They wanted to check for cerebral palsy. NoVA Fairfax did it and took wonderful care of us. I didn’t hold her head when she got the anesthesia and she almost hit it. The doctors were incredible.

[Anonymous]

My son had an MRI under general when he was 4 (now 11), also to better understand his epilepsy. I was nervous but it was fine. The hardest parts were that he has sensory issues so the flavors of gas were not great for him (bubble gum, mint, chocolate) and he was disoriented when he woke up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had an MRI under general when he was 4 (now 11), also to better understand his epilepsy. I was nervous but it was fine. The hardest parts were that he has sensory issues so the flavors of gas were not great for him (bubble gum, mint, chocolate) and he was disoriented when he woke up.

Sorry, should have said this was childrens. They advised that kids his age have a really hard time keeping still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a non sedated mri at Children’s when dc was 7. They were great. Definitely recommend going there. Even if mri doesn’t find anything, and hopefully it won’t, it may be good to have a baseline image. It was for us.

I appreciate your reply! This is what I'm hoping for - my kiddo did well with the EEG and was still the whole time.

I get that an MRI is a whole different ballgame, but I would really prefer no anesthesia - I just have felt disappointed with Fairfax's lack of options aside from anesthesia.

Best to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, meant to add if you are questioning the wisdom of a scan. Maybe seek a second opinion. Though I know it’s insanely hard to get neurology appoints.

My husband brought this up - wanting to know if it's definitely necessary at this time.

Kiddo is also scheduled for a 72 hour EEG monitor so I'm thinking we do that first and then if that shows anything additional from the first 30 min one then we do the MRI.

Kiddo was able to lay still for the 30 min though, so I have some hope they'd be okay in the machine, albeit there are other considerations there vs just lying on a bed for the EEG.

So has your child had a visible seizure? The MRI is looking for a possible cause of the seizure to rule out epilepsy... I didn't realize that when we did the MRI. Don't google that. The EEG will show the brain activity and how often epileptic spikes are occurring during sleep and awake times.

No, not that we're aware of. The neurologist called me yesterday and said there were frequent enough abnormalities, or electrical spikes, that she wants kiddo to have an MRI.

Kiddo is scheduled to have a 72 hour EEG to get more data. I'm thinking we do the longer EEG first before doing an MRI?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had an MRI when he was 5. We scheduled it for 6 AM at the place near 7777 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.

I talked him through it over and over for a few days beforehand.

My son had a great time. He knew it would be loud. He knew it would be partly enclosed. He knew he’d have to hold still.

Afterwards, everything was MRI-this and MRI-that.

When we got the results, I went through them with him and pointed out what each bone and muscle was.

It was a great experience. Last month, he learned about fMRIs and wants one done now.

That's awesome! Glad he had such a great time with it, given it's not the most fun thing in the world.

I talked about the EEG a few times, and kiddo thinks it's cool to get a "brain scan" - I've already talked about an MRI and how Dad studied them in college as part of his engineering degree.

But haven't talked much more about it than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son had an MRI when he was 5. We scheduled it for 6 AM at the place near 7777 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.

I talked him through it over and over for a few days beforehand.

My son had a great time. He knew it would be loud. He knew it would be partly enclosed. He knew he’d have to hold still.

Afterwards, everything was MRI-this and MRI-that.

When we got the results, I went through them with him and pointed out what each bone and muscle was.

It was a great experience. Last month, he learned about fMRIs and wants one done now.

That's awesome! Glad he had such a great time with it, given it's not the most fun thing in the world.

I talked about the EEG a few times, and kiddo thinks it's cool to get a "brain scan" - I've already talked about an MRI and how Dad studied them in college as part of his engineering degree.

But haven't talked much more about it than that.

Children’s tells them it’s like a spaceship and makes the whole theme out of it. It’s cute and helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son had an MRI when he was 5. We scheduled it for 6 AM at the place near 7777 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.

I talked him through it over and over for a few days beforehand.

My son had a great time. He knew it would be loud. He knew it would be partly enclosed. He knew he’d have to hold still.

Afterwards, everything was MRI-this and MRI-that.

When we got the results, I went through them with him and pointed out what each bone and muscle was.

It was a great experience. Last month, he learned about fMRIs and wants one done now.

That's awesome! Glad he had such a great time with it, given it's not the most fun thing in the world.

I talked about the EEG a few times, and kiddo thinks it's cool to get a "brain scan" - I've already talked about an MRI and how Dad studied them in college as part of his engineering degree.

But haven't talked much more about it than that.

Children’s tells them it’s like a spaceship and makes the whole theme out of it. It’s cute and helpful!

I'll be calling our neurologist back just to get clarification on why they want the MRI done.

Another thing someone else mentioned is the insurance part.. Children's being in DC.. ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son had an MRI when he was 5. We scheduled it for 6 AM at the place near 7777 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church.

I talked him through it over and over for a few days beforehand.

My son had a great time. He knew it would be loud. He knew it would be partly enclosed. He knew he’d have to hold still.

Afterwards, everything was MRI-this and MRI-that.

When we got the results, I went through them with him and pointed out what each bone and muscle was.

It was a great experience. Last month, he learned about fMRIs and wants one done now.

That's awesome! Glad he had such a great time with it, given it's not the most fun thing in the world.

I talked about the EEG a few times, and kiddo thinks it's cool to get a "brain scan" - I've already talked about an MRI and how Dad studied them in college as part of his engineering degree.

But haven't talked much more about it than that.

Children’s tells them it’s like a spaceship and makes the whole theme out of it. It’s cute and helpful!

I'll be calling our neurologist back just to get clarification on why they want the MRI done.

Another thing someone else mentioned is the insurance part.. Children's being in DC.. ugh.

We are in VA and had no issue with our insurance covering Children’s.

How did they detect the spikes to begin with? Sleep study?

[Anonymous]

Our daughter had an MRI and Catscan when she was s6 to understand the cause of partial deafness. I believe they gave her something so that she'd stay still. (not sure if it was general or not). She will read your anxiety and mirror it, so please get yourself together. These are standard tests in a non-emergency situation. it will be fine.
Explain what will happen simply so she knows what to expect. Answer her questions directly. WHen it is all over, celebrate her courage.

[Anonymous]

Multiple MRIs at Fairfax radiology w/o sedation. If your child can stay still, there is no need for sedation. I was in the room. We went through 6 mris over the course of 3 years or so.

[Anonymous]

My 11 yo needed brain MRI. She was a very responsible, non-fidgetty kid so we opted for no- sedation. They just kept having to redo the various scans (they do many scans and put the pieces together) over and over because of a small movement. I really wished we had opted for sedation.