MRI scan for a 10 yr old.

[Draughts]

Hello, DS2 needs an MRI scan in the next 3 weeks due to a very sudden & dramatic loss of hearing. He already has hearing aids, but is now almost profoundly deaf in one ear. This has happened over just a matter of weeks.

Anyway, has anyone's child of similar age had an MRI & not had a general aneasthetic? They will be on standby to put him to sleep if needed but as DS always has horrible reactions to a GA I'm hoping it won't be needed. Am.I being overly optimistic?

TIA

[Andro]

I have a DS who is 10, he had to have a MRI last year when he had crippling headaches related to a previous head trauma. It was loud and boring according to DS but he wasn't medicated in any way.

Prepare him as thoroughly as possible, making sure he knows how important it is to be still and make sure there is plan for how to communicate with him if needed. Unless he's claustrophobic/really anxious I would think that a 10yo should be able to cope with good prep and detailed explanations before the test.

[Stinkyfeet]

My 10 yr old ds has lots of MRIs - he always has a GA. He's tried without, but just freaks out when they put the frame over his head.

Will you have a chance to visit the MRI dept beforehand for a trial run? If it hasn't been offered it might be worth getting in touch with the hosptal play specialists (if they have them) to arrange this.

The GA for scans is quite light as it's not an invasive procedure so you may find he copes better anyway if that has to happen.

[Draughts]

Thanks for the replies . I'm not really terribly hopeful for him to keep so still (he has some learning difficulties & suspect may panic), so am pleased to hear its only a small GA. After talking to him he's told me he would prefer to be put to sleep as he 'knows what that's all about!'.

Now to ease the worry of what they may find......

[Jakadaal]

Dd had a head MRI without GA. 1st attempt failed as she was told to hold a buzzer 'if she needed to escape'! Dd has SEN and completely panicked. I spoke to her paediatrician and on 2nd attempt had a play therapist there with us and we both held her legs so she felt grounded and knew we were there and I was very clear about the language they used etc. She was an absolute star and it was over and done with quickly.
You know your child best and X-ray depts are general depts with no access to medical records etc so I would just say be very clear re your child's needs. Hope all goes well

[Stinkyfeet]

GA is the way to go if that's what he's happy with. I've learnt that the path of least resistance is always the way to go with ds's treatment. Why make things more stressful than they need to be!

Ds loves his GAs - he loves how his face goes fuzzy as it kicks in! The anaethetists let him press the buttons to start it off. He has a brain and spine scan, which takes about an hour from start of GA to being back on the ward. So if your ds is just having brain (? I'm assuming there), then you may only be looking at 30-45 mins.

Hope it goes well and you get some answers.

[bishbashboosh]

My ds had one, age 9 and he is a very anxious child, no anesthetic. Fell free to ask any questions. He said it was noisy but he had radio 2 on headphones! In fact he thought it was quite cool!