DD has MRI tonight

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Never had one myself. Anyone's DC had one? It's been suggested to me that it's quite noisy. Can they have headphones? I've been told I can stay with her. She is 10.

[NewLife4Me]

I'm sorry my love I have no experience here, but wish your dd well and will bump for you x

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Thank you. Think I'm more worried than her!

[VagueIdeas]

Noisy but not scary noisy. Just strange banging noises. Yes to headphones.

[MissBeaHaving]

I've had one not DC,if they are allowed to wear headphones she should be fine,it's a series of bumping & different pitched banging/clacking is how I'd describe it.

Hope all goes well for you & DD.

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Thank you vague. Good to know what to expect.

[MissBeaHaving]

Just read that back & thought I should add by bumping I meant bumping noise not actually of the machine!

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Thank you Missbea too. I'll ask for headphones if they aren't forthcoming.

[tkband3]

My DD had one a couple of years ago - I think she'd just turned 10 at the time. She was amazingly brave. As I recall, she wasn't allowed headphones, but we took a CD in with us which the MRI operators played for her during the scan. She was allowed one adult with her - DH went in with her, as I would have struggled not to panic on her behalf (I get very claustrophobic - I wouldn't have coped with it nearly as well as she did). She was just having her head scanned, so it only lasted about 20 minutes (although it felt like much longer to me). I think the hardest thing was staying completely still throughout the scan, but she did brilliantly.

Best wishes for your DD (and you!) .

[ScottishSnowflake]

I've had one - the hospital provided me with headphones and asked what choice of music I'd like! They also gave me a little alarm button I could press if I needed to contact them for any reason. Hope your DD is ok x

[MissBeaHaving]

Yes I would ask,the technicians are very good,they asked if I was nervous & told me what to expect.
You should have plenty of time to ask any questions before you both go in.

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Thank you. Good idea about the CD. We'll go and dig one out now. Totally with you about the claustrophobia.... Thankfully it's her lower limbs rather than head

[ZappDingbat]

I think at 10 she will be fine, if someone explains to her what to expect. Lie flat, and keep as still as possible. Someone will push the bed into the tube, and give you a button to press if you aren't OK with what is happening. Noisy and may sound a bit clunky but nothing to worry about. Can bring her own CD or have radio on. Someone watching from the other side of the radioactive screen thingy. And if the nurses/docs need to speak to her they will do so by stopping the music and asking her to do what they need, eg "keep really still for the next 10secs," or "just a couple minutes longer" type thing.

For me, when I had one, I felt reassured by knowing that if I wanted to I could stop it at any time by just pressing the button. Knowing they would be able to hear me was a large part of my being relaxed in it.

About half way through mine i realised I was not thinking about it at all, instead wondering the most random things, like how the cleaner managed to clean the inside of the tube. Does someone lay on their back on the bed, get pushed in by a colleague and then swish and swipe with a hospital grade wipe?

For my 10yr old DC, I would suggest bringing an audio book, esp if it's familair as that may give comfort.

I would also focus on being strong for dd and reassuring her that the staff do it all the time and know exactly what they are doing. And reminding her "wont it be great once its over then we will know..." If she is interested, you could go down the route of how amazing it is that drs can see what is happening inside our bodies with this amazing machine, how clever!

I hope the results are what you need them to be, and your DD recovers quickly.

[BranstonPickleandPeanutButter]

Had one last Tuesday... took my own CD and listened to through the headphones. Just lots of loud humming and clicking. I got twitchy holding still but it was fine.

[Dolly80]

I found a top online that I used when I had one. I took a dry flannel to put over my eyes, that way when I opened them I could only see flannel as opposed to MRI machine. I'm pretty sure I looked ridiculous but it made me less conscious of being inside the machine (although mine was a pregnancy MRI so I wasn't completely in)

Hopefully they'll have headphones and music she can listen too. If not, the noises are not too scary (I found them strangely rhythmic) She should also be given a buzzer to push if she needs to talk to the staff/have a break etc. Although, tbh I'd encourage her to get through it as quick as she can. My friends partner had one recently and was only in there for 15-20mins whereas I was in for 40-50mins (like pp said my mind wandered to odd topics so it passed pretty quickly)

Good luck

[Dolly80]

*a tip online not a top!

[TheJiminyConjecture]

DD had one at 3 months. They put some of those weird earplugs that fit the ear to stop the worst of the noise. I had regular ear defenders but was still very loud.

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Thank you all. She's interested in all things medical so will hopefully find it quite fascinating. She's watched one on Operation Ouch on CBBC so at least knows what it looks like.

Flannel also going into bag, thank you dolly.

[AdvocateNotAdvocat]

Just wanted to update. MRI went well. DD was brave as was I, staff were excellent at putting us at ease and she wore ear plugs and headphones playing music throughout. I was able to sit at her side. Thanks again for all your advice/descriptions.