To think a 3yo should be sedated for MRI

[Shiny88]

So today my DD who is three, doctor has referred her for an MRI to check her brain for a tumour as she's been vomiting in the morning and some other stuff aswell.
Anyway I asked him if she would be sedated for the procedure and he said no.

Now I know the risks of sedation etc but surely they would have to sedated her to keep her still in order to get a clear scan?

Has anyone else been in this position? We're your children sedated and how long did the MRI take?

Thanks in advance

I have no experience of kids having scans, but I have had them myself - best to warn your child they are very loud. She would likely have ear defenders, but it is still majorly loud. Best wishes

My daughter had one when she was 5. She was not sedated. They first took her to a room with a fake mri machine to explain the procedure, and everything went smoothly. I took less than 30 minutes altogether.

The hospital will be doing this every day so if they don't plan to sedate her it suggests they usually don't need it.

@FluffyBlueJumper

My daughter had one when she was 5. She was not sedated. They first took her to a room with a fake mri machine to explain the procedure, and everything went smoothly. I took less than 30 minutes altogether.

There is a lot of difference between a 3 and 5 year old 🙄

My DS had one after he hit his head, he wasn't sedated and managed to lay relatively still. He did wear ear defenders though as the machines are super loud.

My DD had one aged 4 and it was done under GA in the end. They did try doing it without at first but she refused to co operate!

Definitely can be done without sedation.

My daughter had one when she was 4 (20 years ago). She was sedated, however she has complex learning needs, I don't know if that's why she was sedated or maybe they've just changed the policy. I can remember her coming round from the sedation and it was horrible. She had a massive screaming fit up and down that ward, again I'm not sure if that was a common reaction in children or if it was just her. If it was common that might be why they've refused.

What kind of scan do they have? Is it a to sit or to lay down? I did scan for my back laying down so my head wasn’t in. I’ve found it quite unpleasant and I’m grown up woman with average tolerance of medical procedures.
I would double check with MRI department what options are there.

My 3yo has a brain tumour.
My understanding/experience (we are quite new to this still) is they should sedate for a ct scan and MRI are under GA at this age.

Mine has had I think 4 x CT and 2 x MRI so far, and that's been the case. Her next scan is MRI and its going to be under GA.

A MRI is noisy and takes ages. Young kids cant keep their heads still and calm for that length of time.

I hope its a false alarm.

If it does turn out to be a tumour, feel free to PM me if it would help.

DD was five when she had one. We were told at the time that it wasn't possible to sedate.

It was very loud. I was able to be beside her, and hold her ankle for comfort.

I think the hospital will have lots of experience and know what is best.

My daughter had one at a similar age.
They had ear buds under noise cancelling ear defenders and a film to watch on the screen (via a mirror). Combined with the clear explanations it was actually really smooth and not stressful. Images were fine

I was also able to stay right next to her the whole time (I hated the noise more!)

I think also scanners vary hugely, I was told it was a fast one- it was honestly about 10min.

It might be best to try without sedation or GA initially.

Good luck.

DS had one last year aged 5. They tried to get me to agree to him not being sedated, but then said he had to lie still for 40 minutes. The kid has ADHD and is never still 🤣 in the end he did have to be sedated, he wasn’t distressed or anything just couldn’t lie still! I think it really does depend on your child, if you think she will need to be sedated you need to tell them.
Hope she’s ok.

DC2 also had one aged three which was the cut off in our area for not being sedated. We did have a session with a play therapist beforehand which helped but I have to say that it was still a very unpleasant experience.
What strikes me as mad is that those with disabilities do get to be sedated. Having an investigatory MRI as part of a diagnosis for disabilities didn't make DC2 eligible for sedation.

My 5 year old had one. It took about half an hour and she watched Octonaughts while it was being done.

She was offered play therapy for it, but the practitioner called in sick on the day.

We watched a few videos on the NHS site about them which had recordings of the noise so they can hear it beforehand.

@dadadeedadada

My daughter had one when she was 4 (20 years ago). She was sedated, however she has complex learning needs, I don't know if that's why she was sedated or maybe they've just changed the policy. I can remember her coming round from the sedation and it was horrible. She had a massive screaming fit up and down that ward, again I'm not sure if that was a common reaction in children or if it was just her. If it was common that might be why they've refused.

DS had to have a GA a few years ago, as it was the only way they could stitch up a cut. He woke up incredibly distressed and screamed the place down.

2 of my 3 children have had MRIs. My eldest had one last year, aged 4, which was done under GA - no complex needs, just the (very highly regarded children's hospital) policy to always scan under GA for kids under 6. My youngest had 2 MRIs - first one was done when she was 2 months old without sedation. They got me to feed her to sleep and then popped tiny weighted blankets and headphones on her but I also sat in the room next to the scanner so I could resettle her if needed. Her second MRI was done at 10 months under GA.

You have to lie completely still for an MRI and the machine is extremely noisy with scans usually taking 20-45 mins depending on what is being scanned. I'd be surprised if a 3 year old could manage that but perhaps the hospital want to try first and only use GA if needed. I'd definitely ask if you can be in the room. There's no risk to you, you just have to remove metal objects, watches, phones, etc. before going in

My friend's 3 year old had one without sedation, but it was discussed at length with her and she was given the option of either having a GA and then doing the MRI or trying it without sedation first with the warning that the GA might still be required. They had a pretend one that they used to get her used to the idea & to test whether she could manage it and I think piped music (maybe even stories?) into the machine to relax her. They definitely didn't just shove her in - there was a lot of time and effort involved but still cheaper / lower risk than the GA. Very sorry you're going through this x

So sorry that your DD needs MRI, my DS had MRI when he was 6 without sedation, his specialist said borderline, but they would try without, it was fine, but there’s a lot of difference with a 6 yr old than a 3year old. With head MRI they usually click in a cage type plastic frame over your face, this is the camera. I scary for an adult, nor about such a little one. I hope it goes well and the results are good news 🙏🤞wishing you all the best.

P.S. head MRI 10-15 mins max

I would check whether they might need to fast before just in case they have to have GA
Children react differently to GA & sedation than adults as pp have said
(ds had to have stiches on his scalp when he about that age - that was fun-NOT. Not the same but you get the drift of comparison of keeping dc still. DH nearly fainted whilst watching)

My son had sedated CT when he was 6 for suspected brain tumour, he had a head MRI without sedation when he was 8.

I am suprised at no sedation for such a young child. My daughter had to have cardiac CT at age of 15, they ended up having to give her a GA in the end as stress caused her HR to keep shooting up.