MRI and sedation medication

If you have experience with either of these, can you share it with me? We just got word that Joseph needs to get an MRI on his head and that he will have to be sedated and stay over for the night.
I guess I just need to hear other positive experiences to make a nervous mom feel a l ittle bit better.

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I don't know about them but wanted to give you and

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same here so...

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Sorry Deb, praying that he is ok

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I can't remember who (I *think* MM2004 but maybe not) but someone had their son sedated and he did really well. Hopefully they will see this and respond.

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Jen- that put me at ease a bit, thank you for sharing the info you did.
I appreciate it.

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Hi Deb -- Cole had this twice. Both were much harder on me than him. Is it IV sedation or oral sedation? The IV was more difficult. They'll instruct you on how to hold him while they start it, then administer the meds slowly. The hardest part was seeing him lying very limp. It looked different from him sleeping - I wasnt prepared for that. The MRI took about 20 minutes and then i held him in a recliner until he started to come around. That was also a lot harder on me than him. I made sure DH was swith me so I could keep an eye on him in the carseat on ride home. I supported his head and he dozed. he was actually pretty alert by that evening, they told me not to expect him to sleep all day. All in all it really wasnt terrible.
The ethyl-chloride was a lot easier. i picked it up from the pharmacy, the dr. administered it orally and Cole sore of drifted off into sleep. He seemed to just be sleeping soundly and the effects wore off a lot quicker.
Feel free to FM if you have any questions. Good Luck!

Lea

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no experience but figured it couldn't hurt to offer and a bump so more people will see it and maybe answer.

Re: MRI and sedation medication

Kevin had a c-scan of his head several months ago and was sedated for it.

I'm not sure if the sedation procedure is different for an MRI than for a C-scan as MRI are usually longer.

I think it was more traumatic for me than it was for him.

They will start an IV and a doctor will be there to monitor the procedure. The medication that they give them burns as it goes in so the child may cry at this point.

When the medication started to take effect Kevin got very wobbly and his eyes started to close but not completely. We had to leave the room for the scan but it only took a few minutes.

After the scan Kevin started to wake up (I'm not sure if they gave him a stimulant to help) and they had us wait and give him a bottle before they let us go home.

I hope everything is ok!

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I have not had personal experience with my son but I work at Nassau University Medical Center and we have to sedate and treat children all the time in the ER and OR for dental cases or facial traumas (I am a dentist, not MD)and the kids respond really well and bounce back quickly from this. To be honest sedation is such a humane way to work on kids in my opinion they are less traumatized by the procedures it is just difficult on the parents. Good Luck!

Message edited 1/30/2007 8:39:02 PM.

Re: MRI and sedation medication

my nephew has been put under for various procedures over the past few years and I have to say I agree with a PP that IV meds take much longer to wear off and there's a sense of needing to coax him out of it more. I hope Joseph has a smooth experience and many hugs to you....
hope all goes well.

Re: MRI and sedation medication

deb, we sedate kids all the time for mri in the nicu. FM me if you want to know more...

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BTDT MOMS- thank you for responding. It helps knowing what to expect. I honestly dont know if it will be oral or IV, the doc and I still need to talk in greater detail.

For those that offered hugs and support, thank you so much for being so sweet.

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My nephew had to be sedated for an MRI. My sister gave it to him at home so that by the time they got there he was sleeping. He came around by later in the day and he was fine.

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I don't have any personal experience with it, but wanted to offer some hugs

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Deb I don't have any experience, but wanted to give you lots of and that everything is ok. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers

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My DD had to be sedated with IV for a endoscopy procedure. The hardest part was her crying from the IV and watching her go to sleep as her eyes rolled back in her head which is normal yet scary. The procedure was about 20 minutes and in recovery she was cranky when she woke up but within an hour was her normal self and didnt remember a thing.

It is much harder for the parents then the baby!!

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Deb - from what I remember it's really light just so they don't squirm for the scan. It'll be ok - it's usually harder on the parents than baby...

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Re: MRI and sedation medication

Deb, Katie had an MRI 2 months ago and they use a very very mild sedative. Babies only need a little bit and its such light sedation that they can stop it in an instant if they have to and the babies come out of it fairly quickly. They also put a little heart monitor on their toes and monitor their vitals the entire time.

They let us go in the room with her and I held her while they sedated her. For me, that was the worst part bc within seconds of putting in the IV, she went limp and it was horrible having my precious baby go limp in my arms. I cried my eyes out.

They gave us earplugs and let us stay in the room with her the entire time. Once they were done, they stopped the I and she was moving around within 5 mins. It probably took a good 20 mins before she opened her eyes and looked at me and even then she was all groggy. Took about 30 mins for her to really come out of it and they let me give her her bottle which she took no problem bc she was so hungry from not being fed all morning.

We were able to take her home that night and they said she shouldnt have any side effects, she didn't except that she slept a lot and was a little groggy the next day.

All in all, it was OK, just be prepared to have baby Joey go limp when he's sedated but know that it is a VERY controlled environment and he is in good hands.

I hope he is OK!

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Many to you!

I hope he is ok!

Re: MRI and sedation medication