Sedation for 7 year old undergoing MRI? Need Advice

outnumbered

My son visited an ophthalmologist after a routine visit to the optometrist showed possible swelling in both optic nerves.  The ophthalmologist called today and said that he needs to get an MRI because there are indications of increased pressure on his brain.  We are in the beginning stages of scheduling the MRI and need to consider whether he should be sedated.  He is very calm and can be still for periods of time, but I am worried that this is critical and if he moves the MRI would have to be repeated.  I have no experience with MRIs.  I am going to talk the pedi as well, but some real world experience is helpful to hear.   Thanks.

Zeidy01

Hmm, I had an MRI done and I had to be super still.
My five year old had one done but he was under full sedation. I know my kids would freak of they weren't sedated.
Best of luck!

ToastieSimons

Ask the opthamologist's opinion and what they would typically do.  They may not need to give him  a full sedative and instead just give him some Versed (happy juice).  I would think an MRI may be quite scary to a 7 year old, there is lots of banging and it gets quite loud. 

Assembly_Reqd

what she said ^^^^

meldoo2002

I think at our hospital where my boys had MRIs, they use sedation under age 8.  I can't imagine my kids at 7 laying still long enough for it to be effective to get a good read.  I also think the machines can be noisy/scary and it's really hard to lay that still.  

ppants

DS had an MRI at 5 yrs old due to two incidents of intense headaches with vomiting. I work in radiology so I was able to be in the scan room with him during the scan. He did perfect without any sedation. He wore headphones, but listened to the sounds of the machine. Techs did a good job of letting him know when the next set of pictures was starting. He was able to take a stuffed animal in with him also.

outnumbered

Thank you all for the advice. I think we will talk to the doctor about his options and get him sedated.

realisticdreams

For a child who hasn't had previous medical stuff done I would say they typically wouldn't lay still at 7.  You could always ask the hospital to try and if not do the sedation, some would be OK with trying and some wouldn't. 
My daughter has had like 16 MRI's now and she is 4, I still don't think she could lay still long enough for a brain, and the things they put on their head/face may freak him out.
Good luck, let us know how it goes.