MRI for infant/Spina Bifida Occulta

chiboo9 · September 2013

Hello! I'm hoping this is the right place to post this question. My 10 week old LO has a MRI tomorrow morning as her pedi is concerned with spina bifida occulta. Since she needs anesthesia, I was advised not to feed her 6 hours before the MRI, which I'm already anticipating to be very hard to do. Anyway, was curious if any mamas out there have experience with their LO going through a sedated MRI at this age and how their LO was afterwards? I just want to prepare myself if she'll be fussy, sleepy, normal, etc. Anything special I need to do, other than give her extra cuddles and kisses?

Also, anyone have experience with spina bifida occulta? I'm just now starting to research this and would like to hear personal experiences so I can better prep myself with the news.

TIA!

ToastieSimons · September 2013

here is the link to the FAQ's. This is the one for MRI's and other sedated procedures. There are lots of mom's who give their experiences in this thread.

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/66028094.aspx

TBH, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It all depends on how they sedate your child. Is it going to be an oral sedation or an IV sedation?

ETA: Who advised you on 6 hours to wait after feeding? We were told 6 hours for formula, 3 hours for clear liquid and breastmilk.

chiboo9 · September 2013

@toastiesimons Thanks for the link! Very helpful. Guess I should've lurked before posting!

Not really sure if it'll be oral or IV sedation. The person I've talked to at the hospital is someone from the scheduling department. She also told me, per the anesthesiologist, that we can't feed her 6 hours prior to the procedure. LO is EFF.

ToastieSimons · September 2013

chiboo9 said:

@toastiesimons Thanks for the link! Very helpful. Guess I should've lurked before posting! Not really sure if it'll be oral or IV sedation. The person I've talked to at the hospital is someone from the scheduling department. She also told me, per the anesthesiologist, that we can't feed her 6 hours prior to the procedure. LO is EFF.

Wow, that seems a little extreme. Maybe call the hospital again to double check? Don't worry about lurking first, it's quite alright.

If they insist on 6 hours, just remember it will be alright. If it's been a while since his last feed, I would try to dream feed or wake for a full feed at the last possible time. He'll be okay thought. At 10 weeks he should be able to go 6 hours without eating without too hard of a time. And if you get IV sedation, as soon as he's fully awake you can nurse him and comfort him.

The best part of it, he'll never remember it. It's going to be much harder on you than him. Good luck tomorrow!

realisticdreams · September 2013

My daughter has a lipomengiomyecele which is a form of spina bifida as well. She has a sacral dimple very low (we didn't even know it was there..have to open the top of her butt cheeks) and we were also misdiagnosed by a neurosurgeon when she was around a year old. After deteriorating bladder issues we reached out for a 2nd opinion and she had spinal surgery in July of 2011 for a tethered cord, but her lipoma was too involved with nerves.

Good luck!

chiboo9 · September 2013

ToastieSimons said:

chiboo9 said:

@toastiesimons Thanks for the link! Very helpful. Guess I should've lurked before posting!

Not really sure if it'll be oral or IV sedation. The person I've talked to at the hospital is someone from the scheduling department. She also told me, per the anesthesiologist, that we can't feed her 6 hours prior to the procedure. LO is EFF.

Wow, that seems a little extreme. Maybe call the hospital again to double check? Don't worry about lurking first, it's quite alright.

If they insist on 6 hours, just remember it will be alright. If it's been a while since his last feed, I would try to dream feed or wake for a full feed at the last possible time. He'll be okay thought. At 10 weeks he should be able to go 6 hours without eating without too hard of a time. And if you get IV sedation, as soon as he's fully awake you can nurse him and comfort him.

The best part of it, he'll never remember it. It's going to be much harder on you than him. Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks for the kinds words! Yes, our plan is to wake her a little past midnight to squeeze in a last feeding at the very latest time possible. She's gone 10 hours before of not eating during the night, but she's still quite unpredictable as far as STTN goes. Thanks again!

chiboo9 · September 2013

realisticdreams said:
My daughter has a lipomengiomyecele which is a form of spina bifida as well. She has a sacral dimple very low (we didn't even know it was there..have to open the top of her butt cheeks) and we were also misdiagnosed by a neurosurgeon when she was around a year old. After deteriorating bladder issues we reached out for a 2nd opinion and she had spinal surgery in July of 2011 for a tethered cord, but her lipoma was too involved with nerves.

Good luck!

Oh wow, sorry to hear that. How old was your daughter when she was first diagnosed and when she had the surgery? How was her recovery?

realisticdreams · September 2013

chiboo9 said:

My daughter has a lipomengiomyecele which is a form of spina bifida as well. She has a sacral dimple very low (we didn't even know it was there..have to open the top of her butt cheeks) and we were also misdiagnosed by a neurosurgeon when she was around a year old. After deteriorating bladder issues we reached out for a 2nd opinion and she had spinal surgery in July of 2011 for a tethered cord, but her lipoma was too involved with nerves.

Good luck!
Oh wow, sorry to hear that. How old was your daughter when she was first diagnosed and when she had the surgery? How was her recovery?

we were misdiagnosed and so she was 20 months when we found everything out & had her surgery. The surgery and recovery were not too bad. 3 days in the ICU, and when she came home you never would have known she had a laminectomy & spinal surgery. However her bowel and bladder were severely affected and we have gone through other things to try and get those back to normal, she had to use a catheter to urinate sometimes as well.

Want a personalized experience?

MRI for infant/Spina Bifida Occulta

Re: MRI for infant/Spina Bifida Occulta

Choose Another Board

Search Boards