Biopsy Time And I Am Trying To Calm My Nerves!

[ryo]

my daughters biopsy is this friday and i am trying to remain calm.  i know it is a simple procedure and many people deal with so much more but i keep getting myself worked up.  it is really the anesthesia prat that has me thinking... can anyone tell me about the waking up process?  i am hearing that kids wake up really upset and often angry.  did you experience this with your child?  would also love any stories about how long the anesthesia took to leave your child's system.

 

the good news is my daughter (who is 5) is super excited for the biopsy!  i have never been good with medical stuff and i am finding with my kids i am even a bit worse

[notme]

relax, mama  it's not their first time - it's just *your* first time.  my grandson had surgery at 10 months (yes, he woke up upset but he was a baby baby) and my daughter had surgery when she broke her arm in 3 places.  she was 7 and she was fine.  a little dopey, but ok.   hope everything goes well!

[kareng]

My 20 yr old had surgery at 10 months and woke up really happy! They gave him Sprite in a bottle. He had never had Sprite!

The anesthesia they use these days is pretty light and shouldn't be too bad. She may just want to go back to sleep for a couple of hours and that's OK. Or she may be starving so you might bring a light snack and juice or Gatorade.

I think it sounds like your daughter is happy about this. Make sure they explain everything to her before and then as they do it. They probably will. You need to not act scared or nervous or you will make her scared or nervous.

One of my sons found that anesthesia makes him sick to his stomach. They gave him something in his IV that helped with that but he was under longer than you daughter will be.

[mommy2krj]

Well...I guess it would all depend on the child.

My 6 year old Celiac child is my trooper. He likes the doctor and is extremely curious about anything and everything that is going on. He has to know or that is when he starts to freak out. We get some funny, amazed looks from so many nurses. I do make it a point to explain to the nurses that telling him to look away makes it so he gets worked up...that they have to explain things to him.

My 15 year old son...he's kind of in the middle. He still hates needles but generally understands that we're not just poking him for fun.

 

My 18 soon to be 19 year old daughter? Now...she would have been one of those horror stories you hear about. Anything that had to do with a doctor was like we were torturing her no matter what it was. Any time she ever had to have anesthesia for anything she woke up hyperventilating and angry. She still hates needles and I have had to hold her hand and make sure she doesn't pass out the last couple times she's had to have a shot or a blood draw. She's the one that I worry about when she tells or asks me to make a doctor's appointment as she only goes if she feels or thinks she's dying.

Deep breaths! It sounds like your little one is more like my little guy! It was barely 30 minutes from the time they took him back until we were sent back to see him waking up. All he wanted was the popsicle he'd been promised and to know when we were going home. He did fall back to sleep a couple times but was otherwise fine.

[greenbeanie]

My daughter had just turned 4 when she had her biopsy, and the children's hospital unit where they did the procedure was absolutely wonderful. From the moment we arrived the nurses made sure she had fun. They gave her toys to play with while waiting, pretended to take her stuffed animal's blood pressure before they did hers, and showed her photos of what would happen on an iPad. Seriously, she had a blast!

I'd also been nervous about the anesthesia, but we had no problems. They let me come into the procedure room and hold her hand while she went to sleep with the gas mask, then I left and they put in the IV. They also drew blood for other labs while she was asleep, which saved us from what would have been an awful trip to the lab. She did take longer to wake up from the anesthesia than I expected - she was sound asleep for another 40 minutes once they were done. They brought me into the recovery area before she woke, so I was the first thing she saw. The nurse had prepared me to expect a lot of coughing and perhaps some vomiting when she came to, but she only coughed a tiny bit and had no further problems. She went from being sound asleep to being fully awake and talkative in about 30 seconds. Then they had me push her to the door in a wheelchair, which she also thought was exciting.

The only thing I wish they'd warned us about beforehand was that the procedure room itself was very noisy. The prep area had been quiet, so we weren't expecting that. There were at least seven doctors and nurses already in the room when they wheeled her in, and there was a lot of clanging and talking. My daughter is very sensitive to noise, so she was alarmed. However, they picked up on her anxiety quickly and calmed her down.

Good luck! I hope it goes as well for you as it did for us.

[ryo]

thank you all so very much!  it helps to hear about how things went for you and your kids.  i feel more prepared for friday now.  i am so ready to stop feeding her gluten and start helping her feel better!

[mommy2krj]

thank you all so very much!  it helps to hear about how things went for you and your kids.  i feel more prepared for friday now.  i am so ready to stop feeding her gluten and start helping her feel better!

That is how I was with my little guy. Yes, I was worried about the biopsy but the fact that I wasn't sure if I was feeding my kid what essentially to his body was poison....that was making me crazy!

He's doing better now that we're gluten free. We've had some bumps...like when the neighbor kids insist on bring their junk food outside and feeding the neighborhood. The neighbor kid fed my kid crackers. CRACKERS! Ah! They're just young kids but I have to keep stressing to my son that he is not to eat anything that anyone offers unless he checks with me first! He's been glutened at least twice now. Once with the crackers and then once while we were up north camping when he ate a full piece of bread without even thinking about it. He paid the next day. He gets very weepy as his first reaction....then his stomach hurts. Guess we'll be keeping the Miralax around until he really gets this in his head.

[GwenO]

My daughter was eleven when she had the biopsy.  It went very well, she woke up a little disoriented , but was fine as soon as she was told where she was.  They did split her lip a little with their equipment, but it wasn't too bad.  Two hours later she was eating ice cream and was her usual self!

[ryo]

i just wanted to thank you once again.  we had the biopsy today and your advise was close to my heart the whole time.  she HATED the mask (mostly the smell of the gas) and i had to hold her hands as they forced her to sleep.  that killed me.  but she slept for a bit and woke up a little upset by ok.  by the time we got home she was mostly herself again!  

 

now we wait and hope for results that give us some answers.

 

thanks again for sharing your stories with me!

[mommy2krj]

I was just coming here to see how things went. Glad to see they went....ok. Those masks do smell funny! Glad she was back to herself again rather quickly.

[tshep]

I'm glad I found this post! My daughter goes in this wed and I am so worried! She is only three, and has a HUGE fear of doctors.  I am sure that the gas mask to put her to sleep with be, by far, the worst part for her.  My plan is to have a present and some snacks and juice ready for when she wakes up.  I am hoping that the distraction of a surprise present to unwrap will keep her happy. She will be going in for both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy so hoping for good results, considering...

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

Silly question, but why do they have to put them fully under?  I had an endoscopy a few months ago and they use prophyphol and I was awake and back to myself very quickly.  We opted not to do the biopsies with our kids (and our pediatric gastro and pediatrician both agree with us), based on family history, symptoms and bloodwork.  We will likely do it when they are older to check for any damage, but at this point, I don't intend to.  Is it an age thing for the general?  If so, I guess i will make sure to wait until they are old enough for twilight sleep - so much easier!

[mommy2krj]

Silly question, but why do they have to put them fully under?  I had an endoscopy a few months ago and they use prophyphol and I was awake and back to myself very quickly.  We opted not to do the biopsies with our kids (and our pediatric gastro and pediatrician both agree with us), based on family history, symptoms and bloodwork.  We will likely do it when they are older to check for any damage, but at this point, I don't intend to.  Is it an age thing for the general?  If so, I guess i will make sure to wait until they are old enough for twilight sleep - so much easier!

I would assume it is definitely an age thing. They are sticking a tube down their throats and little kids have a big tendency to over react and flail about. My son was asleep for a total of 15 minutes I think. I know it was barely 20 minutes start to finish.

[Fourmonkeysjumping]

With the twilight sleep, though, you're not awake awake.  I was totally sedated and remember nothing, but had none of the side effects and misery of general.  I woke up feeling refreshed like I had taken a nap.  When I woke up from general, I spent the next hour vomiting and then slept it off for hours.  I can't see why they wouldn't do that for kids.  Seems far more pleasant!

[mommy2krj]

With the twilight sleep, though, you're not awake awake.  I was totally sedated and remember nothing, but had none of the side effects and misery of general.  I woke up feeling refreshed like I had taken a nap.  When I woke up from general, I spent the next hour vomiting and then slept it off for hours.  I can't see why they wouldn't do that for kids.  Seems far more pleasant!

 

That does sound quite unpleasant. All 3 of my kids have been under general, more than once, and we've never had that problem. Hmmm....I wouldn't want to go under if that's what I knew I was waking up to either!

 

I don't think my little guy was fully under for his scope though....it literally took less than 20 minutes from the time he went back to them getting mad because we went to get something to eat and weren't there when he woke up. I've never felt so bad!