Living with Pediatric Urology Issues

My daughter was diagnosed with Vesicoureteral reflux when she was almost 2. She was hospitalized at 2 months, 5 months, and 8 months old and was misdiagnosed with high temp flu’s and viruses like ear infections. She potty trained quick and easy before she was 2. She went all the time! But, no success at night. After potty training, she still got sick a lot. Little fevers here, lots of things the dr. called viral. Since my first child was in pre-school, we thought she must be bringing viruses home all the time.

Then, when she was almost 2, she got the super high fever again. She cried when she went potty. I could hardly control the fever! She was lethargic so off to the hospital we went. This dr. said nothing was noticeably wrong…so something must be wrong. She ordered the urine tests and bloodwork and found the UTI…then the culture showed it was very bad.

So, they did a VCUG. Oh, I had NO idea what I was in for! Of course, I could not go in when the test was done, but I watched through a glass window in the door. They strapped her down and she was so mad! They actually had to call in a third nurse because she got out of the straps. As I cried, I heard them trying to coax her to just go potty on the pad on the table and the test would be done. OMG. She was so mad and crying so hard she got physically sick.

She scored 4/5 so it was not good news. But, they said maybe she would outgrow it. She would be on low dose antibiotics and get the VCUG and other tests every year. So, I tried to make her do it. I had her last VCUG when she was 4 1/2. I stopped her antibiotics, and went natural routes. She was doing pretty good until this past week. (She will be 8 in a couple months.) Well, she just had a very bad infection. My dr. thought it was the flu last Friday, Tuesday he put her on antibiotics for a UTI Friday she is on a different antibiotic. Apparently her body has grown immune to this antibiotic after she was on it a few years. So, bloodwork shows that now she is dehydrated. Of course, there are concerns about the kidneys again, so we go to the pediatric urologist on Wednesday.

My daughter still fears the VCUG. She has finally stopped asking if she has to have the mean test. They told me they cannot do it with her sedated, yet I read so many of you have children who have had the laughing gas to help them. I just don’t know.