Justin's check up

I know you've all been waiting, so here it is. A review of our day at Children's yesterday...

I had a couple of ultrasounds at the end of my pregnancy with Justin and they revealed some abnormalities with his kidneys. By the time he was 2 months old, he had undergone a couple of tests and was diagnosed with Vesicoureteral Reflux. Yesterday, we went for some check up tests... http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/Kudiseases/pubs/vesicoureteralreflux/

Justin and I drove down to Children's and got there an hour before his first appointment. We got all checked in and hung out in the Radiology waiting room. He played and I worried. My only worry for the day (and for the many days leading up to yesterday) was how he was going to respond to one of his exams. He went for his Ultrasound and did fine. He wouldn't look at me at first, but after a couple of minutes he was talking about the cartoon that was on the TV. Then we went for the VCUG. He had one at 2 months old, but I knew that at that time, he would not be able to associate me with the discomfort of the test. This time I knew would be different.

When we got in to the x-ray room, I got him naked and put a little hospital gown on him (so cute by the way!). I sat him on the table and put him on his back. He was cooperative, but apprehensive. They moved the x-ray camera to situate it over his abdomen, but it was so big that it pretty much hovered over his neck down to his upper legs. It came down to about 6-8" above him. That's what freaked him out. It was moving on it's own, and coming straight down n him. It didn't touch him, but he was shaking with fear :-( I was holding on to his arms (which he never fought-even once) and had my face touching his face the whole time. I never lifted my head from his. I talked to him and offered to hold my hand over his eyes. He was so sweet and really seemed comforted by my very close proximity. He liked having Blankie over his face too. They put the catheter in and he didn't seem to really notice. He flinched, but didn't cry. Near the end of the test we had to wait for him to urinate (the catheter was out). I asked him to do it and he was able to go, many times. His bladder was quite full and I'm sure it was a relief to get that stuff out. They were doing the continuous x-ray the whole time. I think that I was hugging his head and almost smothering him for at least 20 min. My shoulders and back are sore, but it was worth it to be such a support for him. So, my fear of him associating me with the pain and fear of the test was turned in to gratitude that I could be his strength. I hope that in his subconscious he sees me as his comfort during a very scary time.

As for the test results, they were neutral to me. His left kidney was at a grade 3 last time, and now has no signs of reflux! Reflux is graded 1-5, with 5 being the most severe. That kidney is growing well and is probably doing most of the work. The right kidney is at a grade 4-5 and was a 5 last time. It has barely grown at all and the doctor thinks that it really doesn't do much work at all.

During the past 2 years Justin was supposed to be on daily antibiotics to prevent any urinary tract infections. He was on them for a while, but I ended up stopping them without talking to the doctor. I would never advise going against the doctor's instruction, by the way! When I told him that I had stopped, I was surprised at his response. He said that there is a "small minority" of doctors that are trying the no antibiotic approach! That made me feel a little less like a non-compliant parent. Justin has never had a urinary tract infection or any unexplained fevers and has been completely normal. He is heading in to a period where he will be potty training soon though. Typically, when kids potty train, they are at higher risk of infection because they tend to hold their urine too long. The doctor and I both agreed that starting Justin back on the antibiotics at this time would be a good idea. So, he's back on them and that's all we need to do for now.

As long as Justin doesn't have any problems, we'll go back in a year. If all is well, he'll probably just get another ultrasound to check on the growth of the kidneys. The doctor said that he would not need another VCUG unless he was having issues and we were prepared to act on the results. That means, if he was having UTIs or other issues, he would probably need surgery. For now, he takes his meds and we live our lives. Not bad!

He has complained a couple of times about pain when he is peeing, but otherwise Justin has not had any ill effects from yesterday. When I got home and finally sat down to relax, it hit me how stressed I had actually been. I was not interested in thinking about anything and barely made it through the evening. I was in bed by 8:30 or so and really didn't sleep well. It was just the stress from thinking about my poor baby going through a medical procedure. The stress of it wore me out! It's over now though and we can move on to the rest of life's stresses :-)

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!