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| A picture of our sweet girl! |
Can I first start out by saying what a day this has been! I am absolutely exhausted...and dinner still needs to be started, dishes need to be done, need to pump, phone calls returned, donor milk picked up and tomorrow's "stuff" organized....sigh.
Oh ya...but thats not why you are reading this...you want to know about Lexi!
We went to see our pediatrician Dr Robert this morning to recatheterize Lexi to first make sure the last infection was gone AND also to make a plan for what is to come next. When we arrived he informed me that we would try to do a urine catch first instead of the cath--which was fine by me! I wont go into the gory details but its suffice to say that the next 30 minutes were filled with urine, explosive poop covering mommy, baby and exam table, then MORE urine covering mommy and a specimen catch that was slightly contaminated!
After all that --they did find a trace of white cells in her urine and they will send it out to check it again--but likely its nothing we can do anything about at this time. What we can do, and what he highly recommended is to go ahead and schedule the next round of testing to determine WHY she has the urinary tract infection ( UTI) in the first place. This was the testing that we discussed a few weeks ago, but today we revisited it and I was much more educated on it and all the possibilities.
The testing includes a VCUG ( Voiding Cystourethrography) and Renal Sonogram.
Here is a brief description of both for those of you who are really into those things ( like myself who needs to know ALL the details!)
A children's voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) is an x-ray examination of a child's bladder and lower urinary tract that uses a special form of x-ray called fluoroscopy and a contrast material.
Fluoroscopy makes it possible to see internal organs in motion. When the bladder is filled with and then emptied of a water-soluble contrast material, the radiologist is able to view and assess the anatomy and function of the bladder and lower urinary tract.
A Renal Ultrasound is an examination of the kidneys and bladder with an ultrasound machine, which uses sound waves to form images of different organs within your child’s body. The sound waves cannot be heard by the human ear and cannot be felt by the child having the ultrasound study.
Renal Ultrasound studies are most commonly performed to investigate the causes of urinary tract infections (infections affecting the urine or the organs that form and discharge the urine).
What are we looking for? We are looking to see if there are any abnormalities in the kidneys or urinary tract. The diagnosing we are suspecting at this point is urinary reflux. ( VU reflux)
Medical definition of that is:
Reflux is a condition in which urine backs up from the bladder into the kidneys. Produced by the kidneys, the urine travels down small tubes (ureters) into the bladder where the urine is stored prior to voiding (urinating). At the junction between the ureters and the bladder, a valve mechanism normally keeps the urine from backing up or refluxing back into the ureter and kidney. When this valve is faulty, reflux can occur.
The reason why we suspect this is that number one, its the most common cause of UTI's in infants under the age of 2 with a UTI. The number two reason...well this is something that I have and have dealt with most of my life. And the stats show that she has over a 65% chance of having this because I do.
The concerns I had with the testing were first of all--its lots of x-rays on my her little body. And yes you can read that x-rays is harmless, they are exposed to more radiation just by being outside, blah, blah, blah...but bottom line is its still 45 minutes of her being exposed to x-rays...yuck. ( I birthed her home for crying out loud..I am not someone who wants her exposed to anything unnecessary!) The other thing is that we have not met our deductible for medical stuff this year ( we had to pay for midwife out of pocket) so its gonna be an expense we were just not prepared for, especially after all the money we have paid out to try to get Lexi to nurse and have breastmilk exclusively! And bottom line--if we could avoid testing, well lets avoid it.
BUT that does not seem to be the case. I have been doing extensive research and it seems that although UTI's are not uncommon in kids and even more common in girls, they are very rare in girls under age 2 unless there is a abnormality. The other issue is that when a UTI happens in a baby under the age of 1, she is at increased risk of renal ( kidney) scarring and this scarring can occur with even the very first infection. Renal scarring can lead to hypertension and renal disease. I asked my pediatrician what he felt the chances were that this infection was not caused by an abnormality-he said less than 20%. I asked what he thought the likelihood was that she had an abnormality-- taking all the information into account ( her first infection, my history, the way the first infection would not respond to the normal antibiotics, etc...) and he said 80%. Soo we all know I am not someone to take any medical providers word without doing my own research and seeking out other things...but in this case, my gut tells me he is probably correct.
OK---this post is gonna have to pause because Lexi has had a ROUGH day and has awoken from her nap once again. I will come back and post Part 2 of the testing information later...but at least this is a start! And if there are typos--forgive me--I did not proof read!
1 comment:
I'm so sorry. :( Hoping she's in the 20%.
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