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Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2005: Kidney Ultrasound
Has anyone had a child that has gone through this? I took Katelyn to her doctor today to check and see if the UTI was gone from 2 weeks ago (which it was) and the doctor looked on her charts and said since this is her second UTI in a matter of 6 months then she needs to have an Ultrasound of her kidneys and dye run through, so she has an appointment to go to the hospital on March 1st at 8 am. I wonder if this is going to be hard on her..she has never had any type of surgery or anything really wrong with her, (except she did have pneumonia). I am just worried about this. Any advice on this, I do not know what to expect. I am not aloud to give her anything to drink or eat after midnight the night before. Thats all I really know.
I don't know anything about this, but will keep her in my thoughts.
My kids haven't had this done, but I have. The US is very much like an US given during pregnancy. A certain amount of water is to be consumed before the test because the bladder needs to be full. They put jelly on your belly and slide the probe around. Not painful or scary at all. It has been several years since I did the dye thing, and I don't remember the specifics. Sorry. Call the hospital and ask what's involved and if they have any suggestions on how to prepare your DD.
Is this the 3 hour renal ultrasound?? Did he mention a VCUG?
What is a VCUG? She did say that is would take from 8 to probably 9 or so and said something about a catheder or something, so I am thinking it might me painful for her.
Sounds like it might be a VCUG since she will have a catheter. My youngest DD had a UTI when she was 9 months and due to her age they referred her right away for a VCUG and an ultrasound of her kidneys. She ended up being diagnosed with urinary reflux-which is what they are probably concerned about with your DD. If you have questions you can email me at fragglemama22@yahoo.com or you can just post them on this board.
Yes, that sounds like a VCUG. My DD had one at age six. Fraggle probably has more experience as her DD ended up having reflux so her DD needs yearly VCUGs. My DD didn't have reflux so she only had one VCUG. I'd be happy to answer any questions though!
I don't know anything about this, but are they going to put her under for this, or will she be awake??
You're awake for it. I've had it done, as have 2 of my kids. They weren't happy about having the catheter inserted, but I think it was more that I was holding them down to do it. It doesn't take long, and you stay right there with her. My nephew just had one at one month, because he was born with only one fully functioning kidney, and one with a small amount of function. He was fine, too.
YES ..that is exactly what they are checking...for reflux. They are afraid she has that, I guess we will see in about a week, I had no idea it was this close, when they said March I was like okay we have a little while to prepare her but then I looked at my calendar.
I just thought of something when I was trying to remember everything about my DD's previous VCUG's-they always asked and double checked before the procedure to make sure I was not pregnant-I know you are expecting-did the doctor say anything to you about whether or not you would be able to stay with her when she had the x-ray done? I stayed with my DD the whole time and actually had to hold her upper body down during the exam-I was given a lead vest to wear during it. Another thing I was thinking about is did they order the procedure to be done with sedation? My DD had it done twice w/o sedation and it was a nightmare for both of us. The third time she had it done with sedation and it was so much easier. She still cried when they inserted the catheter, but she barely remembered the whole procedure after it was all done. The sedative has an amnesiac affect. At my hospital a nurse called before the procedure to confirm info and fill me on how the procedure would go. She was very helpful before my DD had the first VCUG.
She didn't say anything about me being pregnant, DH is going with us so maybe I could stand in the room but away from harm and her daddy could hold her. They are not going to put her to sleep...at least I don't think they are, they didn't say anything about it.
It means she's having a VCUG. This is the basic process. She'll need to take all her clothes off and lie down on the table. They will insert a catheter and thru that will introduce a dye solution into her bladder. They will fill it up until she feels like she needs to go potty. At that point she will need to pee right on the table. All along they will have been taking x-rays of her with a huge machine over the table. The x-rays while she is peeing are very important...they are what show if fluid goes DOWN thru the ureters and out the urethra like its supposed to, or if the fluid goes UP the ureters toward the kidneys like it's NOT supposed to. The x-rays show the colored fluid traveling around. If fluid goes UP, she has reflux. The severity of reflux (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) is measured by how high up the fluid goes. A little ways is a stage 1 and all the way into the kidneys is stage 5. Stages 4 and 5 often require surgery to fix, and stages 1-3 usually are treated with maintenance antibiotics until the child outgrows the condition. The daily drugs keep the urine 'clean' so that when it goes upward it doesn't cause an infection. If she has reflux you will probably gain a new doctor (in addition to your pediatrician) who will be a pediatric urologist. This urologist will take charge of her reflux. She will also need yearly VCUGs until she outgrows it or it is fixed via surgery. A doctor will be watching the x-ray pictures as they are taken and will be able to tell you right then and there if she has reflux or not. Some places might not tell you, I suppose, but every place we checked with said they would tell us right then. After she is done peeing she can dry off and get dressed and go home (or to McDonald's or the dollar store or some other 'treat' place as a reward).
BTW, have you called this place and made absolutely certain that you can be in the room with your daughter? I had to call around and find a place that would let me stay with her. Most insisted the parents wait outside the room. A good point was made about your being pregnant. They may make you wait with the doctor who is watching the pictures and let your husband stay with your daughter. But make sure you check this ASAP so that there aren't any surprises, and so that you can reassure your daughter beforehand that mommy or daddy will be with her at all times. If they have a 'child life specialist' on staff, request one of those. Their sole responsibility is to advocate for your child and make her as comfortable as possible.
Me again. Your first post says she can't eat or drink after midnight...that leads me to believe that she WILL be sedated, possible with Versed. Double check this with the hospital as well!! Again, you don't want any surprises!! If she is sedated with Versed she'll need to come out of that for a bit afterwards and won't be able to leave immediately afterwards. Ask all those questions.
Thanks Kate, I never really thought about that "no eating after midnight"..That does sound like she is going to be sedated, which is kind of scary she has never been sedated, my youngest has (2 times) but never Katelyn. I wish they would just numb her and let her be awake though so she is not scared about leaving us. I pray everything will be fine. I will most definitely ask those questions I hadn't even thought of that...
and yes this is my 3 year old baby.
The Versed will not put her to "sleep". She will be awake the whole time-so don't worry. It will just make her kind of silly. When my DD had it she just got kind of limp (I had to carry her in for the x-ray) and she was very silly-laughing for no reason. After the VCUG was done we went into the recovery area and just sat there and had a snack and some juice until she was able to walk again. During the insertion of the catheter they will use something to numb her so she won't feel that part but it still bothered my DD.
I have another question, why did your dd have this done? Should I really have this done with her having 2 UTI's or should I get a second opinion. She has changed alot of things since 6 months ago, she takes showers now, drinks more water, no bubble baths. So I am wondering if I should wait, I guess I am a just curious, what makes doctors choose this ultrasound...
Oh and alot is weighing on tomorrow when I talk to the hospital to see if I can be with her through the procedure. if not, I am considering calling around, because of her age I do not want her left alone, especially for something like this.
Well, at her age it's unusual to get UTIs so they immediately fear reflux. Many doctors will recommend this test after only ONE infection. Yes, you could wait and yes you could seek another opinion, but the concern is her kidneys. Every infection has the potential to permanently damage them. Even if she's not getting actual infections, if she has reflux and the urine is traveling UPWARD toward the kidneys, that puts forceful pressure on the kidneys and that can damage them, too. It's because the kidneys are so important that they take this so seriously. Another reason this is important (and you're not going to like this) is that IF she has reflux, her siblings have a 30% chance of having it, too. If she has reflux and you find out, by having this test, you are saving her kidneys, and possibly your other girls' kidneys, too. Your other daughter, and the baby when she comes, will need a VCUG, too, if Katelyn has reflux. So being diagnosed will help Hailey and Lauren, too.
She had bubble baths since she was about 1 but it was the Johnson and Johnson head to toe body wash just made the bubbles I never bought actual bubble bath for her...
Ditto on what Kate said. Multiple UTI's can cause kidney damage and they are very unusual in young kids so they best thing is to get it done now.
I understand about 'concerned relatives'!! My family really made me second guess myself, too, and believe me, I didn't need much persuasion to want to cancel the test!! I even insisted on seeing the urologist before scheduling the VCUG and I had to really persist in that one because the urologists around here WON'T see kids until they've had the VCUG. But I was certain she didn't have reflux as she didn't have her first infection until she was five and a half and at that point they begin to outgrow reflux, so I figured even if she had it, she was on her way to outgrowing it anyway. BUT, that was just *my* opinion and I knew in this case that my opinion would not save her kidneys. And if she had it and had just spent six years damaging them, well...it was time to try and finally help her kidneys. Anyway, they were all freaked out because she wouldn't be having any anesthesia of any kind but places don't usually give that for six year olds and I truly didn't want that for such a short procedure. It's probably twenty minutes long, but the catheter insertion is the worst part and it's over in two seconds. Anyway, sounds like you know it's the right thing to do and your mom is just worried about her granddaughter and doesn't have all the facts. Tell her if you don't protect those kidneys she could eventually end up on dialysis and awaiting a kidney transplant! And again, if she does have reflux it's VERY easy to treat and her kidneys will be just fine. It's a huge big deal in that you need to do this test and find out, but once you find out the treatment is really easy and it's not so major anymore because you are treating it and protecting those kidneys. Let us know how your phone calls go!
she has had fevers and no other symptoms I think that may be why we took her in to her ped. in Sept. to find out that she had a UTI.. Hmmm that is strange, anyway, I feel better this morning about everything now that I have slept on it. We had some really bad storms last night and this morning we are about to get some pretty heavy ones and Katelyn is just sleeping away..
There shouldn't be any reason why they wouldn't let you stay with her. I've even been with dd during x-rays. They just covered me with that iron apron thing and made me promise I wasn't pregnant. But this is an ultrasound, right? That just shouldn't be a problem.
Each hospital has different policies regarding who can and who can't be in the room with a minor child. That's what it is so important to ask and then there are no surprises.
My DS had the regular ulstrasound, like when you are pregnant and the VCUG, the catheter was fine for him, embarassing more than painful, he was barely 7. Make sure you know if she is alergic to shellfish, the dye is sometimes a problem for selfish allergies. I was preganant at the time, but since they do a series of x-rays over time, I was able to come in w/ him in between and went behind the glass when they actually took the pix. His test was inconclusive so we had to take him in for a different procedure and I can't for the life of me remember the name of it, but they laid him on and MRI type bed and took pix of his bladder/kidneys every minute for an hour, he did so good
Candis, is the hospital going to let someone stay with Katelyn during the VCUG?
Oddly enough they haven't called! I am going to call them in the morning because obviously they have no intentions of calling me to inform me of anything...
They called back and 1 parent will be able to go back with her....so I assume it will be DH but she said to tell them at the hospital I am pregnant and they will tell me if I can go or not. Thank heaven. And they will not be putting her to sleep or anything. She said most children do real well with the catheter so I feel alot more relief now that I have talked to them. *deep breath*
I remembered one other thing, make sure the tech/radiologists has done a cath on a child, there are differnt sizes of cath's you want the smallest one even if it takes the dye longer to go through.
yeah I will tell DH...I think someone posted that earlier.
Candis, how did it go today?
Hope all is going well with Katelyn....do post when you get a chance.
THANK you so much for asking!! We just got back about 15 minutes ago.
Glad it went as well as it could. I never thought about the 'no one is supposed to touch you' angle...had you told her what would be happening? I'm so sorry you weren't able to be in there with her, that must have been hard. Daddies are great, but Mommies are extra special.
That is great news that she does not have reflux.
I told her what they would do, but I think she blocked it out and was so concerned with it not hurting that she didn't realize they were going to touch her.
Good news! I bet you're glad that's over with! BTW, we tell our kids no one should touch their privates except Mom, Dad or a doctor or nurse to help them keep clean and healthy.
I am glad that everything went well. You will definately have to let us know what the results say.
Yes Trina, we are going to have to rephrase that for future reference, I sure don't want to EVER put her through that again.
They just called today and confirmed that the test results did come back negative....woohoo!!
Glad to hear everything turned out in your favor!
I'm so glad Katelyn is okay. I have been reading this thread, and my heart went out to you. I could only imagine how worried you were about the ultrasound. I'm so glad everything turned out well!
I'm glad everything went well for her and that the test came out negative.
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