Well, I held out as long as I could, but it's just easier to have all the info in one place ;) Not to mention the fact that all of the support and concern we have received is incredibly helpful, so I like to share. Thank you all for supporting us through this next (hopefully minor) adventure. I just copied and pasted the emails I sent to our family (below) if you are interested in the details. But here's the short version: Gracie has Urinary Reflux with a grade of 3-4. I will speak with her doctor on Monday who will, I am sure, refer us to a pediatric urologist. This condition is usually outgrown over time and can be managed with a daily, low dose of antibiotics. But in severe cases, surgery is required. I have no idea which will be recommended, but we obviously hope to avoid surgery. More soon!
Emails:
Hello family,Well, I am hoping not to have to add another tab to my blog, so I am starting with this email. Poor Gracie girl started on March 19th with a UTI and we still haven't kicked it. After two urgent cares, one ER trip, many pediatrician visits, and urinalysis and cultures, we are on antibiotic number 4. She started with the common E Coli induced UTI infection but has now gotten the Pseudomonas bacteria somehow. I do not recommend googling this bacteria because it will scare the crap out of you (it's too late for me). This one is tricky to treat, so they now have her on Cipro. We are beyond the "norm" and our doctor is setting us up for further testing which will check for Urinary Reflux. I found this web page with a good description of the condition and the way they test for it:
http://www.mmcsurgery.com/pedia_uro/conditions/reflux.html
In the meantime we have tried it all- Gracie is pretty much potty trained, cranberry juice, probiotics, tons of water, rest, showers instead of baths, gentle soaps without dye/perfume.... you get the idea.
So I have been on the phone with doctors today, getting information to and fro. As soon as they schedule us for this test we will let you all know. And hopefully in the mean time the Cipro will work.
I am happy to report that Gracie has been able to eat and keep food down today, has no fever and is not terribly uncomfortable, although she still doesn't feel great. So we are relaxing in the back yard, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and reading books. Not such a bad day, really ;)
More soon,
Lauren
Hey all,Thanks so much for the support and for sharing some personal experiences. Gracie is definitely feeling better on the Cipro but still not quite herself. We did get a VUCG scan scheduled for tomorrow morning (the 18th). They have to use a catheter :( but no anesthesia so it is not super invasive. Just unpleasant. So Gracie and I have been using her Doc McStuffins (Disney Jr character) kit to play doctor today and I have been using dolls to explain exactly what will happen tomorrow. Here is another description of the test: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/test_vcug.html
So it stinks to have her go through this but they get lots of info from this test so we can get to the bottom of this and get our girl feeling better once and for all!
We'll let you know how things go and what the results are when we get them.
Love to all of you,
Lauren
Hey family,Well, Gracie has urinary reflux. They rate the severity on a scale of 1-5 and we don't know the rating yet. Waiting for our pediatrician to call us. The test was a tough one :( so we're glad it's over. And we are glad we did it because the good news is that this is very treatable and we can protect her kidneys. We are home resting now. I wish I could say that Gracie is doing great, but she is worn out and pretty sore from the catheter. She said that the doctors need to "sit in time out for hurting her lady parts" :( Needless to say, we will be visiting a pediatric urologist very soon.
More soon,
L
Emails:
Hello family,Well, I am hoping not to have to add another tab to my blog, so I am starting with this email. Poor Gracie girl started on March 19th with a UTI and we still haven't kicked it. After two urgent cares, one ER trip, many pediatrician visits, and urinalysis and cultures, we are on antibiotic number 4. She started with the common E Coli induced UTI infection but has now gotten the Pseudomonas bacteria somehow. I do not recommend googling this bacteria because it will scare the crap out of you (it's too late for me). This one is tricky to treat, so they now have her on Cipro. We are beyond the "norm" and our doctor is setting us up for further testing which will check for Urinary Reflux. I found this web page with a good description of the condition and the way they test for it:
http://www.mmcsurgery.com/pedia_uro/conditions/reflux.html
In the meantime we have tried it all- Gracie is pretty much potty trained, cranberry juice, probiotics, tons of water, rest, showers instead of baths, gentle soaps without dye/perfume.... you get the idea.
So I have been on the phone with doctors today, getting information to and fro. As soon as they schedule us for this test we will let you all know. And hopefully in the mean time the Cipro will work.
I am happy to report that Gracie has been able to eat and keep food down today, has no fever and is not terribly uncomfortable, although she still doesn't feel great. So we are relaxing in the back yard, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and reading books. Not such a bad day, really ;)
More soon,
Lauren
Hey all,Thanks so much for the support and for sharing some personal experiences. Gracie is definitely feeling better on the Cipro but still not quite herself. We did get a VUCG scan scheduled for tomorrow morning (the 18th). They have to use a catheter :( but no anesthesia so it is not super invasive. Just unpleasant. So Gracie and I have been using her Doc McStuffins (Disney Jr character) kit to play doctor today and I have been using dolls to explain exactly what will happen tomorrow. Here is another description of the test: http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/test_vcug.html
So it stinks to have her go through this but they get lots of info from this test so we can get to the bottom of this and get our girl feeling better once and for all!
We'll let you know how things go and what the results are when we get them.
Love to all of you,
Lauren
Hey family,Well, Gracie has urinary reflux. They rate the severity on a scale of 1-5 and we don't know the rating yet. Waiting for our pediatrician to call us. The test was a tough one :( so we're glad it's over. And we are glad we did it because the good news is that this is very treatable and we can protect her kidneys. We are home resting now. I wish I could say that Gracie is doing great, but she is worn out and pretty sore from the catheter. She said that the doctors need to "sit in time out for hurting her lady parts" :( Needless to say, we will be visiting a pediatric urologist very soon.
More soon,
L