Thursday, September 15, 2011

Off to the doctor we went.....

(Happy Gianna, pre-doctor! Lol!)

Some of you may not know but Gianna has kidney reflux. Which basically means that the tubes that carry her urine out of kidney's into her bladder are too big so urine actually goes down the tubes then flushes back up into the kidneys. When it does this is carries the bacteria in the bladder back up into the more sensitive kidneys and causes infections. Last year we went through several months where she was getting infection after infection and so bad that at one point she was hospitalized because she was so dehydrated and her fever was so high I couldn't get it down. After that we saw a urologist and in August of last year she had a procedure done to correct the condition. The go in and put a solution into the tubes and it hardens and makes the tubes smaller so that urine does reflux back up in the kidneys

Ever since that procedure she has been great and we haven't had any problems.
But her second issue, and she's been dealing with this since birth almost, is constipation. Mainly because she doesn't like to go, so she holds it until she's constipated and bloated. We have to "make" her go every couple of days simple because she gets sick if she doesn't go.

Over the past month she has occasionally complained about her hips and lower back hurting, but it's random and I kinda chalked it up to growing pains. But the other day they called me from school to tell me she had been crying and complaining of back pain. So I decided to take her in to the see the dr. and make sure it wasn't a kidney issue even though she hadn't had any of the side effects she usually has when she has an infection. I also though maybe it had to do with her lack of regular pottying.

So we headed in yesterday much to her dismay. She cried the whole time we were in the waiting room and cried while they weighed her, and she cried until the dr. came in. She was so nice, we hadn't met her yet and she was very sweet to Gianna and reassured her that there would be no shots (Gianna's biggest fear at the dr.'s!) and that she wouldn't hurt her then she settled down some.

I talked to the dr. about her history and what had been going on recently and she said that her urine sample looked fine so she didn't think it was her kidneys but that she was going to do an overnight culture just to make sure since she has a history of kidney infections.
But she concluded the back pain was probably from lack of regular pooping so she prescribed her daily Miralax or the generic - Polyethylene Glycol!

Sounds great doesn't it?! Dad said it's really close to the "scientific" name for anti freeze! Lovely. So she's taking that now and she already seems to be better with that issue, crossing our fingers it continues!

But the doctor called me back this morning and after the urine culture they realized she does have a kidney infection! So she's now on antibiotic for that.

Even though it's "low grade" I'm still concerned and will probably contact her urologist again after she finishes her round of antibiotics. I think he needs to follow up and check her kidneys out and make sure everything is still in tack.
I just don't want her to have to go through all that mess again......


6 comments:

  1. Oh no poor baby. My son is followed by a urologist and has had 2 surgerys, so I feel your pain. Im so sorry that your sweet little girl and you are going threw this, I will pray for you both. My son always crys the whole time too at the dr and it just breaks my heart. I just want to send you both a huge hug xoxo

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  2. Thanks! Yeah, it's rough, Jill. Last year was really bad with all the tests they had to run and then the actual procedure but I'm just hoping it's not back.

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  3. Sorry to hear about all of this! Boy can i relate to her on the constipation thing haha. my hypothyroidism causes constipation. Anyway, one thing to remember is that UTI's ect are VERY common with girls, especially little girls who dont wipe properly. So dont get TOO worked up about her pre-existing condition. Just stay positive :) hopeing for the best girl!

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  4. Since we started the Miralax Wednesday evening she's use the "potty" three days in a row!!! It's a miracle! Lol! And only a mom could be so happy about something like that. Hoping these meds clear up the infection. I am happy that it was obviously low grade enough to only produce very minor symptoms, so minor in fact that it might have gone on unnoticed till it got worse so I'm glad we caught it now.

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  5. Poor lil bug! :( Hopefully the medicine will clear everything up. Kidney infections ARE NOT fun!

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