Wednesday, April 8, 2009

I just don't know what to do...

about Steffie. She needs the test but I'll be damned if she'll be having any procedure such as the VCUG without being sedated. I'm pretty upset right now.

Especially because I googled the procedure and up comes a result of a study done to determine whether children react adversely to the test without sedation. Guess what? They do.

There is a pediatric oncology dept at Children's Hospital at DC. Our own pediatricians are part of the Children's network. The hitch is the woman in the radiology dept at Shady Grove Hospital. They won't do it - despite Stef's own doctor and our insurance agreeing to it.

We NEED to find out what is going on because if this blossums into a kidney infection, and I think it has a few times, that's scaring on the kidney. At her tender age, more recurrences could result in damage. The other thing is the constant use of antibiotics - she's been on the things since November.

I'm ready to take the alternative medicine route. Ramp up the vitamin C, pump even more water through her (she's above 80 ounces a day) and who knows what else. Maybe I'll have her chew on tree branches or something.

2 comments:

Sue in Italia/In the Land Of Cancer said...

Cranberry juice acidifies the urine more than Vit C. It's true Vit C is an acid and good for you but it is metabolized and doesn't end up in the urine. But Stef needs help. Pediatric urologist? There were only 2 in MI and we saw them both. Hopefully there are more in Maryland and the DC area. Aside from the infection potential, the pressure of the urine in reflux can possibly damage the kidney as it happened with Shanna's little ring bearer. Not to scare you but it can be serious.

S. F. Heron said...

I'm worried for that very reason. Why would reflux be showing up at this age, though? She's almost 12 and had no hint of problems as a child. She does drink cranberry juice but I'm thinking more concentrated cranberry might work better. Her Dad is calling his own urologist today to find out what he recommends, including finding a doc. There is a pediatric urology dept at Children's in DC and they also deal with recurrences (even if there are no ureter issues involved). We do have options. It sure isn't slowing her down though. Mount Vesuvius erupted last night with a sleepover :)

The word verification was "ramis" today. Funny, cause of your Ramy :)