My DD has a kidney problem..hydronephrosis?

[poohandwendy]

Hi all,

Anyone have any knowledge or experience with Hydronephrosis (fluid leaking back into the kidneys)?

About 3 weeks ago my daughter Jessica(16) started having trouble urinating, acute abdominal pain and then blood in her urine. I took her to the ER (4 am...couldn't get a dr office visit) and they took a urine sample. Said it was a urinary tract infection. Rx an antibiotic. 7 days later she was still in acute pain(which came and went), no blood in the urine though... Took her back to the ER (per their instructions) and they took another urine sample and bloodwork. Said her urine was clear and her bloodwork didn't show any problems. Gave her a few more antibiotic pills just to be on the safe side....At this point, I am getting a bit perturbed because they never cultured her urine, either time.

Finally got her in to see her PCP last week and FINALLY the dr ordered an ultrasound of her abdomen.

Went in to have the US and a few minutes into it, the tech asked me to leave the room so she could do a trans******l ultrasound to see the ovaries better. (not sure if that word will make it through censorship..just think female part)

I could see that there was something on her ovary, and I knew they wouldn't tell me, so I asked the tech to allow me back into the room after they finished that part. 30 minutes later, Jessica came out and said they were done and that the tech said she had a few cysts on her ovaries that weren't anything to worry about. That they were called functional cysts. Common...ok, no problem. They told me I would be getting a call from my PCP in 2 days. Jess later tells me that the reason it took so long is because they spent alot of time on her right kidney, uh oh...

Today I get the call, the nurse tells me that Jess has fluid leaking back into her right kidney and that she cannot tell me anynore info until I speak to the doctor, who will be calling me on monday morning to discuss what we will do next...

The only other thing I could get out of her is that they found no kidney stones. The reason I asked is beacuse stones can cause an obstruction. In my search for answers, I have found that leakage into the kidneys is called hydronephrosis and that it is a result of an obstruction of some kind.

Does anyone know anything about this type of thing, or anyone who has dealt with it?

There seems to be very little info out there for this sort of problem. I know that if left untreated it can cause kidney damage and possibly renal failure, but it seems that Jess is far form that scenario at this point....


Thanks for reading all the way through this!!!!

wendy

 

[Wendy]

I have a good friend whose daughter (3 years old) had surgery for this problem last month. Hers had been present since birth, and was caused by a valve that did not work properly. Apparently, the valve did not close and allowed the fluid to leak back into the kidney causing all sorts of problems. They knew all along that she would eventually have to have it surgically corrected. She had to stay on antibiotics almost continuously for 3 years until it was time for the surgery because of the urinary tract infections that it caused.

I honestly do not know what the reasoning was for waiting so long on the surgery. My guess is the parents were trying to hold out hope that it would correct itself and they could avoid the surgery, but my friend never came out and said that. The good news is, she is doing great now and the surgery was completely successful.

And that is the extent of my knowledge on the subject, but hopefully it helps a little. Hopefully whatever is causing Jessica's problems won't require surgery. This little girl had had this problem since birth, though.

 

[RNMOM]

I hope she is feeling better by now. It will be hard to wait for Monday.

Hydronephrosis and leaking back into the kidney may be two different things, not sure what office personell meant. There can be so many reasons for this. Your doctor will probably arrange for her to be seen by a urologist and maybe some further testing. If you need to, call and ask to speak with the doctor. Monday is a long way off. If it was something that could damage the kidney, I doubt they would wait for Monday to talk to you so that may be a good sign.

I hope all turns out well and she is not in pain.

 

[Kermit]

I'm just shocked that they would make you wait until Monday. I'd call and see if there is any way you could talk to the Dr sooner. I agree with RNMOM that they must not think it's too serious, but that's still a long time to wait.

 

[poohandwendy]

I had to edit my first post...she only has fluid leaking back into her right kidney. My first post makes it sound like there is trouble with both.

Hydronephrosis and leaking back into the kidney may be two different things, not sure what office personell meant.

Actually the only reason I used that term is because it was the only thing I could find that describes fluid leakage back into the kidney (which is what the nurse told me, she did NOT mention that specific term). I read hydronephrosis to be a term used to describe the symptom, not the actual disease? Like there is always an underlying condition that causes hydronephrosis to occur? I have no idea if this is correct or not. From what I read, there are many reasons that this can occur. But they all seem to come back to some sort of obstruction (or possible a valve problem), is this right? This is why I was hoping it was a stone, which seems more common and less scary to me, LOL.

When I called the second time and asked if there was a stone, the nurse was like "No, there were no stones found, but I cannot tell you anything more specific, you will have to speak with your dr on monday" kinda pissed me off a little, but I know they are not authorized to discuss diagnoses, but it is frustrating.

I am confused!

I'm just shocked that they would make you wait until Monday. I'd call and see if there is any way you could talk to the Dr sooner. I agree with RNMOM that they must not think it's too serious, but that's still a long time to wait.

I really do feel that she must not be considered 'in trouble', or they would want to see her immediately (or they would admit her or something). I am going with that as a GOOD thing.

My PCP will not be available until monday and the other doctor there seemed to want me to speak with her directly. I really trust her, but waiting is going to be really hard. I did tell them that she is in a good deal of pain, but it comes and goes. They said to give her 800 mgs of ibuprofen, until she sees her dr. You can feel the right side of her abdomen feels more bloated than the other. She has no fever or blood in her urine. She seems to be urinating regularly, but I think her output is less fluid than usual. She has nausea when she eats, but no vomiting. Her bowels are regular. She seems to be hurting more after she eats and drinks. I wonder if that is because her stomach is pressing on her kidney? I know, I am just guessing, but it is hard to not do so.

Also, I have been stressing fluid intake with her. Is that the correct thing to do, or can more fluid just aggravate the symptoms? Not tons and tons of water, I know that can be bad, but to drink at least 5 (8 oz) glasses per day. Seems to me that she should be doing what she can to keep hydrated? (especially because she tends to want to avoid drinking and eating) Also, she has been staying away from caffeine and soda.

Thanks for your replies, I really appreciate it. I know you cannot diagnose her problem, I am just interested in your opinions. I am just really concerned. Not totally freaked, but wanting to get this problem fixed!

 

[poohandwendy]

On a lighter note....

I think it is totally weird:

kidney/bladder stones can cause UTIs(urinary tract infections)...

UTIs can cause kidney/bladder stones,
which can cause blockages...

blockages can cause UTIs and stones...


how bizarre is THAT?

 

[SilverLily]

Originally posted by Wendy
I honestly do not know what the reasoning was for waiting so long on the surgery. My guess is the parents were trying to hold out hope that it would correct itself and they could avoid the surgery, but my friend never came out and said that.

My daughter is 2 years old, and she has the same thing with her left kidney. She takes a teaspoon of Bactrim (antibiotic) every night, and has been doing this since she was 2 months old.

Our kidney doctor said as long as the antibiotics are preventing UTI's, then it is best to wait and see if this condition resolves itself (as long as she gets no UTI's, there is no damage being done to her kidney). Depending on the severity of the reflux, there can be a 50% - 75% chance of it going away on its own as the child grows. Those are pretty good odds!

 

[DonnaS]

The daughter of a former co-worker of mine had this. She had the surgery for it and is fine now. Gosh, she must be 16 years old. I think she had the surgery about 5-6 years ago. She did see a pediatric urologist and I think he ran some special tests before they decided to do the surgery. I wish I remembered more information for you.

 

[zurgswife]

My neice was born with this condition and last month had surgery to correct the condition....She was 18months old at the time....She is doing fine now....She was on antibotics for the entire 18months...prior to surgery...

 

[kbeverina]

poohandwendy, I'm so sorry to read this--especially that you have to wait the weekend to talk to the doctor. I'll be looking for an update--I hope it's all good news.
Kathy

 

[poohandwendy]

Thanks for your responses and well wishes!

I have talked to a few people who told me that they had the same problem and it ended up being a kidney stone that was missed on the first go round. I am just going to calm down and wait and see what the dr has to say. Jessica is still experiencing pain but she is glad that they we are going to be getting somewhere with it soon.

It's weird, if this was me I really wouldn't be all that worried about it, it's just tough when it is your child!

I'll post back when I hear on Monday. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers!

wendy

 

[ripleysmom]

I hope everything goes okay PAW. It sounds like it is a fairly common problem and highly treatable which I am sure is reassuring. Good Luck though!!

 

[luvdzny]

My 14 year old DD has the same problem. It was diagnosed when she was around 3. She was on preventative antibiotics for a couple of years. Her urologist wanted to surgically correct it, but I wanted to wait. She has been off the antibiotics for years and never had an infection. I just recently (last month) found out that I have the same problem & I am taking Sulfa to prevent an infection. I will soon be going off the Sulfa and will see what happens. We have a new urologist and he said as long as we don't get frequent UTI's there is no reason to correct it.

 

[mrsmom]

My daughter was born with Kidney reflux she was on preventive antibotics for 5 year and she had it in both kidneys, it goes by grades of how bad it is, my daughter had hers repaired when she was 6years old , and has not had any problems since she is 9 yr old now.
I would wait for the dr to explain because sometimes they just give antibotics to take 1 time a day at bed time. for while and just watch her.. If you need to talk Pm me, if i can help answer anything or if after the dr talks to you. I have my dd paly tonight but i'll be back on tomorrow.
Takecare ,Kim
Mrsmom