Vesicoureteral Reflux - 3 Year Old

My daughter was diagnosed with this at 3 months of age. Her urologist kept her on a low grade antibiotic until she was 3 1/2. He switched the class of antibiotics every 6 months to prevent resistance. He told me that most kids grow out of this and unless they are having repeated infections or the severity of the reflux is increasing there is no reason to do the surgery until we know whether or not the problem will correct itself as the child grows. The urologist put it this way: when they are really little kids have a larger hole into the bladder from the ureter in relation to an adult. As they grow older the ureter stretches some too and the hole gets smaller. So if everything is going okay and there are no complications (further UTIs or Kidney infections) then lets wait to see if they grow out of it.

If you are unsure about the doctor though....get a second opinion. There is nothing wrong with it but in my personal experience he is doing the same thing my daughter's urologist did.

A good friends darter has this and was on antibiotics until she turned six. They had multiple opinions, including from Cincinnati childrens hospital, and all agreed that surgery wasn't necessary... The risks outweighed the benefits.

I would never put a child through surgery that, at this point, is not needed.
Bacterium is very very safe antibiotic. If she is doing fine on antibiotic, leave her be.

Well , opposed to what someone wrote here, antibiotics DO have risks also. Most of your immune system is in your GUT. Pill antibiotics destroy it. Its very hard to get it back. Antibiotics have been implicated in adrenal problems also.

Kidney infections can and usually will have life long implications. An older child can suffer with adrenal disease, addisons disease or glomuralonephritis because of damage when young.

There are things to help. Believe it or not, vit C is amazing. Not only is it imperative to the adrenal gland function, but it maintains and grows COLLAGEN- and collagen is used in the formation of TISSUE and skin , soft organs, bone, etc. You need higher doses, like 1000 - 2000 throughout the day not one dose a day, to do any good. Collagen loss can be implicated in those with esophigeal reflux (caused by a faulty flap.)

Alpha Lipoic Acid 'may' also help. I'm not sure but I read a book on this last year from my library, I think it was called 'The Miracle of Apha Lipoic Acid' ...and I remember thinking it may have helped my DD when she was young. Do a search on "ALA helps tissue growth" , "ALA helps collagen ", " ALA for kidney infection" or something of that nature. I do know that ALA can heal some liver disease and liver infection.

Juicing: Raw, real fresh carrot/apple juice is great for healing tissue, gut and is easy on the kidney plus it helps with any constipation. There are a lot of natural easy PROTIENS in carrots- easier for the kidney than meat protiens. In the first stage of juicing, the bladder will respond by an urgency to urinate or a potty accident, while it is freeing of toxins. That is normal.

My daughter is 16, she had a horrid 'misdiagnosed' kidney infection (lasted 10 days before ABX was given) when she was 2 which has lead to adrenal/renal problems now. (the kidneys share the tubules with the adrenals- indeed, the adrenals sit on top of the kidney and can be damaged if blood continues to circulate through them that has bacteria in it) I've spent my life since then doing medical research. Here is what I've come to find out.
She should have had IV antibiotics for that kidney infection,(pyelonephritis) probably at least 2 weeks if not a month. They are better to combat a standing infection and work faster. If they had done that, rather than mess with pills, perhaps she would not have kidney damage today. Anytime kidney infections are present, immediate and 'aggressive' treatment is necessary to stop damage that will show up down the road. MOST doctors don't understand that but some kidney experts do- few and far between. Or perhaps and more likely, most doctors hands are tied by insurance and because it requires a hospital stay for an IV they don't request it/many insurance might not cover it but I would push for it if I were you. Look up "pyelonephritis and iv antibiotic" online.

'Ongoing' bladder infections many times can have a base in low adrenal hormones which cause body PH to be out of balance. Recurrent UTI is seen many times along with a form of constipation. Constipation is caused by dehydration. Dehydration is caused by lack of water intake OR normal water intake but the kidney is unable to keep the body water level correct- salt loss/water loss -due to kidney damage.

Now, here is what they never told me. The dye that they use for those scans -can and does damage kidneys. Also so does ADVIL and other forms of pain relief. Do not trust that a doctor will know this- go online and do some medical research on it and what other things are 'nephrotoxic to kidneys' so that you are armed going forward. I wish you well.

http://www.kidneycoach.com/346/lipoic-acid-super-nutrient...

link to ALA for Kidney:

I have extensive information on this one. My daughter was diagnosed with Grade 3 when she had a urinary tract infection at 8 weeks old. We did the nightly antibiotics for years. After way too many VCUGs, there was no improvement. She is 5 now and we had her surgery done back last August. Please keep in mind that there are several different surgical options with different success rates and recovery times. We had the injectable deflux procedure where a silicone like material was injected in her ureter tubes to strengthen them and form them to close properly. This has an approximately 70% success rate and a very easy recovery. My daughter's was successful.

Being that your daughter is only 2, you have a couple of years before you really need to make a decision. I didn't like the nightly antibiotics, but it was better than her getting infections. The only downside that I have seen now is that she now seems to pick up all the stuff from other kids...colds, strep, etc... Before, she rarely got sick so I wonder if the antibiotics were keeping sickness away...

Feel free to PM me...I struggled with this one for several years.

My daughter is having uriter re-allignment surgery on June 7. She has something similar to your daughter (I had the same thing with my flaps). She was tested at 2 months old, Stage 3 on the left & Stage 1 on the right. She has been tested every year since, the right side finally fixed itself & the left is still a stage 3. She has SLIGHT kidney damage to her right kidney (due to her last kidney infection). I on the other hand had terrible damage & neither of my kidneys are full size. It is hereditary & more common in boys. Your daughter & mine will have to have their children tested too. . . .

We go to the Cleveland Clinic & were told she could grow out of it, but by her last check up (2 months before she turned 6), the dr. determined she wouldn't grow out of it (the bladder wall is as thick as it would get).

I would absolutely get a 2nd opinion. My friend is a Pediatric Urologist in Chicago & he agreed that surgery is the right direction & said if 1 of his children were in the same situation, that surgery is the choice he'd make.

Best of luck to you & your family.