8 week old possible Kidney reflux

[juliec26]

hi - just wondered if anyone has any experience of the baby having a dilaited kidney - was picked up on my 38 week scan and my ds has had 2 ultra sounds both showing large kidney so will now have a test to see if the urine is going back from the bladder to the kidney (booked for next week) he is on daily antibiotics to prevent infection - but just wondered if anyone know much more about it - what will happen if it is kidney reflux?? also can i give him gripe water as the label says not to give if child has impaired kidney??

Hi,

My DD was born with a dilated kidney which was picked up on the 20 week scan. She was on antibiotics from birth to stop infections and had a kidney function test at 3 months. As her kidney had good function she ended up having an operation to remove a small part of the tube which drains the kidney as this was too narrow. She had this op at 4 months and stayed on antibiotics until 12 months. The great news is that she is perfectly fine now and has no problems. I think they monitor the kidney once baby is born because sometimes it can get better by itself, but rest assured they can sort it out if it doesn't.

Hope this helps a bit. xx

hi - thanks for your reply, does help and glad to hear your dd is all fine- im dreading ds having the test, but know its for the best - fingers crossed it will be ok, but glad there is something that can be done as was worried he may need a kidney removed or something horrid like that x

I know all the testing and waiting for answers is horrid but thank goodness scans can pick all this up otherwise kiddies would be really unwell before anything is noticed! We also faced having the kidney removed if the function was low so you just have to see what the results say. My fingers are crossed for you and I'm sure it'll be fine. x

My DS1 has this and hes 5 now. He was on abs to prevent infections until he was 4. He was monitored by paediatrician every 6 months and now been discharged because they say he is growing out of it and there is no longer any need for him to be on abs.

They will likely carry out a test or scan on your DS which aren't always that pleasant but I tried to look at it that while he is a baby at least he won't be able to remember it - I think its harder for the parents! Do a search on here for kidney reflux there have been lots of threads about it, its surprisingly common.

can i ask if either of you dc were slow to feed - My ds is ff due to medication I need to take and he has always been a pain to feed today he has taken 4oz, 50z and then just 2.5oz weight gain is ok, not great, but just wondered if ab affect feeding - he really fussy over his bottle cries etc and I am not really sure why - wind is part of the reason, but he is otherwise happy, alert etc

My 6mth old was diagnosed with grade 4 kidney reflux at about 10 weeks, she is on antibiotics and has told she will be until at least two and she will most probably have to have an operation between 2-5 years of age. She has had to have quite a few tests and we have hospital check ups every few months. We are being referred to a kidney specialist at the hospital and will know more when we have spoken to them. My DD isn't having any affect on food consumption, she still eats loads although is still very small for her age, she also has reflux as well so it's all been fun!

Best of luck.

My Daughter was born with a duplux kidney, it was picked up on the 20 week scan, from birth she was put on Trimethoprim, worked until she was 3 months old, then we were in and out of hospital with uti's, had all the tests and it showed she had reflux, she really suffered but in the end at 11 months they operated. Had the top part of her kidney removed as scarred and the third ureathra removed, op went very well, did spend her 1st birthday in hospital but touch wood, she has been fine for the last 4 years.
Best of luck

My DD2 was also born with a duplex kidney system (found at 20 wk scan) just like millymollys DD and ended up having the top part of her kidney and the extra uretha removed. She was also on antibiotics and in and out of hospital with infections. They operated at 18 months and has been fine since, She did have reflux in her other kidney and had treatment for this at the same time as the removal of her duplex kidney.
They do get concerned if they think infected urine is travelling back to the kidney as it can damage a healthy kidney. I used to have to take her to the local paediatric A & E at the first sign of infection (pea soup wee!)and they would call someone from her surgical team and usually we were admitted for IV antibiotics.
She is coming up to 5 next month and a real madam!
Worrying at the time but surprisingly common. My DD2 is very proud of her keyhole scars as well and knows exactly what was wrong with her. She looks forward to her 6 month scans and appointments and has a suprising amount of renal knowledge!!
You will worry but will look back on it and it made me a stronger and form a special bond with her from all those nights in hospital.

DS2 has got bilateral duplex kidneys diagnosed in utero at 20w.

He had all the tests, and they were horrific, but at 4 he doesn't remember any of them.

He was on trimethoprim from birth, but he had bad reflux (vomiting, not kidney), so we gave up on them after a few months. He has hated medicine ever since, and stopping the abs definitely helped a bit with the reflux, but it still continued until he was 12m+

He had an op at Bristol after 6m, but (touch wood) has never had a UTI or any other problems.

Best wishes to you and your little one :)

I hope eveything is ok with you LO.

Just wanted to add my bit, our ds4 has a condition called Prune Belly Syndrome which, amongst other symptoms, also involves Severe Vesicoureteric reflux (on a scale of 0-5 his was graded as 5+++++). His dilated ureters were picked up antenatally. He has been on various antibiotics since birth to try and prevent infections.

What I really wanted to say is that the tests aren't really that bad - I know it's horrible having anything done to your child but they aren't too bad. If needles are involved then the nurses will numb the area first using anaesthetic cream (we've had more blood tests than I can remember, in the several hundreds now.) I think the tests were worse for me than our son, he loves going to hospital appointments so nothing can have been too bad!

Our son is now 7 and he won't grow out of his problems as they are part of a bigger (and very rare) issue but the vast majority of children with reflux do grow out of it within a few years as they mature.

Trimethoprim isn't too bad either - our son always loved it!

Hi Juliec26,

Did you manage to find out about the Gripe Water? My little boy has kidney reflux and suffers from colic. At the moment, he's only 4 weeks old and I'm giving him Infacol for his colic and Trimethoprim for his kidneys. However, like you, I noticed on the box of the Gripe Water that it mentions not for use for those with impaired kidneys?

Many thanks - Amanda888

hi Amanda

i was so stressed on the day he went for the test i totally forgot to ask - so still have no idea - Ds didn't have reflux, which was good, but has been referred back to the pediatric dc as kidney still large.. Will ask my dc when I go next week and post back
x

Sorry to bump this but was doing a search and this came up. My ds3 is 8 weeks old today and has a dilated kidney and is on trimethroprim. He had a kidney function test when born and it was perfect thankfully but for the last few days i've become convinced he has a kidney infection. I was plagued with them all my life myself so recognise some of the symptoms. Cranky when seeing,weeing a lot,very runny nappy,irritable when being picked up and wants to be up all the time..pulling legs up in pain too. So all in all i'd say it's the infection. Firstly what can i use to take a sample,could i pick it up in chemist? (i'm in ireland btw but we have boots nearby) And next do you think it is the urine and what would be done next? Don't have scan for another 10 days and no consultant appt til the end of july :(

Hi ladies - I know this post is OLD! we found my baby has fluid in both kidneys at 37 weeks, did anyone get induced or allowed to go past due date?
I’m due on Friday, and I feel very unsure on it! I’ve had no information whatsoever

Hi @MummytotheIs was searching to see if anyone had any info on gripe water and dilated kidneys and found this post and your comment.

My baby was born in August so not far behind you and at 5 weeks still has fluid in his left kidney so is going for more tests how did your baby get on?

@LuckyC27

Hi *@MummytotheIs* was searching to see if anyone had any info on gripe water and dilated kidneys and found this post and your comment.

My baby was born in August so not far behind you and at 5 weeks still has fluid in his left kidney so is going for more tests how did your baby get on?

Hi hun - when my little boy was born, he had no fluid in his kidneys, somehow between then & birth they had cleared! I'm sorry to hear your little boy is having problems still - and I'm sorry I can't help with your question.

Hope you get it figured out xx