Saturday, January 29, 2011

Update

Just a little update on what's been going on with Lucca these past few weeks...

A year ago he had an ultrasound done of his stomach because he was having alot of bloating and cramping, so they were looking for bowel obstructions/abnormalities.. Everything turned out ok, but as a fluke they found that his left kidney had some fluid on it. Nothing to be TOO concerned about but his doctors wanted us to get a follow up just to make sure it wasn't something small like he had to pee really bad and the fluid was just backed up.. So we had the follow-up done of just his kidneys and it showed that his left kidney has more fluid than the last one done, and his bladder was completely empty so we know it wasn't because he had to pee. The pediatric radiologist recommended that he have a procedure called a V.C.U.G. done (where they stick a catheter through his urethra into his bladder and inject contrast into his bladder to see if any urine is refluxing back up into his kidneys causing the fluid). Can you say PAINFUL!? Well we had that done yesterday and my big boy didn't cry AT ALL! He didn't even flinch! He did SO good that after the procedure was done the radiologist asked if I had given him medication to relax! lol She said she has NEVER had a kid be so good and not even cry! Such a big boy :) Well the test showed that there is NO reflux going back up into his kidneys, so that is GREAT news! Now we just don't know what is causing it.. lol But the fact that it isn't reflux and there aren't any stones is great.

Now the reflux... the devil that has been haunting my poor lil guy since birth... We have had Lucca on two of the strongest reflux medications out there that he is allowed to be on, and while they work slightly for a little bit, it's almost like his body becomes immune to them and they don't even begin to touch his puking.. His throat is so raw and he is constantly making weird noises that you can tell is because his throat burns :( I hate it! He can't keep anything down (fluids or solids), EVERY time he burps something comes up, even if it is HOURS later.. for example: he eats dinner around 6:30-7:00. The other morning around 3am he burped and stuff came up.. alot of times it isn't even digested. Stuff comes up while he is just sitting doing nothing. The sphincter where his esophagus and stomach meet doesn't work properly so it allows food to come back up just as easily as it goes down. It sucks. It is definitely hindering him physically because anytime he rolls onto his stomach or sits and it is putting pressure onto his stomach, stuff comes up.. all day every day.

So last year after Lucca had his endoscopy and everything came back with no abnormalities except his sphincter and that he just has severe reflux , the doctor recommended a surgery: Nissen Fundoplication. (where they take the top portion of his stomach and sew it around the bottom portion of his esophagus) Of course back then we were like, "heck no! if it is just severe reflux then he will grow out of it." Well, one year and ONE pound later...he hasn't grown out of it. Soo.. knowing this his reflux is possibly a trait of his condition, we aren't sure if he is ever going to grow out of it.. We decided to make an appointment with that GI doctor to discuss some other options on how to help him. Do I want him to have surgery? Of course not. What mom wants their kids to have surgery?! But we are starting to think that this might be the only thing that cures him of the constant throwing up. If it wasn't hindering his growth and his physical development it wouldn't be an issue..but it is. And his poor throat is so raw!

Anyway, this is where we are right now.. Appt on Monday to talk about possible options and to find out more information about this surgery. Will keep everyone updated on what we find out! Please keep us and Lucca in your prayers as this is a HUGE decision for us to make. I'm scared to make the wrong one..

No comments: