I wrote this about a year ago after my middle child's VCUG (
voiding cystourethrogram). I still have the brochure that the nurse gave me and I still laugh at what I read versus what I experienced. I originally posted this on my Facebook page and got several responses from other moms who felt horrible for me! I was trying to be sarcastically funny. As I said earlier, The VCUG really is painful for the parent and scary/uncomfortable for the child. I hope some day there is another way to test a child for reflux, until then, here is what happened with my then two year old son:
At the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, you get a cute little flyer to read with your child about what is going to happen.
Here it is:
A boy will be asked to lie on the table. The nurse will wash the tip of his penis around the opening where the urine comes out, using cotton and liquid soap. This may feel cold.
TRANSLATION: Your son will lie down and start to scream bloody murder when iodine hits his penis. He will start begging to go home and say he doesn’t need a happy meal from McDonalds. It isn’t worth it.
The nurse will then slide a tiny, soft tube, called a catheter, into the opening of the penis. This can be a bit unpleasant, and he may need comforting.
TRANSLATION: Your son will turn into Reagan from the Exorcist the minute the catheter gets anywhere near his penis. He will start to kick to the point that they wrap his legs with an ace bandage. He will pull your hair and scratch your face while you hold his arms and comfort him. Fortunately, he did not say any bad words to make you look bad.
The X-ray technologist will dim the lights in the room so that the television screen can be seen. TRANSLATION: They have to start over again with a smaller catheter because your son has “closed” his penis off and won’t relax. (Some male will have to explain that one to me). He did look at the television., but no Wonder Pets, so he didn’t care.
The doctor will take x-rays, moving the x-ray machine over your child as the liquid flows through the catheter and into the child’s bladder. When the bladder is full, he will be asked to urinate. More X-rays will be taken while he is emptying his bladder.
TRANSLATION: Your son looks straight at you and says, “I will not wee-wee on this table.” And you sit there for an hour and a half and stare at his full bladder on the TV screen and know he means it. Was I really that stubborn when I was a child? Am I now? Then the doctor tells you since he won’t cooperate, wait in the waiting room until he wets his diaper. An hour later you return to X-rays with a wet diaper. You finish the X-rays, and go home.
The process takes about thirty minutes. TRANSLATION: We got there at 12:30 and left at four.
Your pediatrician will call you with the results.
TRANSLATION: “Kenneth is fine Mrs. P. Keep using the syringe tubing to get the antibiotics down his throat”.
Moms have to love "helpful" information.
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Comments (5)
i don't understand why they didn't put him under with twilight anesthesia. When my son had an endoscopy to test for celiac they gave him twilight. Sometimes doctors are morons.
I don't know except it was supposed to only take thirty minutes. They wanted all three of them to be in a sibling kidney study, but after that day, I politely declined.
OMG...why didn't they give you BOTH something to help...versed for him, valium for you. That so sucked.
...good read though.
Well, I think you really are sarcastically funny! I was reading the blog and I think you were doing an important contribution because in my case, the nurse will then slide a tiny, soft product, called buy cialis and she gave me the same brochure, because all is about information and you know it, so I will read your facebook post too. 2j3j
My son went through this when he was 6 months. I still remebered that
levitra cialisthe VCUG was painful. But it just took very short time and he would
forget it when it was done. A experienced nurse would help a lot with
. After
taking the antibiotic, the symptoms would be gone very soon. Your son
will be fine.