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jillybug posted:
My daighter is almost 3 months old. During an ultrasound when I was pregnant it was noticed that she only had one kidney and it measured small. I was assured it would likely be nothing but when she was a week old she had a kidney scan and gfr test done and it came back at 16. Currently she gets blood work every 2 weeks. Some of her levels have improved but she currently takes medication for high potassium which we have yet to get under control( the neph keeps increasing her dose every time we see him) and the next time we are back she will likely have to start meds for high bp. She gets another kidney scan and gfr test done when she is 4 months. Her dr seems fairly confident that things will improve but it just seems like 16 is a really low number, Even if there is improvements could they really be that big? I keep meaning to ask questions when i go but im never sure what to ask
2 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:New to thisMy daighter is almost 3 months old. During an ultrasound when I was pregnant it was noticed that she only had one kidney and it measured small. I was assured it would likely be nothing but when she was a week old she had a kidney scan and gfr test done and it came back at 16. Currently she gets blood work every 2 weeks. Some of her levels have improved but she currently takes medication for high potassium which we have yet to get under control( the neph keeps increasing her dose every time we see him) and the next time we are back she will likely have to start meds for high bp. She gets another kidney scan and gfr test done when she is 4 months. Her dr seems fairly confident that things will improve but it just seems like 16 is a really low number, Even if there is improvements could they really be that big? I keep meaning to ask questions when i go but im never sure what to ask
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John-SKPT responded:
Pediatric and neonatal cases are significantly different from adult cases, so I can't give you all that much info. I do think that it is important to remember that infants are not born with perfect, 100% renal function; it takes a while for the kidneys to increase in size and capacity up to the levels found in pre-teens or very young adults. This may be even more noticable in a patient with one kidney, since the single organ needs to become somewhat larger that it would have done had there been two.

I do have concerns about the elevated potassium, since very high or very low potassium levels can affect heart rhythms. Has the doctor suggested any dietary modifications to redulce potassium intake? That's the first thing to do in adults.
Report This| Share this:New to thisPediatric and neonatal cases are significantly different from adult cases, so I can't give you all that much info. I do think that it is important to remember that infants are not born with perfect, 100% renal function; it takes a while for the kidneys to increase in size and capacity up to the levels found in pre-teens or very young adults. This may be even more noticable in a patient with one kidney, since the single organ needs to become somewhat larger that it would have done had there been two.<br /><br />I do have concerns about the elevated potassium, since very high or very low potassium levels can affect heart rhythms. Has the doctor suggested any dietary modifications to redulce potassium intake? That's the first thing to do in adults.
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jillybug replied to John-SKPT's response:
I will be meeting with a dietician in a few weeks but as for now she is too young for solids so im nursing and supplementing with formula designed for babies with renal problems
Report This| Share this:New to thisI will be meeting with a dietician in a few weeks but as for now she is too young for solids so im nursing and supplementing with formula designed for babies with renal problems
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