Eliza's ultrasound of her sacral dimple/spine and her kidneys was today and it was a complete nightmare. She screamed and thrashed and generally lost her sh!t the entire time.
Good news - her kidneys are normal.
Bad news - the spinal u/s was inconclusive and may indicate a low lying/tethered spinal cord.
Tech seemed pretty confident spine was abnormal, radiologist was less willing to commit for 2 reasons:
1.spinal u/s is very difficult at 9mo because the bones are dense and it is difficult to get a good picture/count of the vertebrate. Much easier and more conclusive before 6mo old.
2. baby needs to be completely still and Eliza was uncooperative.
Radiologist spoke to me at length and felt badly that he could not give me a conclusive answer. Eliza had a spinal u/s at birth that was supposedly normal, so either they made a mistake then, or today's results are wrong due to reasons 1 &2 above.
Next step - order images and report from her newborn u/s and compare. If it was normal then, it is normal now and if it was abnormal then, it is abnormal now, but it is not a condition that would have changed since birth. He did say that if it is abnormal, it is borderline abnormal/normal.
If it is still inconclusive, she will need an MRI under general anesthesia which radiologist will not do unless 100% necessary.
It is going to take a few days to get the original report, so for now we just wait and try not to consult Dr. Google too much! I am trying not to stress...
Re: u/s was a nightmare - possible spine issues
LO #1 - 1 unmedicated/self-monitored IUI w/ donor sperm.
LO #2 - 1 m/c, 2 BFNs, 4th IUI worked (unmedicated/self-monitored with new donor sperm).
Life is beautiful!
Amber
TTC since March '06
MFI, LPD, possible PCOS
3 chem pgs * m/c identical twins at 9w 10.06
IVF w/ICSI #2 - beta - 187! (9dp5dt), beta - 367! (11dp5dt)
IVF w/ICSI #3 - it's a girl!
My IF Blog: Between the Lines
My Parenting Blog: Letters From Your Mama
Ugh -- that sounds like a scary and stressful experience. I'm sorry you don't have answers yet, and I'll continue to keep you in my thoughts.
Because we're fancy like that.
Techs should NEVER diagnose. I am almost certain that it is not in their scope of practice...and it freaks parents out. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, unfortunately.
I would bet money on a normal spine for sweet Miss Eliza. Try not to worry too much...I know that is easier said than done...hang in there, Mama!
i am so sorry....we took Asha to the pedi today and he admitted there was a deep sacral dimple that everyone missed at her birth....to be fair my mom is a mother/baby nurse and examined her carefully at birth and changed her diaper for 3 wks and missed it.....he said with her leg strength and tone that it was unlikely there was a spinal issue but wanted an u/s to be safe...
so we are waiting for them to schedule an u/s and hopefully wed we will know....i am terrified she has kidney issues or spinal issues...this is such a nightmare...
i really hope your DD is fine
Thank you!
I am so glad you had it looked at and they are going to do further testing. Your daughter is at the perfect age to get a clear and conclusive test - GOOD LUCK! Keep us posted!