Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in kidneys

I'm dying to know if anyone here has actually dealt with this before? Like, seriously—has anyone been through the ringer with this one?
Also, does anyone know if there are any actual alternatives out there besides just rolling the dice on surgery? I’m talking acupuncture, bioenergy, anything... I'm open to suggestions.

First off, let me correct you—it’s not kidney reflux, it’s vesicoureteral reflux.
I dealt with this when I was a toddler, under two years old. I had surgery in Washington, D.C. at the Mayo Clinic (basically what they call the Reebok of hospitals nowadays).
There isn't an "alternative" here. You need surgery. It's a physical condition; no holistic remedy is going to change the fact that it's there.
Just find a solid internist and a skilled surgeon, and you'll be fine. 👍

Charles Patel said:First off, let me correct you—it’s not kidney reflux, it’s vesicoureteral reflux.
I dealt with this when I was a toddler, under two years old. I had surgery in Washington, D.C. at the Mayo Clinic (basically what they call the Reebok of hospitals nowadays).
There isn't an "alternative" here. You need surgery. It's a physical condition; no holistic remedy is going to change the fact that it's there.
Just find a solid internist and a skilled surgeon, and you'll be fine. 👍

🙂 My little girl had third-degree congenital reflux. For her first three years, besides all those nasty and painful tests, she was on Ceporex every single day just to ward off infections. On top of that, she fought off Escherichia coli three separate times, which meant more antibiotics...
The doctors told us she’d probably need surgery, though there was a tiny, slim chance the opening might just close up on its own over time... and honestly, we hit the jackpot with her. She's almost four now, and it actually started closing up! Her latest scan from last month showed it’s completely healed. The reflux is totally gone.
Now, E. coli is a different beast entirely. It's a lifelong battle. This thing can lay low for years, but the second it shows up, it's a problem. Since I'm living proof of how this "monster" can wreck your kidneys, we try to stay ahead of it with my daughter by doing monthly urine checks and cultures. We have to catch it before it goes wild and starts damaging her organs...
So, yeah, VUR *can* actually resolve on its own without surgery! Good luck!!

William Chase7 said:🙂 My little girl had third-degree congenital reflux. For her first three years, besides all those nasty and painful tests, she was on Ceporex every single day just to ward off infections. On top of that, she fought off Escherichia coli three separate times, which meant more antibiotics...
The doctors told us she’d probably need surgery, though there was a tiny, slim chance the opening might just close up on its own over time... and honestly, we hit the jackpot with her. She's almost four now, and it actually started closing up! Her latest scan from last month showed it’s completely healed. The reflux is totally gone.
Now, E. coli is a different beast entirely. It's a lifelong battle. This thing can lay low for years, but the second it shows up, it's a problem. Since I'm living proof of how this "monster" can wreck your kidneys, we try to stay ahead of it with my daughter by doing monthly urine checks and cultures. We have to catch it before it goes wild and starts damaging her organs...
So, yeah, VUR *can* actually resolve on its own without surgery! Good luck!!

Congrats 😍 This is such a beautiful post. Honestly, it gives me some hope that maybe things will "close up" for us too. Our little one was diagnosed with bilateral reflux (Grade I and II) almost a year ago. We’re constantly monitoring everything, and she’s currently on prophylaxis—Cephalexin and Pyeloseptyl. Reading this makes me think we might actually dodge the surgery, even though doctors say it's routine. We have an appointment for a voiding cystourethrogram in November, and I'm just praying we see some improvement or at least stay the same so we can skip the operating room. Though, I don't know if being on constant antibiotics is the "smart" move in the long run. Anyway, huge congrats again 😍

🙂

holloweagle6 said:Congrats 😍 This is such a beautiful post. Honestly, it gives me some hope that maybe things will "close up" for us too. Our little one was diagnosed with bilateral reflux (Grade I and II) almost a year ago. We’re constantly monitoring everything, and she’s currently on prophylaxis—Cephalexin and Pyeloseptyl. Reading this makes me think we might actually dodge the surgery, even though doctors say it's routine. We have an appointment for a voiding cystourethrogram in November, and I'm just praying we see some improvement or at least stay the same so we can skip the operating room. Though, I don't know if being on constant antibiotics is the "smart" move in the long run. Anyway, huge congrats again 😍

Thank you so much for that sweet message... I truly wish the exact same thing for you and your daughter. Believe me, I know exactly what you're going through. We've been dealing with this since the day she was born. Our nephrologist down in Miami told us that most of the time, these things just "resolve spontaneously"—meaning they close up and clear out on their own for kids with grade 1 or 2 reflux by the time they hit 6 or 7. If not, then they move toward a routine surgery. But hey, they're just kids, right? Hearing the word "surgery" is never easy, no matter how routine they say it is. And like you said, being on daily antibiotics for years? That's definitely gotta take a toll in other ways...
To be honest, we weren't even holding our breath thinking we could just treat it with meds alone, but somehow, it worked! It felt like a total long shot, but the main thing is that the urine isn't flowing backward anymore, which means no more damage to the tracts and kidneys.
On top of that, one of her kidneys was only working at 65%, and the other was filtering at just 48%... the doctors were pretty worried because she's so little. But now? Everything has automatically improved... it's functioning almost perfectly fine now!
We still need more time to see if it stays stable, but this is just phenomenal and totally unexpected. We're celebrating every single little win, especially one like this.
Seriously, miracles happen. This is proof you should never lose hope. She was diagnosed with grade 3 VUR, and in the end, it just closed up! The tube straightened itself out—no more bend. Man, I am just over the moon. At least something is finally heading in the right direction!!!!
Wishing you so much luck with your daughter's recovery. I'm sincerely hoping you get the same outcome we did. These days, I've got her drinking cranberry teas and parsley infusions just to stay ahead of things... purely for prevention. So far, all her tests look amazing, and I'm praying they stay that way forever.

Quick question—where do you guys pick up stuff like cranberry juice, parsley, and all that? I used to give her Cranatine, but I eventually quit because I was honestly getting paranoid about all the "chemicals." Plus, trying to force down syrup at bedtime is just a nightmare. Now she’s started asking, "Why do I have to take this when the kids at daycare don't?" It's a lot. And man, back when she was in a smaller group, she’d actually try to play doctor—pulling blood, "treating" people on the floor, even explaining how to "look at the belly button" (which was our way of describing an ultrasound). The teachers were cool with it since they knew what was going on, but now things are different. We’re pretty stressed about her next urine test, too. Last time we had to do bloodwork, she totally bolted, ended up with both hands all scraped up, and we barely managed to get a single vial filled.

Two years ago, my four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Grade 3 unilateral VUR following a severe case of urosepsis. It was a rough stretch; she was hospitalized for 14 days while we ran every test imaginable. The medical recommendation was prophylaxis and Deflux. This was actually her second urinary tract infection that required hospital care, both occurring right after family vacations. Once we returned home to Washington, D.C., we dove headfirst into everything regarding reflux—reading every forum and study we could find. We ultimately declined the prophylaxis, fearing its side effects, and passed on Deflux because we felt it wasn't reliable enough. We wanted to understand why these infections kept happening. Instead, we opted for homeopathic treatments. Most importantly, my daughter drinks cranberry juice mixed with a probiotic every single morning; just the juice alone isn't quite enough. For two years, we have stayed disciplined: monthly urine tests and cultures, regular visits to an incredibly patient nephrologist, and sessions for biofeedback exercises. Since then, she has only had two more infections, both of which were managed with antibiotics. Following standard medical protocol, we are now due for a follow-up voiding cystourethrogram or ultrasound to see if the reflux has resolved. Currently, I don't have the $500 to satisfy that curiosity, and I really want to avoid putting her through another catheterization. Last year, she participated in physical education at preschool, which helped strengthen her entire pelvic musculature, and she’ll be continuing that this year. I’m sharing this for any parents who might find themselves walking this same path.

holloweagle6 said:Quick question—where do you guys pick up stuff like cranberry juice, parsley, and all that? I used to give her Cranatine, but I eventually quit because I was honestly getting paranoid about all the "chemicals." Plus, trying to force down syrup at bedtime is just a nightmare. Now she’s started asking, "Why do I have to take this when the kids at daycare don't?" It's a lot. And man, back when she was in a smaller group, she’d actually try to play doctor—pulling blood, "treating" people on the floor, even explaining how to "look at the belly button" (which was our way of describing an ultrasound). The teachers were cool with it since they knew what was going on, but now things are different. We’re pretty stressed about her next urine test, too. Last time we had to do bloodwork, she totally bolted, ended up with both hands all scraped up, and we barely managed to get a single vial filled.

We buy our cranberries in bulk at big-box retailers like Walmart or Kroger.

holloweagle6 said:Quick question—where do you guys pick up stuff like cranberry juice, parsley, and all that? I used to give her Cranatine, but I eventually quit because I was honestly getting paranoid about all the "chemicals." Plus, trying to force down syrup at bedtime is just a nightmare. Now she’s started asking, "Why do I have to take this when the kids at daycare don't?" It's a lot. And man, back when she was in a smaller group, she’d actually try to play doctor—pulling blood, "treating" people on the floor, even explaining how to "look at the belly button" (which was our way of describing an ultrasound). The teachers were cool with it since they knew what was going on, but now things are different. We’re pretty stressed about her next urine test, too. Last time we had to do bloodwork, she totally bolted, ended up with both hands all scraped up, and we barely managed to get a single vial filled.

Hey everyone!

We usually just grab cranberry and parsley at any local pharmacy, but honestly, I often hit up the farmer's market to find fresh stuff from the ladies there. Sometimes I buy dried cranberries and cook them into a compote, strain it through cheesecloth, and serve it unsweetened like a tea (it tastes great, kind of like forest berries to me). Sometimes I even toss in some blueberries since those are awesome for blood health, too.
As for the parsley, I use it separately as its own herbal tea. It flushes the urinary tract and helps block bacteria, which really helps prevent those urinary infections that kids with VUR are always prone to, regardless of how bad the damage is. That's what my pediatric nephrologist suggested, and I did a bit of digging online through studies, and yeah, everyone recommends it...
Man, reading your post is tough. I know how much it hurts. Watching your kid go through those annoying tests—all the tubes, the needles... I swear my heart broke every single time we had to do it. I don't even know who was crying more; my little girl or me... and as she gets older, it just gets harder on her. Fingers crossed—and I mean it—that it stays this way, but we do a mandatory urine test once a month, specifically for culture. She had one infection once, but we caught it immediately with none of that Novocef stuff...
We do abdominal and kidney ultrasounds twice a year now just to make sure the VUR is healing properly. The doctor says that since she's getting older, the tissue will heal firmer and eventually just look like thickened scar tissue, but hey, that's way better than the actual health issues caused by the congenital problem itself. Plus, we avoided surgery, which is huge in my book...
Wishing you nothing but luck in getting ahead of this. There's definitely a chance it might just heal up and clear on its own over time.