Phimosis Diagnosis and a question... - Page 2

[A&A]

Originally Posted by myfairbabies 

Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X 

I am sorry you where unable to find a Dr. to help you out. It really is awful how ignorant Dr's are on the subject. For the Dr. to tell you that he would even consider circ on a 6yo for being not retractable that right there tells you he dosnt know about the normal development of the intact penis.

If the dribbling is fixed by squeezing out the urine after going then I can about guarantee it is separation relation and nothing is wrong. Once the sphincter at the tip starts to loosing the dribbling will stop as well.

I am curious though if you realize nothing is really wrong why are you still looking for a Dr? Unless you just want who knows about the intact penis for future issues I wouldnt bother going to Dr's over this and just giving them more money to tell you things you know are not true.

About the steroid cream if you use it it might help now but once you stop if his body isnt ready to retract then it will go right back to its original state once you stop. So you will have put steroids on him for no real reason. Also with the cream it must be used along with stretching for it to work properly and I would be very uncomfortable messing with my ds's penis like that.

I agree with everything she said. You are the mother. You know your sons are normal. Trust yourself.
 

I agree, as well.

Mama, here is the phone # for Dr. Paul Fleiss, a pediatrician in Calif. who has written an anti-circ book:

[phone]

I've met him in person, and he's very nice.  I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you.

[MrsHenderson]

Thank you everyone. I need a ped who supports my gut feelings. He's still having this issue of feeling like he has to pee often, usually every hour, which is not typical of him and started about 10 days ago. Something is not quite right, but I don't think removing his foreskin is the answer. Thx for the tip on Dr. Fleiss. I moved here from So. Cal so I know him, although he was not our pediatrician. I'll see if a call to his office yields some answers. Thank you for that :)

[littlemizflava]

have him pee in a clean clear glass jar let it sit a few min and see if you see any thing floating in it or if it looks cloudy. i know this is a way of looking for a uti or bladder infection. you could start giving him pure cranberry juice to flush out a infection.

[AllMyChildren]

I agree with others. It is impossible to diagnose true phimosis in a young boy. If that were the case, there are sure a lot of intact boys with phimosis. I dont see any need for the steroid cream either. His foreskin is not meant to retract at this time. I second the cranberry juice. Maybe try that for a day or two and see if there is any improvement.  Hope everything works out soon for you and your son.

[MrsHenderson]

The urine infection was ruled out in a visit to first pediatrician.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

So the main concern right now is him having to use the bathroom really often? My ds went through something like that and about the time I started to worry it stopped. He never had any signs of a UTI and didnt complain of pain. Is he drinking something that he hasnt had much access to before now? More kool aid or even a different brand of water? I ask because if I change even brands of water it increases my need to go to the bathroom. I just have really sensitive kidneys when it comes to things like that. It can last for a few hours to days sometimes depending on what it is I was drinking.

[MrsHenderson]

Yes, he's going to the bathroom every 45 min. to an hour. And this is a kid with a steel bladder who never went to the bathroom at pre-school from Aug. to Dec. (He was in school from 8:45 to 12:45, or 1:45 depending on the day.) We drove to Disneyworld on 12/28 and he said he had to go pee 10 min. after we got in the car. No pain so I treated it like NBD. Then after 4 days on our trip, distracted by all the Disney craziness, he would still ask to go pee at a lot, just as a show would start, or just as we were getting on a ride after waiting in line for an hour. Clearly something is up with the frequent peeing. He only drinks milk or water, and we haven't changed brands. His teacher was excited, thinking he's become comfortable enough to use the bathroom at school, but then I asked her how often he went and she said 3 x's day one back, and 4 x's day two - that's when I took him to the doc last week to rule out UTI. I'm calling another doc tomorrow to address this issue.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Make sure to mention diabetes testing. I hope you can get it figured out and hope that this Dr. dosnt start in on the foreskin because frequency of urination has nothing to do with that.

[eepster]

The sudden change in frequency may well be nothing more than a growth spurt, but it really could be a symptom of a problem that needs treatment.  The foreskin seems to be posing such a distraction to the Drs you've gone to that they are ignoring the fact that you DS's symptoms point to something either going on with his kidneys or bladder and not his penis.  You need to get the Drs to look into things that might be causing his kidneys to work faster (such as diabetes) or his bladder to feel full when it isn't (such as gas in his colon pressing against it.)  The way they are ignoring what is areal concern that needs to be addressed and focusing on what is a non-issue is a serious problem.  

You need to force them to focus on the real concern here (change in urinary frequency.)  I would start by simply stating that you want them to test for diabetes, and go from there.  Don't mention the dribbling, I think it is what is causing them to look at the penis and forget that it is just the end of and extensive urinary system that starts with the blood.

[MrsHenderson]

Originally Posted by eepster 

The sudden change in frequency may well be nothing more than a growth spurt, but it really could be a symptom of a problem that needs treatment.  The foreskin seems to be posing such a distraction to the Drs you've gone to that they are ignoring the fact that you DS's symptoms point to something either going on with his kidneys or bladder and not his penis.  You need to get the Drs to look into things that might be causing his kidneys to work faster (such as diabetes) or his bladder to feel full when it isn't (such as gas in his colon pressing against it.)  The way they are ignoring what is areal concern that needs to be addressed and focusing on what is a non-issue is a serious problem.  

You need to force them to focus on the real concern here (change in urinary frequency.)  I would start by simply stating that you want them to test for diabetes, and go from there.  Don't mention the dribbling, I think it is what is causing them to look at the penis and forget that it is just the end of and extensive urinary system that starts with the blood.

I agree!

Found another doc who's not too far who's foreskin friendly. Calling today because he's peed three times this morning already. Def. something up.

Thx everyone for checking back and offering helpful advice :)
 

[MrsHenderson]

Met with Doc #3 yesterday and things went very well - yay! She listened, took notes and agreed that the urinary frequency was unrelated to the foreskin, which she also agreed was a non-issue. She didi a urine test for UTI - neg. And a blood test for diabetes - also neg. She asked a lot of questions and in the end thought I should consider urinary frequency syndrome. It's basically a non-medical explanation for urinary frequency in post toilet-trained kids (avg. age 3-7). Usually, due to some trauma, kids feel an urge to pee as often as every 5-10 minutes. (Not there is any trauma I can explain, unless a road trip to Disneyworld is considered traumatic, and to a kid who prefers the home toilet, it may very well be!). So, on the way to school today, I explained to my son nothing was medically wrong with him and that if he had to go pee, ok, but there was no reason behind it; that his penis, his bladder, his blood, etc we're all ok. He only peed twice at school today so I think it's just a matter of him growing out of it, which is usually the case, although it can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 18 months! So my efforts paid off, I've found a new ped, and I wanted to also say how much I appreciate all the support from this board  - thank you!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I am so happy you found a ped. who was willing to listen and help you figure things out. I am really glad your ds's tests came back OK as well. Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince as the saying goes.

[eepster]

I'm really glad it wasn't a serious medical problem, but I'm also really glad that your new Dr actually checked for those things.  

[TigerTail]

Er, yeah, I would skip the steroid. My kids are 8 & 10 & don't retract yet. No worries. (Is that poll still around I started like in 2005, where the average age of first retraction was?) It's not their fault that the medical textbooks are so outdated in this country (though they really ought to research for themselves. I mean, if we can...) Anybody have a European medical database, for the Dr's to have a peek at? 

[TigerTail]

Sorry I missed the update! Yay, you!