Constipation Problem

My daughter had the same problem for a LONG time. Two things that turned it around for her: Mission Carb Balance Wheat Tortillas have 21 grams of fiber in ONE tortilla. I make sure she eats one a day, and in the morning before breakfast it helps to give probiotics. This is the best one I have found for kids, and it's yummy. http://www.naturesway.com/?pid=14243

S.,
I understand what your going through, I have been dealing with this with my son for several months.
He holds back his poop even arching his back to clinch his butt cheeks..
I finally took him to see a GI Dr. She did a nine day cleaning out of him since she said he was really badly constipated. (Even though he was pooping every 2 days)...
So I had to do the following:
Day 1. Child Fleet Enema
Day 2. Suppository
Day 3. Miralax
follow for 9 days I am coming up to my 9th day soon.
He has been feeling much better. My son has been very very clingy towards everyone, Had no urge to go play since he was so uncomfortable.
I tried the Flax Seed and Probiotics and thought it was helping (Still will continue once he gets on a regular routine)
I also had blood work drawn for him in case he has some food allergies.

I got a call 1 day after his blood was drawn and he was very anemic, So started him on Iron drops (Take about constipation, sure will be now) and getting him retested next week for anemic...
My son is a very picky eater.. So hard for him to drink Juice, Eat specific foods.. He likes the same things.. We try everything.

The dr. is going to keep him on Miralax to get him regular and I hope that helps. I hate having him on medication but if it helps then I will do what I have to so my son will be ok and happy go lucky kid. He has been so playful and loving the last few days.. Wonderful to see that.

I think maybe talking to her dr to see if other things are going on.
I was at the last straw, I was so sad and upset that I may have done something to cause this, so I finally decided to take him to the GI dr, since they are specialist's in that area...
I needed to know I have done everything possible to help him.
I feel much better knowing he may be on his road to having normal bowel movements....

Good luck and let us know how it comes out.... :)

Hi S.,
my daughter is the same age and has the same problem. I have limited things like bananas and rice while increasing carrots, blueberries, pears, and fiber. At the advice of her doctor, I give her prune and pear juices mixed 50/50 with water every morning. I also started her on probiotics from Whole Foods recently with great results. I only give her milk at mealtime and try to keep total amount for the day between 16-20 oz. As for potty training, my daughter prefers to poop in the toilet! She isn't potty trained yet, but is been pooping in the toilet alot for about 6 months. I've also read from other moms about flax seed but haven't tried it yet. Good luck!
L.

Hi S.,

I recommend limiting sugary snacks like cookies and crackers, and increasing the antioxidant and fiber power of berries, whole grains, and green tea. Believe it or not but toddlers can drink green tea, and mine loves tea. I also recommend probiotics like yogurt and kefir, or whole food wheat grass mixed with her milk at meal time (you can find a chocolate flavor at the COOP downtown called Amazing Grass Kidz Superfood Outrageous Chocolate Flavor, for ages 2 and up). Try introducing her to whole tomatoes, tomato juice, and carrots or carrot juice. My daughter never gets constipated except once or twice a year and she eats bananas like crazy. Try dried papaya as a snack; kids love it because it’s sweet like raisins and helps with constipation. I can’t get my daughter to eat broccoli although it has a ton of fiber in it. My mother-in-law said she used to puree it into spaghetti sauce in order to get more fiber into her kid’s diet when they were picky eaters. I took a nutrition class last summer and learned a lot from it. Good luck with you little tot.

Ps. I have read a few of the responses from other moms and I know that every mom wants to limit the use of Meds because quite frankly if it isn’t natural then why would we want to put it into our children. I want to remind all moms that children are growing and sometimes they grow so fast that other parts of their bodies like their digestive system are growing at a different rate/pace and that is when we experience problems like constant constipation or other imbalances. And please remember that not all doctors are created equal. If your doctor wants to give your child meds then challenge him/her on it. Ask questions, like is it natural, organic, or synthetic, and how does it work exactly and what are the side effects or long term problems. Tell your doctor that you want to look into it before you make a decision and then ask him/her if there are any other options. Remember that constipation can be caused by food intolerances too, often caused by dairy and wheat gluten. Try keeping a food journal and diaper/potty journal. Something you feed her today doesn’t necessarily correspond with her potty schedule for today but rather several days down the road. If she is constipated today then consider what she ate several days ago. Just in case you think I am crazy, I am a pre-nursing student and the daughter and granddaughter of two nurses.

Hi S.,
We went through this with both of our daughters around that age! No fun. Here's what we did:

1) limit the amount of milk and cheese your child eats and drinks. Only give yogurt with live cultures. Dairy constipates kids big-time.
2) use Miralax every day (this is extremely benign, and is not a laxative - its only purpose is to make the poop softer. It's not habit-forming. =)
3) if you're going through an extreme bout of constipation, give your child 2 tbsp. mineral oil twice a day until everything's flowing normally again. The mineral oil breaks up the poop in a hurry. Really keep the diaper on tight, because when she goes, she'll REALLY go.
4) potty train her as soon as possible. When they are in diapers, they are standing up to poop, and that allows them to hold it all in, which compounds the issue.

I hope this helps!!

My daughter had the SAME EXACT problem. I couldn't even get her to go by giving her prune juice. I was reduced to giving her Miralax and it killed me because I hate pumping kids full of meds.

And then I potty trained. I had been putting off the potty training because she was having the pooping problems. I finally decided that enough was enough and I would potty train through the constipation. Do you know that since I started potty training 3 weeks ago, my daughter has not been constipated once. She has not pooped in her pants once. And she goes poop in the toilet regularly twice a day.

It turned out that my daughter simply did not want to poop in her diaper.

Of course, I am not a doctor, so follow a doctor's advice. I had the same problem with my son. I use Benefiber, it is odorless, tasteless powder. I use about a teaspoon once per day (still do and he is 4 1/2), and he has been pretty regular since. Still tends to have hard BM's vs. soft - but not painful anymore. I just told him that he had to let it come out, and push it out not hold it in. Of course I had to tell him many times, but he did get it.

Good luck.

have u checked for food allergies and intolerances? ( ie;candida albicans?celiacs disease?) sounds like that's what may be happening............ peace 2 u,stef

My daughter had the same problem...we just put Miralax(you can get at longs or wherever over the counter) in her juice and it helps regulate her. A little goes a long way and she doesn't seem to have a problem. They can't taste it at all( I have tried it) and it doesn't give my daughter any diarreah. You can also get Probiotics....it helps with the lower stomach and urinary tract. It is sold at a health food store and it is refrigerated....kind of spendy but it will last you awhile!

hi, my son who is now 10 went through this too. He would hold it in and get so compacted that you could feel the hardness if you pushed down on his stomach from everything being held up. I would suggest you visit her doctor first to rule out any problems. Then add more fiber to her diet as others have suggested. The one thing that "cured" us and I have told other people about this too, is KONDRAMUL - it's a sort of mineral oil that is white and tastes better. My doctor (Kaiser) suggested it and is really worked and got him back on track. One other thing too is don't make a huge deal out of it in front of her, if she is anything like my son was, the more of a deal we made of it the more worried he got about it and it seemed to make the problem worse. Good luck!