I am hoping to get in to the pediatrician within the next few weeks, but until then, I am hoping you can offer some advice. My daughter is 4 years old and has been suffering from very hard stools for maybe a year or so. It will hurt her to poop, so she holds it and it probably impacts and gets bigger and harder. I thought things were better because she has not had an episode in over 6 months, but today was awful. She was ornery and upset about everything today and I kept asking if she was sick or had a "poop problem" as we call them, because she was just acting so out of character, but she said no. Of course, that was exactly what the problem was, and we spent the last hour in the bathroom with her shaking and screaming like a banshee trying to poop it out. I have some liquid glycerine things for emergencies like this that help, but I really would like to figure out how to avoid it getting to that point. She has 2 cups of milk per day. She takes a fiber gummy daily. I offer lots of fruits and vegetables- she eats like a bird, so not sure how much fiber she really is getting. She probably needs more water so I am going to work on that. Any other suggestions?
The Dr will just tell you to put her on a high fiber diet and perscribe her Miralax. My son had hard stools and I would give him Plum juice daily. Plum juice actually has more fiber than prune juice and apple juice. 1 cup of raspberries has 8 grams of fiber.
Here are a few links for foods and drinks high in fiber.
http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/drinks-high-in-fiber.php
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-foods/NU00582
I would get her to drink more water and cut back to one glass of milk a day (she can get calcium from other sources like broccoli). How much meat does she eat? This too can contribute to constipation and/or hard poops. Prunes and prune juice should help and avoid bananas and rice.
I would also start her on probiotic’s they make powdered packets you can add to her foods or drinks. They helped my daughter so much with her constipation and hard poops. Also try to get her to eat foods that are high in fiber not just the gummies.
The milk may be constipating her. Foods like bananas and chocolate are also extremely constipating. You need to give her some probiotics everyday. Just sprinkle a bit into her water or juice and see if that helps. I give it to my son everytime he eats bananas. She also needs to eat some prunes or drink a bit of prune juice everyday. I think though, she might have a milk allergy/intolerence and she needs to drink more water.
Is it possible that she's Lactose intolerant? Sounds just like my son, and then we switched him to Lactose free milk and it really helped us. And on bad days or if it's been awhile, I mix prune juice in with his apple juice and that helps too. Make sure she drinks lots of water and that will help too!
Does she sanwhiches? My daughter (also 4)has either toasted cheese or PB&J on high fiber bread. Since she does not like fruits or veggies I give her Fruitables to drink as well as water. We call them "stuck poopies" and she knows that if she does not drink enough water or fruitables juice or eat right she will hurt when she goes. That is enough of an incentive for her to eat somewhat more of her sandwhich.... maybe something similar will work with your daughter.
Good luck!
Probably every six months or so we need to use a glycerin suppository, ithas been awhile though.
This sounds like she has a gluten or lactose problem. It might NOT be about fiber. Milk is a dairy product and does stop you up.
You can give her yogurt - it has fiber as well. Activia might work for her. I don't know.
I would start keeping a food diary for her. Find out what she eats during the day. Water is VERY important in keeping stools loose.
I can tell you that the longer she holds her bowel movements will hurt her. Not just in pooping but SERIOUSLY hurt her. Her bowels WILL get larger and the sensation can go away.
We had to do this with our son. After dinner every night we made him go to the bathroom and poop. He got to read a book and sit there until he pooped. We did this because he was holding his poops and the doctor told him and us - if you continue doing this - you will hurt yourself. So now - he's on schedule - and poops daily.
More water, yogurt, prune juice, maybe lesser milk, toast, bananas. See if this makes any impact at all...
Poor kid...hope it gets better soon...
Poor little dear, she's in a vicious cycle, she knows it hurts to poop, so she holds it, which makes it hard to go and confirms her fears :(
Milk is constipating, try giving her Activia yogurt instead of milk. Increase her water drinking, i see you are giving her the gummy fibers, i used them with my guy, but unless she is drinking lots of water the fiber cannot work properly, the poop gets hard to pass, she also may need more than one gummy a day.
Bananas are constipating, give her apples with the skin on, or applesauce, prunes, no processed foods or foods with lots of sugar, added or natural. Make her smoothies (some Activia, fruit, some fruit/veggie juice and ice) to encourage and get her to eat something that will help her body. Oatmeal, sliced grapes, whole grained cereals and breads, and broccoli (raw with some ranch dip, my guy calls them "little trees") are also good fiber food choices.
Make sure she is getting plenty of physical exercise, running and jumping helps to keep things moving through her intestinal tract. Have her kick around a soccer ball and chase after it, play hopscotch, jump rope, whatever gets her moving.
And set aside regular times for her to sit and try to poop a few times a day, don't wait for her to say she needs to go. Give her some fruit and water a little before, let her have a book she reads just a those times, "It Hurts When I Poop" is a good one.
http://www.amazon.com/Hurts-Story-Children-Scared-Potty/d...
If you want her to drink a lot of water, strap a camelback on her back. The novelty of it does the trick every time. If I am trying to get my kids to drink more I just fill it and give it to them.... my daughter will literally drink it all in a 1/2 hour. Several days in a row and I know she is well hydrated! Excercise helps a lot too.
I suggest lots more water and Miralax. I used it twice a day for a week to clean her out so to speak. Then used it once a day for a week. Then every other day for a week. Then once every three days for a week.
You are cleaning them out and then helping their bodies get on a schedule so to speak. My ped suggested this and it truly helped my child. Hope you find what works best for her.
I recommend water lots of water if she won't drink water try Kool Aide. I buy the sugar free (the old fashioned kind in the little packets) if you can get her to drink 3-4 glasses of that a day to start it will help. Keep a glass or cup of water in a spot where she can get to it all day. Try to get her to take sips of water often.
I would also try fruits--keep offering them. Pick up some fresh fruit and cut it and keep it in a covered bowl in the refrig. Give her 2-3 pieces with each meal of different kinds. For example, a couple pieces of melon, apple, orange, pineapple, peach, pear -- the more you can get her to eat the better.
try miralax, my daughter has the same problem. The doctor suggested anytime she goes a day or two without a bowel movement give her a dose of miralax. It is a powder you mix into any drink. It doesn't have a taste so you can mix it into water just fine. The miralax will loosen things up so they can have a normal or softer poop within the next day.
Adding the water can't hurt and you can always add things like prunes or grape juice to her diet if you think that will help.
Our pediatrician has us add 1/2 tsp (once a day) of Miralax to a 8oz drink. We've found that mixing it with chocoloate or strawberry milk works best and hides the taste. We call it her 'go' juice and when she (5y) feels she is starting to have problems, she'll ask for it.
Activia Yogurt is a delicious and guaranteed solution I use for both my kids and myself! It's made to aid in digestion and works every time! One a day!
I hate to play the gluten card, but.... It has that effect on me. When my son started eating Cheerios, he was literally shittin' bricks (one the size fo my fist. He even bled a little.). My poor baby was waking in the night, sweating like crazy and crying to get through it. Outside of that, he was constipated. I took away the Cheerios after about a week, and he has not had that problem since. We'll reintroduce Cheerios later, maybe. For now, they are a no-no. Check out that fiber gummy. Find a substitute and see if that makes a difference. I used to get constipated and took fiber stuff to help, but it only made me worse.
