Constipation Problems!

Okay when he goes to the potty does he have a foot stool under his feet? I went through this with a child I used to babysit. He was taking Milk of Magnesium everyday until we discovered that if he had something he could firmly plant his feet on then it was easier for him to have a BM. It gave him some stability. Good Luck

Well maybe he holds it in because it dose hurts so bad when he dose go. He just might be scared . try a stool softener . it will make him have to go regularly and the stool wont get hard enough to hurt . I do think they sell them over the counter at your local drug store if not i would ask your doctor to give you a script because this could cause other problems .

L.:

I just went thru this with my son. I got to the point that I didn't care if he didn't go in the toilet I just wanted it over. He would whine for a day and half and we would go back and forth to the toilet. I found that a warm bath was the best I could do besides take and back and forth and encourage him to push. The best thing is to incoporate more fiber in his diet, I try to give my sons grapes at least every other day and give him a fiber rich cereal, frosted mini-wheats worked well. Then he began to realize that if he goes right away instead of pushing it back that it won't hurt much. Plus we always give him a popsicle after he poops and we call all of our family to let them know.

Good luck, I know this can be hard to see him and pain and put a damper on the potty training.
S.

My daughter was almost 5 when she went #2 on the potty!!! She mastered #1 early and easily, but held it until she got a pull-up on to go #2. She screamed on the potty, too. worried about it excessively, offering candy, toys, ANYTHING!! Finally, one evening, she got up from the dinner table to get a pull-up and I said why don't we go to the potty- she said ok and went!! I know this doesn't give you any real help, but just know that they will do it when they are ready, not before!!! Don't let him hold it, it will just cause constipation. Just wait it out. I'm sure it will be fine soon!!! Above all, don't fret about it. All kids are different.

Hi L.,

Well, I recently posted here because my 3 1/2 year old daughter who has been potty trained for a whole year had a bout of constipation. I'm not sure what started hers, but one day she had a hard bm then was scared to go again after that and would hold it for days. I ended up having to get her a suppository, but didn't want to use them too much. I upped her fiber intake, but also talked with her about how "everyone poops". It worked for her. I told her that for her tummy to not hurt anymore she needed to go. Also went through a long list of everything (people, babies, animals, etc) I could think of that poops! Told her that even snakes go poo-poo. It worked for my daughter. Since your child is younger and still newly potty trained you can ask him if he prefers to go in a diaper. If he will, then I would let him go in the diaper and just let him use the potty when he is ready. It's not worth jeapardizing his health and if you try to force him it just because a control issue. Good luck.

You can also try a teaspoon of dark karo syrup in either a cup of milk or some juice. It has to be the dark karo and not the light. The dark karo is a natural laxative. It does wonders for my son.

L.,
I guess for the short term solution you could try prune juice, it is natural, safe and effective.
For the long term solution, a friend of mine tried this trick and I am intending to try it when it's time for me to potty train my son. She told her daughter that Mr. poopy is going to go to the ocean to swim with his friends and if she keeps him inside he'll be sad and make her tummy hurt, her daughter was acting just like your son and she had constipation all the time. Now, the daughetr goes potty regularly and before my friend flushes the toilet she waves bye bye to Mr. poopy. I am sorry for giving too much detail but maybe this would work. No one knows how those little minds work..
Good luck

My daughter had the same problem. We took her to a GI DR and he took xrays of her stomach. She had been holding it for so long her intestine streched to as big as a adults. He gave her Miralax (laxitive) we mixed with her drinks for about a month. This gave her intestines time to shrink back to normal size. We had no more problems after this. (We took her to her regular dr and he told me she was shy was the reason why she cried and held it I tried to explain to him that blood in her stool has nothing to do with her being shy. So thats when I took her to the GI dr) Hope this helps.

Hi L. H.,

My oldest son was doing the same thing and I took him to the docter and he made me give him some Cetrocel, but I would consult a doctor to make sure that is ok.

M. D.

Try talking to your doctor. My cousins had the same problems they had megacolon I think that is what it is called. I dont know how rare it is or anything but it sounds excatly like what they used to do.

We went through this with our son. He was always in a lot of pain because he wouldn't go. In fact he was still not potty trained. At the time, he was still in pull ups. It was December and I still didn't have my tree up. He loves Christmas and I knew he would like it. I found some clipart online of a Christmas tree. I printed it out along with some presents. I placed it by his potty at his height and told him that every time he went to the bathroom he would get a present under the tree. When he got five, we would put the tree up. By the end of the day, I was putting the tree up. I believe he had one accident the next day a church but has had no trouble since then. For the rest of the season he would get a prize after every five presents under tha tree. He was still having trouble going #2 so soon I switched to giving him a sticker just for that.

After Christmas, I printed off big letters of his name. I lamenated them and put tape on the back. Every time he would poop we would put a letter on the wall by the potty. When we spell his name, he gets a prize. It wasn't long before he knew how to spell his name. Now he knows how to spell his first and middle name and he is only 3 1/2 years old. I am about to switch to our last name. That will be more challenging with nine letters, but he didn't have any trouble learning how to spell Joshua Caleb. Now he has no problem going and he is learning how to spell at the same time. It might not work for your kid, but it sure worked for mine.

My son had the same problem.Try apple sauce,raisins,things high in fiber.If that doesn't work try a little benefiber in the morning.Set aside time every day for him to go.I'd give mine coloring books or favorite toys to play with while he sits there.If that didn't work I'd take him off the potty and into a warm bath for awhile and that usually did the trick.You have to make him sit there,that's usually the hardest part.Try to fix the problem now because it can get so much worse.Mine missed school for a week when he was 8 because of this.I finally had to resort to an enima.It was horrible.I also set up goody bags .I got a string and paper clips and envelopes and pinned it in the bathroom.I'd put stickers small items from an older sibling(like hotwheels,pokemon cards)suckers,and that went over really well.I think he liked that he got to pick and it was like a surprise.Good luck.

Dear L.:
Have him drink a lot. Water and fruit juices are best, milk is good but does not 'count' towards drinking. Fruits like prunes, plums, pears and peaches are good.

Check the age and get a stool softener. My son is older and uses Kaopectate, but they may have something for 3-year-olds, too.

Also try prune extract pills (natural and gentle).

Fiber is always good, but only when he drinks enough, otherwise it aggravates the problem.

You can also get probiotics (natural) like acodophilus (not sure about the spelling) and Culurelle (only from Walgreen). Again, check the age.

Finally, look into milk of magnesia (they have cherry-flavored).

Whatever you do, pause after a while so he does not get used to it, or the effect will wear off. Only drinking and fruit should be kept up ongoing. Of course, healthy exercise and play is necessary still.

Good luck,
W.

I had this same problem with my son. He turned 4 today and has been potty trained for 2 years. When I would see that he needed to go I would sit him on the potty and I would sit either on the floor or on the tub next to him and read him a book to get his mind off of it. Then when he would tense up I would make him stay there until he went, after going he was excited with himself. It worked wonders!! He was trained in no time!

Try apple juice, it makes it easier to go.