Help with Constipation!!!

Pears have worked for us! Prune juice used to work, but for some reason now it doesn't. We were looking for another juice or food and the pediatrician recommended pears.

K.,

We are in the middle of treating our 21 month old son for constipation issues right now. I'll try not to drag this out but give you the quick low down of where we are so you can see if this is anything like you might be headed to.

Gage started having a very hard time going poop, he would push for hours and it was obvious he was in pain. We finally gave him a supossitory and he would go but it would be a hard large lump. For nearly two weeks this continued, it was obvious it was not going to clear up with "diet" so I took him to the ped. He was given an enema in the office because it was so obvious he was full of poop and after about two minutes, the enema helped him go and you could just see the relief on his little face.

The dr. said that if consitpation continues for too long, the rectal area becomes stretched and loses sensation to go. Also, since my little boy is within an arms reach of potty training, she said if we didn't get it under control he would associate pooping with pain and purposely hold it in.

So, he is on on Glycolax for two months. It is a tasteless powder he drinks in apple juice. One mom already mentioned that it has just gone OTC so you can buy it without a prescrip. The dr. said it is very safe to use. Also, starting today as a matter of fact, he will be getting one teaspoon of Citrucil in water to give him a little extra fiber. He's very picky and there's no way he will get the fiber he needs through diet. If after two months his system is not back to normal, he'll go see a gastro dr. to make sure it's not something more complicated (two months is because it takes that long for the rectal area to go back to it's normal size).

If your daughter continues to be constipated, especially if she is really pushing and nothing is coming then I would take her to the dr. I wish I hadn't dragged it out for so long with my little boy, I just kept hoping it would straighten out.

Best wishes.
G.

p.s. i forgot to mention that the ped. suggested we cut back milk to 16 oz. a day until the constipation was over, milk leads to constipation some times she says

My Niece had BIG problems with this! I would walk her around with her facing me with her legs wrapped around me and she would just cry and squeeze me so tight trying to go to the bathroom. When she did it was like a golf ball...poor baby. She was straining really hard!

My sister in law took her to the Dr. and he gave her glycolax (her twin little brothers were also on it) and he also told her to put her on skim milk instead of whole. It has helped her alot! Now, with the skim milk, she rarely has problems. When she does, she gets a bit of glycolax AKA "turbo lax" and she is good to go!

She has always been a great eater...fruits, veggies, etc. but the whole milk was the culprit. She also steers clear of cheese, etc.

Good luck!
C.

Try some diluted prune juice ... A LITTLE GOES A LONG MESSY WAY!!!

A warm bath always worked wonders for my little guys. We have had constipation problems before and a bath always worked. White grape juice and Juicy Juice cherry juice worked too.

If that doesn't work try MiraLax. It is now over the counter and I can tell you that it works.

My 5 year old is a little bit backed up right now because of switching him from soy to cow's milk to rice milk. He is going back on soy milk per his pediatricians instructions. I have to buy some of those fiber wafers to help him get back to normal.

Good luck

If she won't take prune juice because of the taste...try any kind of fruit juice. just simple APPLE JUICE always worked for us...in fact sometimes I'd forget to stop giving it to him (so much) and he'd have loose stools for days after his constipation.
Continue to give soft fruits like applesauce, pears, watermelon at every meal and or snacktime.

Prune juice- or the baby food- prunes.

K.,

I know you said that you tried Veggies, but weren't specific. I give my son (and I gave advise to someone last week) sweet potatoes. See if she will take the 3rd version since she is 15 months. If that doesn't work, try baby Prunes. The taste is horrible but they work also.

I hope you find relief soon.

J.

If you are using dietary methods, it could take another 2 or 3 days for it to work, so you have to be patient. an ounce or two of prune juice once or twice a day for 2 or 3 days does it. Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal as a snack is good. Definitely avoid bananas.
If you are desperate (or she is!) my doc said we could use Milk of Magnesia. It usually produces results in a couple hours. You have to check with your doc for the dose. It's not much.

I know you've been trying fruits, but have you tried prune juice specifically? Also try using the tip of a thermometer, insert it gently and leave for a few seconds. I know this tends to work with infants, not sure on a toddler her age though. Good luck!!

-Char

My ped. prescribes Miralax for my son. We've seen a ped. gastro doc too. He recommends the Miralax also. It is not addictive and can be taken for many years to come. We mix it right in with orange juice. This has helped my son immensely!

K., our dr. told us about Milk of Magnesia. It works like a charm. Give her about a tablespoon, and throw a party in about an hour or so. It's awesome. My 14 mo old has had some big potty issues as well. If yours is still on the bottle, you could use about a tablespoon of lite Karo in that instead.

Sounds like you have tried everything. My only suggestions is a warm bath, massage to her lower back, and a little gentle stimulation to the area with a wash cloth. I know this sounds icky, but sometimes the muscles need a little reminder of what they need to do.

I hope this helps! I so feel her pain right now with my pregnancy when I don't drink enough water.

Good luck!
Jodi

My doctor said unless your little one is straining to go or is having hard stool that they are using all of their intake for fuel to grow. However if they are turely constipated use the prune juice as suggested earlier.
best wishes.
L.