Scared to Go #2

My daughter went t hrough this a year ago and she still has stress about going number 2. I continue giving her benefiber every other day to keep it soft. The doc says in time it will not be as stressful.

This sounds very similar to what we experienced with my daughter. I am not sure if your daughter is potty trained or not, but once my daughter was potty trained and was able to expel all that she needed to, all was taken care of and she was a new person! Wearing a diaper did not allow her to relieve herself of all she needed so things got backed up and it was so bad! We did the suppositories, and Miralax as you are, but it didn't solve the problem. We even had a barium enema done and she was SO backed up. I am not sure if your daughter is ready to potty train if she isn't already, but you may want to try that. We did "bribe" our daughter with something of her choice (within reason of course:) ) so that she would poop in the potty. Once she realized that going in the potty made her feel so much better, it was no big deal. Good luck to all of you!

Honey I feel very sorr for you. I know what your going through. I went through that when my daughter was one, and still going through it. What I did with my daughter was make it a big deal as your doing, and find a food that she loves, like candy, fruit, and every time she goes or even tries praise her with that food or what ever else you can think of. My daugher is 8 years old and still has constipation problems, so I truly have been there, and I truly feel sorry for you and your daughter. Wish you alot of luck.

How is your daughter doing now? The trick is to keep her bowels moving and not let the situation get to the point that she needs a suppository. Her diet should include whole grains, fruit and veggies. You can help to keep her bowels moving with a daily dose of flax oil. Flax oil is full of fiber and omega 3. The only side effect of taking too much flax oil is loose bowels. If that happens, then cut back on the amount. Another thing to consider is a child's probiotic (purchased at a whole foods store or online) to keep her digestive track full of good bacteria, promoting normal bowels. I'm the author of "Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater." There's lots of helpful info on my website> http://www.BabyBites.info

My son went through this same thing as a baby and then as a toddler. It was really difficult. He would run around the room crying because he didn't want to go. The main key is getting it out. Make sure she goes every 1 to 2 days because the muscles in the rectum have to retrain themselves to be smaller. This can take from weeks to months.

We used to say prayers with him that it would be okay and that helped him calm down, but a few times we used the baby enemas because they got it out faster than the suppositories. We also did the benefiber with prune juice and Dulcolax to get it really soft. My pediatrician said to get it almost runny so it would come out regularly and then back off of those supplements so he wouldn't get dependent. 1 teaspoon of olive oil mixed with food was also a really gentle way to get it to go all the way through.

The biggest thing is you have got to figure out what is bothering her that she's eating! I took my son off of wheat because gluten intolerance runs in my family. That helped at first, but when the constipation returned I finally connected it to dairy. Formula as a baby and then cheese and milk as a toddler. When I took him off of that, he started going normally every one to two days. It has been a miracle for us to have finally figured that out. Give it a good 2-3 weeks, though to see what's working or take her to an allergist.

Doctors will only give you prescriptions and remedies, the gluten test came back negative for my son, but sometimes the only way to tell is with a biopsy, which I wasn't going to do. I have since learned so much about food and try to give him at least 3 fruits a day, and he has switched to Soy or Rice milk. Be careful with the benefiber, I think I only gave him 1 teaspoon mixed with a juice cup with half prune/apple juice and half water. That's probably where the gas is coming from.

Good luck with your little girl! I know how heartbreaking it can be to watch them go through so much pain. Just keep it as loose as possible and give her unconditional love.

My son is 6 now and has only had 1 or 2 bouts with this since that time in his life, we give him special treats for birthday parties and now if he accidentally eats something with milk it hurts him to the point of throwing up, depending on how much it was. It reaffirms that what I found out when he was young was accurate. You can google children and constipation and milk and see that there are some rare studies linking milk allergies to children with constipation.

Sorry this was so long!

My 3 year old niece has had gastrointestinal issues to the point where her rectum actually turns inside out, so I understand the fear. My sister will go sit next to her while she goes potty and even sings songs and plays games to get her mind off it. Even when everything is soft she screams. My sister just tries to calm her and have her realize that this time didn't hurt, and that it is okay to go.
I would also visit and gastroenterologist if this is an issue.

My only suggestion is to keep doing what you are doing. After she goes enough times "normally" she should figure out that it's not so bad.
My suggestion is to give her Senekot (tastes like chocolate) and it's "soft acting". It corrects the bowels to work normally and after you achieve that you slowly take her off so that she is not dependent on a supplement to help her go. I believe they sell it OTC now.
Best wishes to you!

Distract her if you think she is going to need to go. She at her age I assume is in diapers, just try and keep her busy. I know when basically was time of day my kids went if she is regular in that sense.
At that age it is very hard to explain that holding it can be dangerous to her health, keep giving her lot's of water to help with constipation too. She will go a few times and if there is no pain feel more at ease, just traumatic I am sure for her with the pain that comes from constipation. Also try probiotics, like Activia yogurt or they have capsule forms you can sprinkle in food, ask your pharmacy. That will help get her digestive system back on track. I would see if it is due because of a food allergy or reaction to dairy too.
My daughter had an under developed disgestive system as an infant and I had to put her on predigested formula to help with constipation and tummy problems. She grew out of it but dig deeper on the cause too.
I know at that age my kids would go off somewhere to poop in their diaper, if you see her do this or need to go maybe distract her, she has little self control if she truly has to go. I would talk to the Dr if it continues as if she holds it, it can be a whole bunch of other health. Hugs.

When this happened to my daughter, I was all comfort and no scolding. I told her I was sorry that it hurt...and that we wanted the poop to come out so it wouldn't hurt any more. I held her hand. I asked her if she wanted something that would help. I gave her 3 prunes and then a cup of water. While I know those things don't help right away, she didn't. After that, she'd come ask me for prunes (we call them 1-2-3 since I give her 3 of them.)

Pinapple juice is also fantastic for preventing constipation. Also exercise.

We walk thru these steps together and that seems easier for her. I know some people have also tried a warm bath and letting her poop in the tub then scrubbing it clean. That sounded too icky for me.