Constipation woes and glycerin suppository questions

[LucyG]

We've got big-time constipation troubles here. DD hasn't gone in five days, and she has complained about her stomach hurting for three days. She refuses prune juice and apricots, and isn't really eating a lot of anything. Of course, our ped's office is closed until Tuesday. Can I give her a glycerin suppository, or do we need to see the dr. first? She is really uncomfortable and upset, and is very listless. It's scaring the heck out of me. Any suggestions?



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2 years and counting!

[Calmegja2]

We've done the suppository with good results before....

Here's a reference and guides from Dr. Sears:

http://askdrsears.com/html/8/t081100.asp

[nd93]

We've had issues with DD#1. The ped gave us a prescription for miralax, which helps. But we were also told to give an enema first to get things going, so to speak. Does your dr have a paging service so you can at least talk w/someone? We've also given mineral oil, with so so results. We used to mix the mineral oil w/chocolate syrup to get DD to take it.

Good luck.

[starrynight]

Yes I would go ahead and give her the suppository now instead of waiting. If you can get her belly ache to go away and get her to go she will probably start eating better again which will help it from happening again. If you have any flax seeds in the house or flax oil that works well.

[lisams]

We use Benefiber. It's a powder that is tasteless and disolves into all kinds of food - yogurt, applesauce, milk, etc. When DD goes longer than a few days we up it to two teaspoons a day, but use one teaspoon a day for "maintenance". It't the only thing that has really helped her.

When she does go it will probably hurt her. What you can do is put a big lump of petroleum jelly (or something like diaper cream) right on her rectum and it will help the poop to slide out with less pain when she goes. Also warm baths can help relax the muscles. She'll probably be scared to go again next time and will hold it, so you might want to keep her on whatever helps for a few weeks until she realizes it wont hurt her everytime she goes. That's why we give DD the Benefiber everyday, and probably will until she is not trying to hold her poops anymore.

Good luck, I totally know how scary this is. Hopefully she'll go very soon.

[crayonblue]

I have given DD a glycerin supposity a couple of times for severe constipation and it worked like magic. Before the suppository, she was lying on the floor, crying. After, she was running around, happy as can be! I would suggest going ahead with the suppository.

[Rachels]

Definitely try the suppository. One other thing to try, too, is milk of magnesia. A teaspoon will do it for Abigail, and we've been through stretches where we've needed to do that more or less regularly.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
New baby coming in October!
(Holy smokes, it's a boy!!!)


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou
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Nursed for three years!

[LucyG]

OK, I just gave her 1 teaspoon of Milk of Magnesia, plus she ate a healthy serving of baked beans. Let's hope one of both of those does the trick! I decided to try the MOM first, as I could see her completely freaking out over a suppository. Whether she poops before Tuesday or not, we're still going to see the ped.


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2 years and counting!

[KCR4]

Both our children drink less than ideal amounts of water (they just seem to be born "not thirsty"!)

We have used Miralax pretty much for years with the older one and for the past several months with my 22 mo. old. Benefiber and Milk of Magnesia on an as needed basis. And glycerin suppositories to get things going about once every two months.

Miralax is not a stimulant, it is a stool softener. Our gastroenterologist alleviated any concerns I had about long term use; additional info is available on the Internet too.

Sometimes too much dairy can be a problem. But, I'm still nursing my 22 month old - and supplementing with soy milk - and he has constipation just like his big brother did (who weaned much earlier and drank cows milk!)

[Kungjo]

Constipation is something we deal with every single day. We usually give her an oral laxative that tastes like root beer to get things going if she hasn't gone in 2-3 days.

If you DD hasn't gone in 5 days, then you can be sure that the stool is pretty compacted, dry, and HARD. It's going to hurt coming out. I would give her the suppository to lubricate and stimulate. What I've found that's better than the regular glycerin suppositories is a product called FLEET BABYLAX. It's a box of six little applicators that holds liquid glycerin suppositories. We've had great success with those.

HTH

Joyce

[Marisa6826]

Sophie is permanently 'stuck'. She gets regular doses of Milk of Magnesia. 2 tsp when she really needs a, um, kickstart. 1 tsp for 'maintenance'.

This is with the total blessing of my Ped. Soph happily takes it (cherry Philips MoM - refrigerated) and it usually works in a couple of hours.

I highly recommend it - you might also want to move to 2% milk. Whole milk and lots of cheese are Sophie's biggest downfalls.

-m