Help!! Chronic Constipation.(long and desperate)

[BabyMine]

M has been doing really well with pooping in the toilet and wearing underwear. A couple weeks ago we noticed his stomach getting distended. I increased his Miralax and started our protocol fro his GI Dr. After 48 hours without pooping then we did a 1/2 bottle of magnesium citrate. That didn't work. The we did Miralax every hour. He would only drink 4 glasses with it mixed in. That didn't work. So we had to do an enema. We did it on a friday so he could get it all out at home.

He went to school Monday and soiled his underwear. Even if he knows he pooped his underwear he won't go to the bathroom unless his teacher tells him too. Unfortunately, the other kids have already smelled him and start calling him names.

On Thursday his teacher told me he threw up. I picked him up and went to a ped and they did an xray. He didn't have any poop but he had big areas of gas. The ped was a little worried becasue it wasn't dispersed but was only on one side of the bowels. He told me to give him simethicone every 4 hours.

Friday he had another accident at school. He came home and pooped a whole bunch and his stomach looked a little better.

Late Saturday he stomach was looking really bad and was tight. He hadn't pooped all day. We gave him the rest of the magnesium citrate. Nothing happened.

I have increased his dose and frequency of Miralax. I am making sure he is drinking tons of water. His stomach isn't as hard as it was yesterday but it hasn't gone down.

Please help. We are at a loss. I know he is embarassed and that is why he ignores it when he soils his underwear but he needs to clean up after so the other kids don't smell him and tease him.

I asked him if it hurts to poop and he tells me yes then no.

How can we help him? He is going to K in August and I was hoping he would have had this beat by now.

Thank you if you read it all.

[StantonHyde]

So sorry!! This is really tough. We have been giving DS Miralax since the age of 1. He is now 7.5 yo and gets 2tsp a day. I have found that keeping that consistent EVERY day is the key to managing his constipation. I find that if I take it for constipation on an as needed basis, it just makes me gassy and doesn't work. So make sure you are maintaining the Miralax.

The other thing to try is mineral oil--you mix it in milk or something but that is usually given by itself, not in addition to Miralax.

My DS has a crappola diet, honestly, he could live on carbs and dairy. Some good fiber additions--popcorn, if you can get him to eat one of those Fiber One bars or a Kashi bar--they make chocolate etc.

I would ask my ped for a systematic method to manage the constipation--e.g. something given every day plus fiber(?) plus stool softener(??).

That is sooooo hard for your poor DS! Hugs mamma.

[Melbel]

It sounds like your DS is having a horrible time. Have you tried probiotics? We started taking daily probiotics for yeast issues but found it really helped with constipation.

ETA: Prunes really helped DS too.

[graciebellesmomma]

I feel your pain, or, rather, my daughter did.

Once we got her emptied out, we started her on a regime of a prune with lunch, a prune with dinner and one probiotic. She's been golden, ever since. It's been a year and a few months, since she's had an issue and she had problems her entire life until then.

This is the one that we take. I notice if I don't take mine, I have a bit harder time
with bms, as well. I've turned quite a few people on to them and they have all had
great success.

I hope you can find something that works for your boy.

http://www.amazon.com/Natrol-BioBead.../dp/B001HCHGO8

[BabyMine]

So sorry!! This is really tough. We have been giving DS Miralax since the age of 1. He is now 7.5 yo and gets 2tsp a day. I have found that keeping that consistent EVERY day is the key to managing his constipation. I find that if I take it for constipation on an as needed basis, it just makes me gassy and doesn't work. So make sure you are maintaining the Miralax.

The other thing to try is mineral oil--you mix it in milk or something but that is usually given by itself, not in addition to Miralax.

My DS has a crappola diet, honestly, he could live on carbs and dairy. Some good fiber additions--popcorn, if you can get him to eat one of those Fiber One bars or a Kashi bar--they make chocolate etc.

I would ask my ped for a systematic method to manage the constipation--e.g. something given every day plus fiber(?) plus stool softener(??).

That is sooooo hard for your poor DS! Hugs mamma.

He had problems at birth so he had a colostomy. He had it removed almost 2 years later. Since then he has been on Miralax daily. He gets 4 Tbs daily and then increased if he doesn't have a BM that day. We tried the fiber bars but they contain inulin and he has problems digesting that. We did add fiber to his diet but it caused even more problems. His GI has us avoiding cheese, reduce milk products, and increase water. Right now we are experimenting with gummy squares with fiber. He does eat whole wheat bread with fiber and tons of fruits.

It sounds like your DS is having a horrible time. Have you tried probiotics? We started taking daily probiotics for yeast issues but found it really helped with constipation.


ETA: Prunes really helped DS too.

We did try it and it didn't help. We had him eat baby food prunes-which he loves- and it didn't touch it

I feel your pain, or, rather, my daughter did.

Once we got her emptied out, we started her on a regime of a prune with lunch, a prune with dinner and one probiotic. She's been golden, ever since. It's been a year and a few months, since she's had an issue and she had problems her entire life until then.

This is the one that we take. I notice if I don't take mine, I have a bit harder time
with bms, as well. I've turned quite a few people on to them and they have all had
great success.

I hope you can find something that works for your boy.

http://www.amazon.com/Natrol-BioBead.../dp/B001HCHGO8

I'll try the BioBeads and the actual prunes. Before he was eating baby food prunes. Maybe the whole fruit will do something different.

[twowhat?]

Honestly, I think this warrants another visit to the doctor...

[daisymommy]

Obviously something is going very wrong in his system, and possibly in his diet if he needs that much added medicine on a regular basis just to get by. I would get another expert's opinion.

Gluten problems? Celiac? Chrons?

[BabyMine]

Obviously something is going very wrong in his system, and possibly in his diet if he needs that much added medicine on a regular basis just to get by. I would get another expert's opinion.

Gluten problems? Celiac? Chrons?

He had the barium test for Chrons and tested negative.( That was not a fun test) My understanding is that if he can go for months at a time with being regular eating the same foods that he eats when he is constipated that he doesn't have a Gluten problem or Celiac disease. He was also tested for Cystic Fibrosis and tested negative. He was checked for a prolase and anal size (sorry TMI) and they were fine. They had to build and anus because he was born without one and I had to do dilations after they created one.

[KpbS]

Will he eat pears or drink pear juice? For us, those work wonders--also blueberries. Increasing the water really will help and if you need to add a little fruit juice for flavoring so he will drink more that won't hurt. Does he eat broccoli? If he will eat pears, I would have him eat some each day--we usually do a fruit with breakfast and DS1 knows he needs to drink half of his cup at breakfast (about 5-6 oz. of water plus some juice) before the meal is over.

Sorry you are having these problems. It's tough. Hope things improve soon

[BabyMine]

Honestly, I think this warrants another visit to the doctor...

I am calling tomorrow.

Will he eat pears or drink pear juice? For us, those work wonders--also blueberries. Increasing the water really will help and if you need to add a little fruit juice for flavoring so he will drink more that won't hurt. Does he eat broccoli? If he will eat pears, I would have him eat some each day--we usually do a fruit with breakfast and DS1 knows he needs to drink half of his cup at breakfast (about 5-6 oz. of water plus some juice) before the meal is over.

Sorry you are having these problems. It's tough. Hope things improve soon

We do orange juice and apple juice with the Miralax only. I limit juices so he drinks more water. He won't eat pears but I'll pick up some pear juice. He just had some blueberries this morning. He loves watermelon, strawberries, and grapes.