Help with DD..Please

[mom61508]

We have been struggling with constipation for months!! It's gotten pretty severe and I feel it's big ugly cycle. DD will very plugged up for about 4-5 days, then I give her something to help which way more often than I like a glycerin suppository. She will go 1-2 times a day after that then nothing for a day or two and back to struggling to go again.
Yesterday was day 5 and we she passed a HUGE(thick and dry) one while crying,face turning bright red and holding on to me shaking! It was awful.
Today she passed one small one.

I called the pedi and she thinks maybe something is wrong with her bowels or theirs a blockage but I was thinking more along food sensitivities,
Still BF(14 months), and she gets plenty of water daily.

I have tried:
prunes and prune juice that helped a few times but no longer works.
magnesium as much as 1t...nothing
Her and I have been on a probiotic for 1 week(allergen free)
CLO daily
Epsom salt baths
Won't take molasses
won't take licorice root
no dairy for her. very little for me
I try to incorporate flax oil,CO, avocados at least one of these daily
She eats no grains at all. I eat gluten free grains occasionally.
We are waiting for IGg test results

ND said to try karo syrup...yuck! should I?

She said If that doesn't work to get a pedi-laxative(oh how horrible the ingredients are in thatNext step get her GI tractchecked out.
What would you do ladies? Does this sound allergy related??

Thank you for taking the time to help

[mamafish9]

Been there. In March, DS went through that for a couple of weeks, and then stopped pooping entirely (only enemas worked to get him to poop for the next 3 months).

Here's what has finally worked for us:

1) Cutting out salicylates. Constipation is a possible symptom of salicylate sensitivity, a naturally occurring chemical in some foods. Unfortunately, it's highest in fruits, which are what most people recommend to deal with constipation. If your child is sals sensitive, then prunes and prune juice make the problem worse, not better. Flax oil, coconut oil, and avocado are also high sals. Lots of grain free diets are very high in sals - you may find it easier to add in some things as you remove sals.

2) Magnesium - steady doses (it took about 3 months before this had an impact for us, it's not a one time thing).

3) Lots of fats in the diet - coconut oil (if tolerate), animal fats, fish. Avoid oils high in Omega 6.

4) Kefir - I think this helped with good gut bacteria better than pill probiotics.

I'd try cutting sals aggressively for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference for you. Supp mag, molybdenum (you can get pretty tasteless drops from Nutricology), and YOU take B6 (it will pass to her in your bm, and it tastes awful, so it's hard to get a LO to take it).

One more thing to try would be the beet pee test - if she eats just beets, does she get red pee or poop (that would suggest low stomach acid, in which case supp zinc as well).

And some hope - we had a pretty bad case of constipation, and 5 months later, he poops regularly and easily, and can eat a moderate amount of salicylates. I know what you're going through right now is awful, you can solve this!

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Been there. In March, DS went through that for a couple of weeks, and then stopped pooping entirely (only enemas worked to get him to poop for the next 3 months).

Here's what has finally worked for us:

1) Cutting out salicylates. Constipation is a possible symptom of salicylate sensitivity, a naturally occurring chemical in some foods. Unfortunately, it's highest in fruits, which are what most people recommend to deal with constipation. If your child is sals sensitive, then prunes and prune juice make the problem worse, not better. Flax oil, coconut oil, and avocado are also high sals. Lots of grain free diets are very high in sals - you may find it easier to add in some things as you remove sals.

2) Magnesium - steady doses (it took about 3 months before this had an impact for us, it's not a one time thing).

3) Lots of fats in the diet - coconut oil (if tolerate), animal fats, fish. Avoid oils high in Omega 6.

4) Kefir - I think this helped with good gut bacteria better than pill probiotics.

I'd try cutting sals aggressively for a few weeks and see if that makes a difference for you. Supp mag, molybdenum (you can get pretty tasteless drops from Nutricology), and YOU take B6 (it will pass to her in your bm, and it tastes awful, so it's hard to get a LO to take it).

One more thing to try would be the beet pee test - if she eats just beets, does she get red pee or poop (that would suggest low stomach acid, in which case supp zinc as well).

And some hope - we had a pretty bad case of constipation, and 5 months later, he poops regularly and easily, and can eat a moderate amount of salicylates. I know what you're going through right now is awful, you can solve this!

Oh your post has made me feel SO much better, thank you! She has been eating a lot of fruit and meats. Dairy is very constipating for her so we avoid that.

Is there somewhere I can look to see exactly what foods salicylates are in? I'm wondering If that could be part of our problem. I wouldn't say prunes made her worse they actually helped the 3 times I tried it then it didn't do anything so in came the suppositories.

Do you have any ideas how I can get a 1 year old to eat beets lol?????
Kefir You think that would be ok If dairy constiaptes her? She gets feremented pickles and sauerkraut.

What is molybdenum??
How much mag should I give her it's natural calm adult form.
What does the B6 do exactly?

Sorry for ALL the questions but thank you for your help.

Jada

[Chinese Pistache]

I'd look at gluten. Is there any history of celiac or type 1 diabetes in your family? Or IBS or crohn's?

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

I'd look at gluten. Is there any history of celiac or type 1 diabetes in your family? Or IBS or crohn's?

We are gluten free. Have been for 5 weeks

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by mom61508

Oh your post has made me feel SO much better, thank you! She has been eating a lot of fruit and meats. Dairy is very constipating for her so we avoid that.

Is there somewhere I can look to see exactly what foods salicylates are in? I'm wondering If that could be part of our problem. I wouldn't say prunes made her worse they actually helped the 3 times I tried it then it didn't do anything so in came the suppositories.

Do you have any ideas how I can get a 1 year old to eat beets lol?????
Kefir You think that would be ok If dairy constiaptes her? She gets feremented pickles and sauerkraut.

What is molybdenum??
How much mag should I give her it's natural calm adult form.
What does the B6 do exactly?

Sorry for ALL the questions but thank you for your help.

Jada

NAK.

Here's a list of high sals foods.

I got a two year old to eat beets by hiding them in an egg fritter - you only need to get in a tsp or two. Homemade beet chips work too. How do you get a one year old to eat sauerkraut and pickles ?

You can make water kefir, that's what I drink (DS does raw goat's milk kefir).

Molybdenum is a trace mineral, Nutricology makes drops. Mag/mo/B6 help with the liver pathways that process salicylates.

[Theloose]

Dd just likes to eat beets. I loved pickled beets as a kid.

I second the idea of more magnesium - everyone will hit bowel tolerance at some point, and then you can back off the dosage. If she has other signs of mag deficiency (sound sensitivity, bedwetting (do you ec?), chocolate cravings... then *you* might be deficient. When I started supping myself, dd definitely benefited in big way - which isn't supposed to happen, but it did. I'm thinking her deficiency was due to a deficiency in my milk.

You could also think about a glutamate/GABA imbalance and see if anything there rings a bell? Other causes of constipation (in adults)... low thyroid function and low serotonin. And I'm sure there are others. Those look very different in a toddler than in an adult though, so I don't know if the constipation part applies.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

NAK.

Here's a list of high sals foods.

I got a two year old to eat beets by hiding them in an egg fritter - you only need to get in a tsp or two. Homemade beet chips work too. How do you get a one year old to eat sauerkraut and pickles ?

You can make water kefir, that's what I drink (DS does raw goat's milk kefir).

Molybdenum is a trace mineral, Nutricology makes drops. Mag/mo/B6 help with the liver pathways that process salicylates.

Thank you Lol!!!! She loves sauerkraut and pickles don't know why. I tried beet kvass and COULDN'T stomach it...yuck! I have been wanting to try to make my own kefir but we are moving in a month so I would lose it all right?
Your DS can now eat salicylates or only If he takes the supps???

WhoMe-I do go through times when I crave chocolate,some constipation, fatigue,anxiety,hard time falling asleep and I don't like super loud sound. DD is 14 months so only constipation that I'm aware of. I'm taking 1t Natural calm for mag when I do more than that I get a little nausea and sometimes get a weird headache.
I have hashis and adrenal fatigue so it's hard to say if the symptoms I have aren't related to that????

I read the GABA-imbalance but the only thing that's sounds like DD is constipation.

LOw thyroid has crossed my mind for DD because of her severe constipation,her legs where very dry at one time,her hair is dry in some places and her eyes are very puffy underneath. She also has some tooth decay on 2 front teeth. Her pedi doesn't seem concerned but can't tell me what's causing these symptoms:

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by whoMe

Dd just likes to eat beets. I loved pickled beets as a kid.

I second the idea of more magnesium - everyone will hit bowel tolerance at some point, and then you can back off the dosage. If she has other signs of mag deficiency (sound sensitivity, bedwetting (do you ec?), chocolate cravings... then *you* might be deficient. When I started supping myself, dd definitely benefited in big way - which isn't supposed to happen, but it did. I'm thinking her deficiency was due to a deficiency in my milk.

You could also think about a glutamate/GABA imbalance and see if anything there rings a bell? Other causes of constipation (in adults)... low thyroid function and low serotonin. And I'm sure there are others. Those look very different in a toddler than in an adult though, so I don't know if the constipation part applies.

I jsut wanted to add more about the mag. I get migraines a few times a month and have irregular heartbeat...man it's sounding more and more like I need more mag!

[Theloose]

have you tried balancing the mag with more calcium?

tooth decay is awful. Dd had 3 cavities at 13mo. I'm blaming nutrient deficiencies from elimination diets, especially the minerals.

eta: have you seen this mag link?

[mamafish9]

Shannon - I may be reading that heartfixer page a while, but glutamate/GABA screams at me for DS and DH (I've looked at it before, but this page has some new stuff). Very helpful - you are a link treasure .

ETA: OP - constipation can also be a sign of lead exposure - we're just a little high on lead, but I think my DS is pretty sensitive, so that can also contribute. The source for us was our dinner plates (expensive stoneware with too many years in the dishwasher). You might want to look into doing a DDI hair test (there are several threads in this forum about that) to explore metal exposures.

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Shannon - I may be reading that heartfixer page a while, but glutamate/GABA screams at me for DS and DH (I've looked at it before, but this page has some new stuff). Very helpful - you are a link treasure .

Yeah, I've got a few too many links floating around in my head, and I have to say, the feature on firefox where you can type in the title of a page and the link pops up... Pure genius.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by whoMe

have you tried balancing the mag with more calcium?

tooth decay is awful. Dd had 3 cavities at 13mo. I'm blaming nutrient deficiencies from elimination diets, especially the minerals.

eta: have you seen this mag link?

Whew that's a serious mag link...I know what all be doing at DDs nap time

If you don't mind me asking what are you doing for your DD teeth?
I took DD to a holistic dentist last week and he said not to worry and offered no advice :

mamafish-DD pedi asked If I wanted to do a hair test so sounds like we should. I'm not sure what one she uses.I have no clue where she could have had lead exposure tho Would it be better to do hair test myself?

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by mom61508

If you don't mind me asking what are you doing for your DD teeth?
I took DD to a holistic dentist last week and he said not to worry and offered no advice :

We went with a mainstream pediatric dentist, who scraped her teeth out, totally traumatized her, did fluoride treatments, then put in glass ionomer fillings. We upped the minerals and the nursing (the cavities appeared after a week of hardly any nursing or naps in a 12mo, due to holidays/birthdays/cousins/grandparents). After the fillings fell out, we've been to see a holistic dentist, who glances at her and says she's fine. She now has two jagged teeth missing fillings, one still with a filling, and a bonafide fear of the medical profession. She's not complaining, and they don't look like they're getting significantly worse, so we're pretty much ignoring the issue. (We've also given up on brushing, but dd likes her sparx 'night night candy')

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by whoMe

We went with a mainstream pediatric dentist, who scraped her teeth out, totally traumatized her, did fluoride treatments, then put in glass ionomer fillings. We upped the minerals and the nursing (the cavities appeared after a week of hardly any nursing or naps in a 12mo, due to holidays/birthdays/cousins/grandparents). After the fillings fell out, we've been to see a holistic dentist, who glances at her and says she's fine. She now has two jagged teeth missing fillings, one still with a filling, and a bonafide fear of the medical profession. She's not complaining, and they don't look like they're getting significantly worse, so we're pretty much ignoring the issue. (We've also given up on brushing, but dd likes her sparx 'night night candy')

We too don't brush DD will kind of suck on her brush but that's it. Sparx, I'll have to goofle those assuming they are a xylitol time thing.