A Pretty Gross Toddler Poop Question

[APToddlerMama]

So, where else can I ask this? Sorry guys... We are going to be seeing the pediatrician about this, but I lack faith in doctors in general, so wanted to ask here as well.

My 22 month old (who only has 5 teeth and must not be chewing so well) is pooping out whole foods. When it was blueberries, cherries, grapes, beans, spinach etc., I got that...but now I am seeing things like cubed potatoes. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that this wouldn't digest. He doesn't have a diagnosis, but is suspected of having apraxia (among other possibilities), has low tone, sensory issues, etc, and I read yesterday that there is a link between kids with apraxia and malabsorption or digestive issues. Everything I read about malabsorption is related to loose stools, etc which he does not have, but it just doesn't seem right to me that even potatoes would come out whole. I have actually seen whole penne noodles in the diaper...TMI, I know .

Has anyone had this experience or have any wisdom on this?

[heatherdeg]

Malabsorption doesn't require loose stools... and what you're seeing is malabsorption. Most of the time I see threads on malabsorption there is mention of celiac or gluten intolerance but I honestly don't recall if this is always or just the threads I'm reading. Did you search this forum for "malabsorption" already?

Did you see the study linking apraxia, malabsorption and allergies?

This is from an article when the research was published:

July 13, 2009 – Oakland, Calif. – A landmark study conducted by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new syndrome in children that presents with a combination of allergy, apraxia and malabsorption. Autism spectrum disorders were variably present. Verbal apraxia has until now been understood to be a neurologically based speech disorder, although hints of other neurological soft signs have been described. The new study, led by Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland scientist and pediatric emergency medicine physician, Claudia Morris, MD, and Marilyn C. Agin, MD, a neurodevelopmental pediatrician at Saint Vincent Medical Center in New York, however, suggests that the symptoms of verbal apraxia are, at least for a sub-group of children, part of a larger, multifactorial, neurologic syndrome involving food allergies/gluten-sensitivity and nutritional malabsorption.

Later in the article it says:

Most significantly, the data indicate that the neurologic dysfunction represented in the syndrome overlaps the symptoms of vitamin E deficiency. While low vitamin E bioavailability may occur due to a variety of different causes, neurological consequences are similar, regardless of the initiating trigger. The study suggests that vitamin E could be used as a safe nutritional intervention that may benefit some children. Growing evidence support the benefits of omega 3 fatty acid supplementation in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. Anecdotally children with verbal apraxia will often demonstrate leaps in their speech production when taking high-quality fish oil. The addition of vitamin E to omega 3 fatty acid supplementation in this cohort of children induced benefits that exceeded those expected from just speech therapy alone, according to parental report.

I have to say that most of the parents of children with apraxia that I have met that have done omega-3s with their kids swear by it. Thankfully, you've already started him on an excellent quality omega that includes a chunk of omega-3s.

You could probably hunt up the actual study. Here's another article on it:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157347.php

[APToddlerMama]

Yes, this is exactly what I saw that got me wondering if he had a problem with malabsorption! The weird thing is, I am noticing it more now...and wondering if it has anything to do with starting Nystatin two weeks ago. He has been GFCF for about 7 weeks now.

[heatherdeg]

I would x-post this in the Allergies forum. I'm positive we had a "Healing the Gut" tribe or forum on MDC but I can't find it (maybe it's gone now) but the allergies forum actually deals with a lot of this and may be better help.