If you have malabsorption issues, where does the food go?

[Nosy]

Maybe this is a dumb (& tmi) question. DS (8 mos) has not increased his caloric intake much but all of a sudden he is growing & pooping (he was and still is ftt). We've done various things to help this come about, but my question is where have the calories previously gone? Previously he pooped once every three days or so now it's every day at least once & he's putting on weight, so knowing that he wasn't absorbing things before was he just peeing things out? Maybe he had a massive backup in his colon?

[deditus]

My dd had severe constipation as her main food intolerance symptom - at her worst she wouldn't poop on her own, period. I would do a suppository after 10 days because I was afraid to end up in the ER. Not digesting food/malabsorption can cause diarrhea or constipation. My dd's food just sat in her colon. All her issues seem to be colon related. Bifidus and zinc and mag have tremendously helped. Enzymes helped for the last year or so, but no longer provide any noticeable benefit. Resolution of FTT (to me) means that the babe is no longer losing weight and slowly starts to gain, but this may take TIME. My dd didn't have weight issues until she was 2.5, then she stopped gaining and has only gained maybe 6 lbs in the last 2 years, but now she looks healthy and grows out of clothes sizes, etc. I think zinc supplementation seems to be KEY in FTT as well as removal of all allergens/intolerances. Dd has had growth spurts after each allergens removal and addition of needed nutrients.

[kjbrown92]

My kids have had a growth spurt after removing food triggers, because they started sleeping well, and that's when the growth hormone is released. The food passes through, without the nutrients getting asborbed.