Constipation/Gas

[Cynthia Mosher]

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Alternative and Complementary Medicine Archive
Having trouble with bowel movements



This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: Having trouble with bowel movements
MamaInHarmony
Member posted 10-02-2000 11:24 AM
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I have a 21-month old daughter who is still breastfeeding, and has only a few weeks ago begun to eat solid food on a "regular" basis. She only poops once a week, and when she does go she cries unconsolably for the few minutes until it is all out and over. This has been going on for about eight weeks now. I feel the knowledgable conclusion is that she is constipated and holds it in because it hurts when she does go, but then again I don't know. Her poop is solid but still on the soft side. I have since been asking everyone I run into with a child the same age how their bowel movements are. I have heard that this is a common occurance in girls especially, around this age. I am wondering if anyone is having this happen with their child, and if you have any suggestions on what to do. Thank you very much, Harmony


[e-mail]
Member posted 10-02-2000 04:08 PM
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Hi harmony. Could you tell me what kind of foods she is eating? Dairy, meat or maybe alot of flour products? Those things can do exactly what you described.


MamaInHarmony
Member posted 10-02-2000 06:57 PM
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Kelly, thank you for responding Emma eats a lot of organic whole yogurt, and the occasional egg. That is really it in the way of dairy. She doesn't eat any meat, but a lot of soy protein products ie; fake meats. She drinks soy milk, fruit juices and water. She does like whole wheat crackers, and her indulgence is Pepperidge Farms goldfish cheese crackers. So, maybe the yogurt or crackers is to blame, what do you think? Thanks, Harmony
[This message has been edited by MamaInHarmony (edited 10-02-2000).]



[e-mail]
Member posted 10-03-2000 12:28 PM
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Harmony,
I had such a long post and somehow lost the site and lost the post before I could submit. Bummer. O.k Wow. Once a week? That would hurt me! Try to stay off all dairy for one wk. Also the same with the meatless meats. Those clog up my 22 mos old too. Lots of steamed veggies,avacados,and add flax seed oil to foods. Just a little bit should help. Also, check out those juices. Refined sugar? Water them down alot. Restrict the bread by using flax or hemp seed waffles instead as well as corn tortillas. Floured ones are too doughy. Try to give lots of watery fruit-no citris. If you're concerned about calcium add mollasses to applesauce or to jam(heat those with mollasses and it makes a great syrup) also mollasses tea. Tblspn mol. with hot water. Also Rice dream milk has one fortified with calcium and vit.d. Add nutritional yeast(just sprinkle) and wheat germ to meals. Try quinoa pasta instead of flour pasta.

I have so much more. You can Eml me privately and I can give you tons of info.
Do you have a naturpathic doc? If not try and find one. One who has ped. practice would be good. Love, kel



MamaInHarmony
Member posted 10-03-2000 05:28 PM
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Thank you Kelly for all of your sugestions, I will write you an e-mail. Harmony


Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 10-04-2000 02:55 AM
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Don't forget water. Sometimes our little ones get so interested in flavor that water gets pushed to the side. This can contribute greatly to the production of dry stools especially in those who eat alot of fiber.
~Cynthia



organicmama
Member posted 10-04-2000 11:14 PM
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WOW, Kelly, you dazel me! I wish I had half a clue about nutrition for my boys. I'm reading a couple of books on how to go vegetarian but I'm still a weenie. (Oops, weenies are meat!haha) I just got the New Vegetarian Baby by Sharon Yntema. My big concern is protein & paletability. Any suggestions? E-mail me at [e-mail] with a novel if you want!


[e-mail]
Member posted 10-05-2000 02:54 PM
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Organicmama,
alright girl- how does that email work? I tried to get you but I screwed up somehow.
I do have some stuff for you. You can't believe how nutrtion has consumed me(uh, is that a pun?) not if I don't spell it right I guess Anyway, that book you got is excellent! Very easy and the other vegan/veg familys are reassuring. I have some more stuff and recipies coming out my ears. I even have in a binder menus for sam (who was vegan)from bkfst to dinner to snacks. Some I even added the vitamin content and stuff. My husband thinks i'm anal. Um, no. So you know where I am if you need somethin'. Email me and tell me how to use that adress would ya? love,kel



organicmama
Member posted 10-05-2000 08:36 PM
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I have no idea how to use a computor! I've had mine less than a month. I sent you a message before I came to this post so maybe you can just hit reply & send it that way. I'd appreciate any info. you want to send! Thanks!


goldengirl
Member posted 10-11-2000 07:27 AM
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Be careful about accidentally giving your child the "BRATT diet". All of the following are very constipating: Bananas, Rice, Apples, Tea, Toast (wheat flour). This diet is suggested for people having problems with diarrhea. My daughter gets constipated very easily from just a little bananas, rice or flour products. When I give her these things I counterbalance with fruits like prunes and plums, etc. We were having the same problems until I realized what I had been doing!


naturegirl
Member posted 10-14-2000 05:13 PM
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I commonly have children poop in their diapers immediately following a chiropractic adjustment. I would follow the great nutritional advice but if you are still having difficulties, try chiropractic. by the way, it is also helpfull to many adults with constipation


SweetPeasMom
Member posted 10-23-2000 05:03 AM
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Dear Harmony,
My daughter experienced constipation problems when she was about 2 1/2. In hindsight, I think that it had more to do with her emerging awareness of the pooping process and I don't think that we could have done much to prevent it.

My daughter potty trained (pee pee) at about 28 mos very quickly. However, she continued to poop in her diaper. Other than mildly encouraging her, we did not pressure her to poop in the toilet. At about 32 mos she had a couple of BMs in the toilet. We made a big deal about it and tried to be very encouraging. Right after this she started having constipation problems. Perhaps it started with one hard poop. But then she began to hold it and the longer she held it the harder it would be and the more it would hurt and the longer she would hold it ... My ped had me take her off all dairy and any constipating foods. We had to use suppositories which was not fun. The ped also had us give her mineral oil twice a day which did nothing except stain her underwear. I tried prunes and any food that I could think of to make her go. The ped finally prescribed a stool softener and that made all the difference. She was soon going regularly again and I slowly weaned her off the softener over the next few months.

She continued pooping in her diaper until she was about 39-40 mos. Then she started going in the toilet and was very happy and proud. On top of that, she began to poop daily or more than once a day which she did not do before. She is now 4 1/2 and we have not experienced any constipation problems since. She has rarely had a day without pooping once or more.

I do not feel that this problem was dietary since nothing in her diet changed at the onset of the problem. After she was going regularly again, I resumed her regular diet with her and she has not had any problems since.

I do not like to give my daughter medication unless necessary but I know that the stool softerner made all the difference for her. It broke the vicious cycle of holding back and having hard, painful poops.

At the time, I was at my wits end trying to figure out what caused this. But now, after hearing stories about other children having similar problems, I now believe that it was probably caused by her growing awareness of the pooping process and all the feeings that are a part of it.

I hope that this helps you out a little. Good Luck!

SweetPeasMom



Morgan
Member posted 10-26-2000 03:00 PM
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My daughter had an extreme constipation problem from about 10 1/2 months to 14 months. we went to many doctors, the pediatrician, chiropractor etc. with absolutely no results. The most informative was finding out (though
I was pretty sure already) that she had anal fissures. We were told to try everything from daily suppositories to mineral oil. as she was so young she was not eating anything but fruits, veggies, and some whole grains. I, like you, asked everyone I met if they had had similar experiences. No luck. eventually at a first birthday party for a friend, flax came up. I began making flax shakes almost immediately. I put 1 heaping T of flax in the blender and ground it up, added 2 T's of flax oil, a banana (substitute if you feel bananas may be a culprit) and topped it off with a cup of (plum)juice. After blendering all this up I put it in a sippy cup with a large straw, one a day. She loved it!! I also started giving her red River Cereal (may be Canadian thing?)for breakfast. In one week we saw major improvements. she no longer screamed inconsolably while pooing. I gradually weaned her off the shakes, mostly because I forgot to make one every day when it wasn't so necessary, and she has been constipation free ever since. I don't know if this will help anyone out there but it's worth a try!
[This message has been edited by Morgan (edited 10-26-2000).]



karyb
Member posted 10-28-2000 06:19 AM
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Do any of you know if constipation has anything to do with the amount of water a bf baby drinks? My 11 mth old just this week cried out in pain as he had a bm and I can tell that his bm's are changing, becoming hard and clay like. He eats only fruits and veggies once a day and is bf the rest of the day, but he loves water from his sippy cup. He would drink it all day if I let him. I have heard that a bf baby shouldn't drink too much water because it throws off their electrolites. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with constipation. If anybody has any info I would appreciate it.



ZacsMom
Member posted 11-01-2000 02:20 PM
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I wanted to post a reply re: water and breastfed babies. I believe I've read that the electrolyte issue is not as relevant to older babies, and that they should be encouraged to drink water at the age your child is. My son started big time into water at about 10 months, and also had some constipation, but I'm quite sure that was due to the increasing amount of solids in his diet, and just the fact that his system was growing up (getting away from that liquidy infant poop). We had great success with prunes. He loved them, and if we did a jar a day, the painful poop problem totally went away. He still does tons of water, and breastmild (19 months now) but no constipation, and for that matter, no prunes anymore either!


lanamac
Member posted 11-15-2000 07:03 PM
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wow, and i thought it was just Tori. she's 21 mos old and since the day she was born she's only pooped once a week. she doesn't like pooping and does what we call the poopy dance. but ten minutes later it's all over and she's fine again for another week. the stools are not hard and not diaherria. i worried for quite a while but since she's always been like this, didn't eat solids till almost a year and still nurses frequently we've let it go. she doesn't eat a lot of binding foods though we have played with her diet to see if it changed anything, it didn't. some kids poop four times a day. we just have a daughter at the other end of the bell curve. in the same boat, lana


cara
Member posted 11-17-2000 07:21 PM
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All I can say is Massage, massage, massage!!! You can not massage too much. When you change diapers, give a quick massage. You need to massage in a clockwise motion. If you are looking at the baby, Start at the bottom (your Left). Massage clockwise. Since the belly has no bones, you can massage with a firm pressure. Just make sure your fingertips do not jab. Use the flats of your fingers. Use lotion for less friction!!! I promise. Any constipated baby should poop!! I have worked on A LOT of babies that were constipated. It is great!!

[Cynthia Mosher]

Remedies for Gas Pain

Note: This is an archived topic. It is read-only. Mothering Boards
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Archive
remedies for relief of gas pains


This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: remedies for relief of gas pains
Marina
Member posted 07-22-2000 12:54 AM
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I have been breastfeeding my 3 month baby
boy while trying to monitor my food intake in order to alleviate his wind/gas pains. This process seems to be taking longer, and in the meantime I hate to see him in pain. Any remedies out there other than Mylecon (doesn't seem to work anyway). My pediatrician said that I need to cut down on all the green vegetables I eat,which seem to be the cause. Anyone else experiencing this problem? I thought breastfed babies did not get gas as much. I have also been trying to make sure he is burped well. His sleep is always interrupted by wind/gas pains, with cries all of a sudden in the middle of sleeping. My grandmother suggests carroway seed tea, but I am hesitant because
I am not sure how much to give. Has anybody else heard of this remedy? Any suggestions and advice are welcome!



lholm
Member posted 07-22-2000 08:32 PM
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Dear Marina, I can emphathize.My daughter is 2 months old and she's also had colicky symptoms.Here's what I've found: Simethicone
(propably what's in your Mylanta) of some but limited help, fennel tea and capsules- no big difference really. Hyland's homeopathic colic pills have worked like a charm.The crying and other symptoms stop in 1-15 minutes, and only on a couple of occasions have I had to repeat a dose.You can even find them at a regular drugstore, they're cheap and have no side effects, and even a tiny baby likes the taste.I hope they work for your baby too!
[This message has been edited by lholm (edited 08-17-2000).]



Jasmine
Member posted 07-23-2000 08:27 AM
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Marina,
I can also sympathize with you. My little boy(now 3 1/2mo.) had gas so bad we took him to the E.R. He was grunting and turning red 24 hrs a day. We thought he had a pinched intestine or something. They told us it was just gas. I hated it because he seemed so uncomfortable. I also tired mylecon, and taking things out of my diet. Neither seemed to work all that well. Also if you want to try the seeds(caraway, fennel, cumin, dill) steep the seeds in water and drink as a tea just before you breastfeed. For us time was the key. His gas is not anywhere near as bad as it was!!!He still has an early morning spell, then he has a bowel movement and is fine. They say as your baby's system matures the gas gets better, this seems to be true in our case. So if you don't find a great remedy just know it should pass with time. Good luck and hang in there. Jasmine.


mamui
Member posted 07-31-2000 11:56 PM
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I think its mostly a matter of time. As your baby's system matures, there will be less gas. My now 11 mo. old used to worry me soo much with her gas pains. The stopped around six months. The things that worked best for us were: Hyland's Colic pills and playing bicycle. (bicycling baby's legs while shes on her back...and singing the bicycle song too of course!!!) Good Luck!


milkfountain
Member posted 08-05-2000 07:53 PM
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A few things have worked for my almost
2 month old.
1) Hyland's homeopathic worked well, but
I don't like two things about them:
a) they are pills, and when the baby was crying from discomfort, I was afraid he might swallow them and possibly choke on them and
b) they are in a lactose (milk sugar) base, which I am assuming is cow's milk.

2) I also tried cumin tea. I drank a cup
right before and during nursing. This worked
well for about two days, but then I had a
little discomfort at the back of my throat
while drinking the tea on the third day.
The next day the baby vomited, which I am
guessing may have been related to discomfort
he may have had to the tea. (Perhaps we
both have sensitive tummies.)
Anyway, it was a good hiatus, and the cumin
tea tasted surprisingly good. Not only
cumin but other aromatic seeds work, like
anise, and celery, etc.
To make the tea, pour boiling water over
1 teaspoon of seeds and let steep for a
few minutes. Then drink. A couple of books
I read said you can safely (for you and the baby) drink as much as you want/need.
I know also that in Morocco and Syria they give a teaspoon of the tea (cooled) directly to the baby, with success.

3) Frontier homeopathic remedy. This has the
same ingredients as Hyland's, but it is
liquid. The directions say to give it to
the baby 3x day, But I have been giving it
more like every 3-4 hours, and when he has
shown signs (which are daily diminishing) of
being colicky. This is what has been most
successful for me.

Good luck!





mamamccool
Member posted 08-06-2000 01:14 PM
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My son also has gas. Now that he is almost two months, it seems to be winding down.
I tried the teas as well, fennel and anise worked great. I really liked the taste of them as well. My doctor told me to cut everything out of my diet.. broccoli, onions, citrus(including tomatoes!), dairy, etc. So I ended up eating Grape Nuts and oat milk for two weeks. I didn't really notice much of a difference with the change of my diet. But I do know that onions were bad.
Another thing that worked well were baby massages in the bathtub every night. He loved the bath and being rubbed down. The I Love You rub worked wonders.
Good Luck! It can be so frustrating when they are in pain and we can't do anything about it.


Chanley
Moderator posted 08-08-2000 07:27 PM
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My mom always used some stuff called Gripe Water. It is what they use in India and parts of Europe. You can find it in the healthcare section of middle eastern groceries. It is made of dill oil and syrup. I love the taste and when my lil sister used to take it I would always manage to get a taste for myself.


Marina
Member posted 08-20-2000 10:07 AM
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Thanks so much for all of your replies. We just moved, and this is the first time I have managed to log on during the last few weeks. Kylan is now 4wks and seems to not have as much gas as a month ago. It's true...time is really the answer...but if he shows signs of severe gas again I will try the teas (and maybe try to track down some Gripe--what a great name for it!). Thanks again for all the help. Sincerely, Marina


Marina
Member posted 08-20-2000 10:08 AM
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Oooooppppsssss!!! I mean Kylan is 4 months!



marie_r_h
Member posted 08-21-2000 12:21 PM
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Hi,
I always took large amounts of Acidophilus and Bifidus, you can buy it at any pharmacy. This seemed to help my daughter with her gas particularly in the first few months. When she got a little older I gave it to her in liquid form. All it is the good intestinal bacteria that we need in order to properly break down food substance.

I have suggested it to a number of friends who have had equal success and ate whatever they wanted.

Marie

[Cynthia Mosher]

Constipation in 3 Year Old

Note: This is an archived topic. It is read-only. Mothering Boards
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Archive
Help! 3yr. old constipated?



This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: Help! 3yr. old constipated?
Maisy
Member posted 04-17-2001 10:33 PM
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I know this isn't the most pleasant of topics...but we need help :-) My ds has been having large, semi-hard stools for about the last week and a half. He really strains and is obviously feeling discomfort. He has never had this problem before. He is not yet toilet-trained and up until he began experiencing this problem I was encouraging him to use the *potty*. I stopped because I didn't want him to associate his bad experiences with the toilet-training. He is a big fruit lover but does really like cheese also, which I understand can be binding. What do you think, should I cut out the cheese entirely? I got him to eat prunes for a couple of days and it seemed to help a little...now he's sick of them-can't blame him! Have any of you been through this with your child? I feel so bad for him, he obviously dreads going and even seems frightened. ANY advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


circlemama
Member posted 04-18-2001 04:11 AM
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Have you tried grinding up flax seed and putting on his cereal or other food? Flax
is a wonderful source of "good" fatty acids
and also tends to make its' users regular in
that dept.!


Bonnie Lynn
Member posted 04-18-2001 03:02 PM
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my 18 month old has the same problem. By accident I noticed when I give her extra vitamin c it loosens her stools. She would scream in agony when pooping. I felt sooo bad for her. Give it shot, it work for us. Good Luck! Bonnie


Maisy
Member posted 04-20-2001 02:57 PM
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THANKS to everyone who responded with such great suggestions! Circlemama, I made a trip to the health food store today and bought some flax seed and flax seed oil....hopefully this will do the trick! I did cut back on the cheese and I think this alone has helped a wee bit. Indigodreams, I'm sorry your little guy had an ongoing problem with this. You did a great job reading and researching to find ways to help him. The chiropracter is something I never would of thought might help. Good to know. I need to try the apricot and prune juice too! Bonnie Lynn, a question--how much extra vitamin C did you give her? Again thanks ever-so-much for the excellent advice!!! Love and best wishes-Maisy


Momtwice
Member posted 04-21-2001 09:48 AM
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Constipation can be a sign of a food intolerance/allergy, such as dairy, wheat, etc.
Also medications can contribute to it, such as antibiotics, vitamins...although antibiotics cause some kids to have diarrhea instead.

[This message has been edited by Momtwice (edited 04-21-2001).]



Roo
Member posted 04-21-2001 11:12 AM
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banana are constipating. So can apple sauce/apples/apple juice. Reduce amounts of them. My son has chronic constiaption. We have made every diet modification, allergy test, elmination there could be.


MamaGuessO'3
Member posted 04-21-2001 09:13 PM
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My ds had both constipation (he had a compacted (am I saying this right?) bowel) and problems with diarrhea. I was convinced that he either has IBS or food allergies. the allergist I took him too decided that I was simply a overwrought mama and that I needed more sleep. She happily charged me $200+ for this lovely "advice". The ped just kept me stocked with prescription strength stool softners and NO ONE seemed at all interested in finding a cause.
What finally started making a difference was when I joined LLL (okay now you all think I am nuts but listen...) The friends I made there ate completly differently than anyone I knew and I started changing our diet at home. More REAL whole grains (not the junky "whole wheat bread" thats just white flour that has been colored brownish).

And the biggest change came when I stopped using all but the smallest amount of maragarine in our diet. (switched to butter) I can't say exactly when ds stopped constantly having problems because it was gradual but the other day I was reading a post that had a link to a wevbsite on hydroganated oils and WHAMMY! it hit me that ds was doing so much better since I had made the change away from maragarine.

Now I am trying to get as much of the hydroganated oils out of our diet as possible. This is a huge big! challange for me but I really see the differance it has made in our lives.



Maisy
Member posted 04-23-2001 07:51 AM
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Hey, good news! My ds is doing quite a bit better! I don't know if it was one thing we tried (like the flax) or a combination of things....I'm just so happy he's doing much better! Momtwice, Thanks for the heads up on a possible allergy connection. Maybe we should cut out dairy all together and see if it makes a difference. Roo, until a week ago I had no idea that apples/applejuice (favorites of his) could be attributing to the problem. Yikes. MamaGuessO'3, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm so glad your ds is benefiting from those nutritional changes! BIG thanks to all of you, you've helped so much. Good health and best wishes-Maisy


Heather J
Member posted 05-01-2001 11:13 AM
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I had the same problem with my 3 yod and after many diet changes accidently stumbled across Metamucil cookies. They come in different flavors and taste ok for a 3 yo. It doesn't work right away though but makes the stool easier to pass. Good luck.


Maisy
Member posted 05-01-2001 02:35 PM
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Heather J, I didn't know there was such a thing! I think I'll buy some to have on hand *just in case*. Luckily, he's doing much better the last little while.... Thanks! Maisy


Maisy
Member posted 05-01-2001 02:38 PM
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Heather J, I didn't know such a thing existed! I think I'll buy some to have on hand *just in case*. Luckily, he's doing better this last little while....Thanks! Maisy
OOPS! this posted twice

[This message has been edited by Maisy (edited 05-01-2001).]

[Isobel]

Ongoing poohing problems in 2.5 y/o....

Hi, my son has been having problems poohing for a while now. He is 2.5 y/o. He has a good diet of home cooked food, plenty of fruit, plenty of fluids to drink and not too much cow's milk. He is managing to hang on to his poohs so that he only goes every 3 days and then does such a big one that he tears himself and bleeds. This is even now when he has been on 30ml of Lactulose a day to soften the stools. The physical diameter of the stools is such that he is stretching his lower bowel and making it easier to hold a huge amount of pooh before he has to pass it. After he's hung onto it for a few days (I feel) that much of the water in it has been reabsorbed and it is not as soft as it could/should be, esp. bearing in mind the medication he is on.

The worrying thing is the psychological aspect. He is v. uncomfortable, miserable, irritable when he needs to pooh but will not let himself go - he ends up going when he falls asleep at night which then disturbs his sleep.

Anyone else had this problem and know any natural remedies he could have which would be SAFE?

[kathie]

this may sound totally silly, and not up to the task, but I SWEAR my daughter had a very similiar situation and i had tried so many things..... untill i simplified and started giving dd a mix of stewed prunes pureed with molassas/ flax seed oil/ and asodophilus.
She wouldn't take this of her own accord, of course, so i ended up sucking it up into a medicine dropper and pretty much force feeding it to her. But luckily she seemes to like it now and sucks it right down!
good luck, i feel for you and your son. We've been there!!!
by the way- i gave this mix to her (like a Tablespoon of it) twice a day for several days in a row. It started working by day two or three.

[angivca]

Hi Isobel,
We just went through something similar in our house. My daughter was doing the same thing but would scream and cry when she had to go the bathroom. For her, it turned out that she was very uncomfortable having a bowel movement in her diaper. I'm not one to push training but when she started to cry I sat her on the toilet and she pooped. She still wears diapers and pees in them but prefers to have BM on the toilet (again her choice).
When my husband was about 2 he did the same thing and developed a fissure.
There's a book by Aviva Jill Romm called "Natural Child and Baby care" (I think) which has some great remedies. I would try to describe that but I'm afraid that I wouldn't remember everything and the book isn't here.
Hope all goes well.
Sincerely,
Angela

[bluedotsmom]

btdt

My 4 yr old dd is finally having bm's on the potty after constipation since 18 months. She still worries, but is doing better. She also had great diet, water was/is only drink, plenty of fiber. She had one bad, awful bm that hurt and that was the start.

My $ .02...lactulose, I assume this is a dairy product. My daughter's problem did not resolve until about 6 months ago when we quit giving her dairy!!!!

What we did (please consult a trusted caregiver) Milk of magnesia until the bm's were soft (pudding texture) This let's them poop without pain (although fissures may burn some) and makes it harder to withhold the bm. We continued this consistency until she didn't worry about pooping anymore. Then you start backing off slowly (mom does cause some dependency, but is overcome by weaning off.) It has not been a smooth course, colds, stress, lots of things could set off a round of painful stools. But, no milk of mag for around 5 months.

Needless, we didn't try to potty train until about 4 months ago (tried to get her to use the potty to make it easier, but the fear factor was too great.) Also started going to chiropracter which has been great for all of us.

We are still very vigilent about water and fiber intake. Water is absolutely critical. Fiber without will make the problem worse!!

Flax seeds are wonderful!!! Add to anything you can. We just discovered Uncle Sam cereal which she loves; however, discovered it has malted barley (causes a rash) btw, we could give her about 1/3 cup of milk with the cereal up to about 4 of 7 days with no problems. We're avoiding dairy, but seem to be able to do it moderately.

It has been a long road & she still gets concerned about pooping & it makes potty time a battle, but at least I don't have to help her 'deliver' a bm anymore.

Good luck,
Anne, wife to Andy
Mother to Elizabeth Blue (12/30/97)
Dottie Alice (3/30/99), still nursing because it's the only thing I know I'm doing right!

[Isobel]

Thanks for answers & an update...

Hi, thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my posting.

Not sure if you have Lactulose in the US but it is not a dairy product (sounds like it doesn't it?!!). In fact it is an inert type of carbohydrate that does not get absorbed by the bowel but which alters conditions in the bowel so that good flora and fauna can grow. It does this in such a way that the stool gets softened and the BMs can be easier to do and less easy to hold onto!!

My son has been on this since October 2001! He started on 5ml and is now on 30 ml a day - it takes a while to get the dosage right and each adjustment takes about a week to take effect.

He had a fissure (maybe still has) so no wonder he didn't want to go. He eats lots of prunes and did have a stint on acidophilus as I had to try and eliminate Thrush from the both of us whilst we were bfeeding a while back. Have to say that for him this didn't work terribly well, and I am very reticent about using anything that has an actual laxative effect. The main problem for him is that he has gotten so good at holding on to the poohs - he can hang on to one for a week.

I too had to put him onto the toilet for poohs because the physical barrier of the nappy (sure you know this is English for diaper!!!) was preventing his BM from coming out easily. Then we've been through a phase where the fear was just too great for him to go on the toilet and it was making him too stressed just to think about having to do it on the loo.

Anyway, this morning after a week at the new 30ml p/day dosage he was complaing his tummy hurt (not surprised when he's not been for a week) and 'I not feeling well'. I said well that's because you need a pooh, hey, shall we go on your toilet and mummy'll read you a book' - yes he said (hurray!). Anyway, off we trotted, he did his pooh, no bleeding, nice and soft and a positive experience whilst he's awake instead of him waiting until he fell asleep. I hope this continues and I can get him on his toilet regularly when he needs a pooh as it is easier for him to pass the pooh - other than that I have no toilet learning agenda and am happy not to start until the coming summer, after the new baby has been born and hopefully we've all had a few months to adjust and find our new places in the family unit. Can't see any point in starting before then.

He drinks very well of just plain water or water diluted with squash to back up all the fibre he gets. He loves dried fruit so we eat some especially juicy prunes and apricots and raisins'n'cherries from the baking section of the supermarket, as well as fresh fruit, to try and keep the bowels working and full of soft fibre. He also likes to munch on Crunchy Bran cereal which is a high fibre bran cereal (thank goodness).

Anyway, thanks for all your help and advice - it has all been taken on board. Hoping we maybe are at a turning point as it has been really miserable for both of us over the past months.

[Erin Pavlina]

Let me just add one thing.

Fruit. Has fiber and water and will regulate anyone! But fruit must be consumed on an empty stomach or it will ferment in the stomach.

First thing in the morning, give your kids a fruit smoothie (fruit juice, fresh fruit, and frozen strawberries -- don't add milk or even soymilk or yogurt). BMs will be soft and slip easily from the body.

Also, keep kids off any medications for this because the body has to learn to work this way without the meds. Otherwise the body forgets how to do its job and needs the meds to function.

Think fruit smoothies.