My Son Seems to Be Extra-constipated - Is This Normal?

My son went through several years of chronic constipation! The only thing that worked was Miralax which at the time was prescription only but just last week I saw a commercial and it is now available over the counter. I don't know if there are any age restrictions but definitely check it out. I also give all my kids Benefiber daily to keep them regulated since everyone knows that kids diets do not always include food that are high in fiber. Good Luck!!

My son also has this problem. I was told that if a child gets too much fiber and not enough water it can bind them up, constipate them. I try to give John plenty of water with his feedings.

Also, He drinks from a bottle. Since he all ready has issues with his weight i started adding an ounze of canola oil to his Milk for added calories. Since i started this it seems like he is pooping better. My husband and I think that the oil is lubircating the poops making it easier to get out. We swear John would hold it in as long as possible just to avoid pooping because it hurt so bad.

He is doing soooo much better now with it. Just a thought...

My daughter was horribly constipated as well. Screaming and crying when she had to poo. The doctor told us to give her plenty of water. We did. This did not help. This lasted weeks. Finally, we took her completely off dairy and put her on Soy milk, cheese and yogurt. This was miraculous! We have not had a rock hard poo in 8 months!!! We started giving her regular cheese and yogurt a couple of months ago and now she tolerates it well . I tried to also mix half milk and half soy in her sippy cup but her poo got hard again so back to soy. I have also found blue berries to be a natural diuretic.
Good luck I know how hard it is to see them struggle.
Jessiec

E.

get another opinion NOW!!! see another doc that is NOT good!

Hi - my three year old daughter also when through this when I switched from formula to milk. She would bleed and then hold it longer because of the pain. I tried everything, all fruit diet, water, etc. Nothing worked!! Finally after telling my doctor I gave her over the counter laxitives, he prescribed Glycolax in powder form that I put in her drink. It is tastless and she never had a problem taking it. She has been taking it for two years and my doctors says once she gets older we can wean her off of it. I have tried, but she does get constipated without it still. I know she will outgrow this becuase my 12 year old son has a similiar problem (not as severe) and he outgrew it. My doctor has told us it is safe to take. I did have to push though to get something. After explaining that I have tried everything and that I had in desperation administered over the counter laxitives, he prescribed Glycolax.

Good Luck!!
S..

Good luck!!

I don't have long to write, so this will be short, but i had the same problem. Baby food prunes worked great for us. He would eat one a day. Also, baby suppositories (they sell them at jewel and walmart. There were times we did this it seemed daily to get things going. I think better to do this before they get to big and hard in there. Sometimes, we would have to do two, wait a while and let one work and then do another. Now that he is older (3years) we have not had problems in a while. HTH! S.

My daughter went through the same thing. We had to really moniter what she ate. The one thing that we did that helped was give her more apple juice if she seemed to be blocked. My sister who is a Peds Nurse Practitioner also suggested apricot nectar from the baking aisle. It has more suger and will loosen everything up.

Good luck

Elizsbeth~ Maybe it is something in his diet. Dairy is often the culprit or it could be wheat. Try taking one of those out for a little while and see what happens. (constipation from dairy is very common) I would also stress to your dr that this is worrying you. From what I have been told by my ped that hard adult like stool is bad and to call him if the stool is hard or there is blood in the diaper or in the stool.

when my little one was constipated(hard stool that she worked so hard to get out) We gave her prunes. And it worked like a charm.

Good luck

Hi E.! My son actually had / has the same problem. I think it must be a boy thing! We went through the whole blood in the diaper, not going for days. Its awful. The pediatrician did not seem concerned, told us to do prunes, prune juice, etc, nothing worked. Finally, I took him to a pediatric GI doctor and he said that he was probably constipating himself because he was so afraid of going because of the pain from when he was originally constipated. He put him on Miralax and it truly worked wonders. Fortunately, he only had to be on it for a couple of months! I was in Walgreens the other day and saw it as over the counter; its in a white bottle with a purple label. Good Luck!!!

one of my twins has struggled with the same issue since birth. we've tried a number of strategies and honestly, there isn't 1 perfect answer. while he was still spoon-feeding, I gave him prunes a lot...especially when he was having bananas or rice cereal. Now that he's eating on his own, he won't eat the strained prunes anymore, so I just have to be extra careful and make sure he's getting a lot of fiber in his diet. Watch the milk intake too and make sure you're balancing it out. Mine loves milk and cheese, and since he's a picky eater, I don't want to cut back on those calories, protein and fat. Instead, I just work harder to get other fiber into him. Trader Joes has a lightly sweetened high fiber cereal (similar to all bran, but with a sweet coating) that I give him as a snack in little bags, ditto for their version of shredded wheat. Their cereal aisle has a lot of good choices to add extra fiber. Also, my pediatrician finally relented and prescribed a daily stool softener that we mix into a little juice that has helped a lot. In fact, we've decided to go down to every other day so he doesn't end up too loose.

Good luck. I know it's frustrating and heartbreaking to see your little guy struggle so much!

E.,
I can sympathize with your situation. My daughter battles with constipation issues as well. From age 1 -2 it was a constant struggle watching her suffer for days w/o having a BM then finally straining and crying in pain to pass one. Our Ped didn't seem particularly concerned but I finally sought out a Pediatric Gastroentrologist who prescribed Polyeth Glycol a prescription laxative. It was a life saver. We mixed it with her juice or water. Eventually she did become more regular on her own and we only have to give her the laxative on an occasion if she eats too many bananas etc.... Also have you tried swithing to Soy Milk I found this worked for awhile with my daughter. Good luck.

i just called our doctor/nurse yesterday because my son who just started solids has been getting constipated, the nurse suggested starting with a tablespoon of prune juice in his bottle 2x a day. He's younger than your son, but maybe this will help. My understanding is you can give him the iron-fortified cereals (other than rice) but just be sure to balance them with more fiberous foods (apples, pears, etc.). As for Iron sources, beans and pumpkin/sesame seeds can substitute for meats. Plug in "vegan iron sources" on google and i'm sure you'll see a number of options. good luck!

My son (23mo) has had similar issues recently. The blood is from straining to poop. My doctor however saw that it was a problem and recommended we see a pediatric GI specialist. The biggest reason he was constipated is that he doesn't drink even water. She also warned us to make sure he is not getting more then 7g fiber.

I really think that you need to seek a second opinion from another doctor.

We have the same problem.

Make sure you are familiar with what foods bind (dairy, bread, bananas for some people) and what foods are laxatives (prunes, pears, peas, etc.) It can be surprising.

Grapes and watermelon (extra water) help. I thought I was giving my little one tons of fruit. I gave her different fruit one day and learned she will eat even more when I change things up a bit. Hello?

If you have trouble getting water down, consider this trick. Fill the cup/bottle with the dairy your little one needs. Then, water it down with water. My little one will not drink enough water during the day, but if I water down her bottle/cup she sucks it down. I get a LOT more ounces of water in her that way.

I think for many kids you really have to learn to be on top of it and never really give up. Always have to monitor how much binding food, if any, they receive in a day. My little one is addicted to crackers etc. She is 15 months and seems to understand, at some level, when I tell her she can't have something because it "hurts her tummy." I swear she will try to poop when I say that so she has made the association. She still asks for things and will cry a little, but I am surprised that it is not more of a battle.

Good luck.

E.

My son is going through the same thing. The Dr. said it is due to the milk he is drinking plus the extra calcium in it. So at first I thougth switching him to Soy milk would help but it didn't. So the doctor recommended giving him a teaspoon of mineral oil each night plus I limit his milk intake to no mor than 24oz per day and give him flavored water (Vitamin water, etc) versed giving him juice. The mineral oid acts as a lubricant and seems to be working. With the changes made His movements are less painful, he doesn't strain as much, and his poop is not as hard as it used to be.

So maybe some of these suggestion can help.

-Cecele D.

Constipation is a typical allergy to milk.Try switching to soy or take your children off of milk for a week and see what happens.

If you are breast feeding then it comes from something you are eating. BUT if it continues after that, contact your pediatrician.

I am a grandmother now and we have a lot of allergies in our family. What I stated above comes from years of personal experience.

M.
www.toy-train-table-plans-store.com

Leafy greens are a great source of iron and would give him good fiber as well. If you don't do it, switching to whole wheat bread would help as well. There is a kind of fiber supplement you can add to foods that is tasteless as well called Benefiber....I have used it in my own food and you really taste nothing. There is also a medication you can use called Miralax....and apple juice helps loosen up the stools as well. My almost 3 yr old has occasional problems with constipation but nothing to the degree you are describing. I would seek a second opinion as well. Make sure he gets lots of fruits and veggies. I always strove for one fruit for breakfast, a fruit and a veggie for lunch and another veggie or two for dinner.

You could also try giving him cereal as a snack that has lots of fiber and is fortified with vitamins.

My daughter had this same problem at about your son's age. She would cry and scare me pretty much everytime she needed to have a BM. My Doctor told me to (basically) give her the 'runs' for 2 weeks straight. He told me to add oil to her drinks (about 2 tbls to 8 oz of liquid)and feed her as much fruit (not bananas) as she would willingly eat.

It was rough but her system caught on and now she is pretty much regular. (if not everyday then everyother...)

E.:

constipation is NOT normal. you have started to find some causative foods.... the question is what other food in his diet is causing this problem.

the blood may be from the strain of passing this hard and large a stool. the blood is not the issue/ the stool is.

there are many iron rich foods other than meat. try a google search for a listing.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Water, water, water!!!! My daughter has had this problem since she was about 2 months old (now 17 months). When she had bottles I would slip in a drop or 2 of Karo syrup, which really helped. But, now I just give her a lot of water, honey nut cheerios, etc. It keeps her going every day or two. Good luck!

E., I have a 15 month old son! He gets constipated very easily. In fact we saw a Gastro pediatrician b/c his poops were so hard and few and far between. The concern with this is the associate pooping with pain and therefor will "with-hold" poops causing more constipation. I can't beieve your pediatrician hasn't recommended anything. Right now my son is on a powder laxative and I am weining him off. After I wein him off, I will be using Fibercon in his yogurt, water etc. (this was the Gastro dr's recommendation.) I also give my son dried prunes and mandarin oranges, these can act as natural laxatives. I avoid cheese, apples and bananas on a daily basis and give these things to him if he poops.

Good luck, I know it's frustrating.

Feed him prunes,either in juice form or dried, both which are available at any food store. They work wonders for my 10 month old daugter who has the same problem.