Poop!! - Big Sandy,MT

I finally caved and took my daughter to a behavior therapist at 7 years. I had been reluctant because really what could they do? (but my sister reminded me her son had to see one too for the same reason!) She had been on miralax since about 2 years and before that milk of magnesium/suppositories. We had to change her diet - more fluids, switch to whole wheat pasta bread & rice, limit bananas, limit dairy, push more fruits &veggies. We also had a pretty detailed monitoring chart to fill out daily - (including but I can't remember everything sorry!)
1. Sit time - w/in 30 minutes after every meal (breakfast, lunch, supper) had to sit for 10 min
2. Record fluid intake
3. Record any bm's - time of day, consistency & a guess on amount
4. Activity level

After awhile when we could start to see a pattern, we just did the sits after the meal she was most likely to have a bm. She went every week for about a month, then about once a month for a couple months. Then she was done til she had a setback and then we just went once or twice.
My 18 month old has now been on miralax for 9 months so I'm sure once she's potty trained we'll have to use some of these techniques!

I think you should try abdominal massage, ask a massage therapist to teach you. It is very simple, teh biggest rule is to simply follow the direction if the bowel, which is clockwise. You never want to massage counter-clockwise because it would be counter-productive! When massaging the abdomin it is best to have the child on his back with his knees bent up. Use massage oil or cooking oil, but not too much. If you have read about baby massage or massage for colic those are basically the moves you would use for an older child as well. It will really help and it is also a nice way to relax adn bond with your child, good luck!

One more idea, Activia yogurt or yogurt with probiotics!

My son was having problems like that and it turns out that he had strep infection in his butt. After we got antibiotics to take care of that, he was fine. We did try mineral oil at first and it worked, but the poop was very messy after that and it wasn't his favorite thing to drink. My one cousin's daughter is 11 and still takes a dose of mineral oil every day to keep her regular. Since it's not really a medicine, there's no long term effects.

Hi K.---This can be a huge problem because now his colon does not know how to function properly. Miralax, or any other type of medical intervention, should only be used temporarily to get the body back to where it is operating normally on it's own.

Having said this, the first question you need to ask is what does his diet consist of? To know for sure, please keep a food diary. His diet, and the rest of the family's for that matter, should consist primarily of fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes/beans and occasionally nuts and seeds (this contain lots of fat and should be consumed sparingly). Animal protein, and that includes dairy, again, should be consumed sparingly. Meat and dairy do not move through the digestive system easily as it has no fiber in it. Dairy can be one of the most constipating substances on the face of the earth. Please go to www.pcrm.org to learn more about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Put dairy in the search box.

I have some other information that I could share with you, if you'd like. I am taking wellness classes, taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. Unfortuately, traditional medicine/Doctors don't know everything and they especially don't know the medicinal and healing properties of food. It is actually recommended that, if eating a proper plant based diet, that we would be pooping after every meal. When waste remains in the intestines for too long a time, toxins, excess hormones/cholesterol, etc, all end up being reabsorbed into to bloodstream to some degree.

I think if you get him eating more plants/fiber, he will start pooping. He won't be able to help himself AND eating those plants will make it much easier to poop as well. If he is a picky eater, I have some suggestions for that as well. Good luck! I look forward to your personal message. D.

You need to see a Specialist.
A Pediatric Gastroenterologist.

When my daughter was a toddler, and toilet training, she'd intentionally withhold her poop. We did not force her to poop, but it was just the idea of it and she got stress and anxiety about it all.
So then we saw the Specialist.
He said he sees this happen everyday.
He said, Constipation... can lead to medical problems and emotion based problems. Because it causes pain, hence the child does not want to poop, hence it gets harder and more painful, and then they hold it in. Constipation can then lead to: things such as "Encopresis" or blocked bowels & bulging bowels internally, etc. Not good.
But they withhold it still.

It took my daughter 3 months for her poop to normalize. And for her to get over the emotions of it and the pain.

The Doctor gave us specific things to giver her, prescriptions etc.
He did not tell us to use Miralax though.
Though I know this is commonly prescribed.

My son was holding in his poop for three or four days at a time. He has always been very regular so I knew this was not normal for him. So I gave him an enema. He hated it, but he went poop. Three days later, he hadn't gone again and I knew he needed to go and was holding it in again. So I told him that he had to go or I would put water in his bum again. He refused so he got another enema and successfully went poop. He has gone on his own every day to two since then and proudly told me that he did it without water in his bum. :)

Hmmm. . .My son was also consitpated since 5 months, he was also put on Miralax, My doctor said to put him on it religiously for one week to the top of the cap, then go down to the line for 3 or 4 months, Then gradually ween him off. On top of the Miralax I use a probiotic, tons of fibery foods. For the past two months my son has been great!! Although he's only 17 months. Maybe his body is now so used to not having to do any real work, that it just relies on the Miralax since he's been on it for so long.

My oldest boy had this same problem and it was just awful. Ultimately, after medications, fiber drinks, etc., I found that adding Corn syrup to his drinks corrected the problem. Basically I put 1 tbsp in two to three glasses of water, milk, juice, etc. Sounds crazy to add sugar in a kids diet but we were desperate and a little extra sugar sure seemed better than watching him suffer or take drugs. I also cut out foods that would stop him up or at least limited them and added lots and lots of water, which I am sure you are already doing.

As far as pooping every day, I don't think that is necessary at all. Two of my kids and myself do not go every day and my husband and the other two go every day. We are all perfectly healthy.

Good luck!

Hi K.,
My Daughter had bm problems since she was born(now 8 years old). She was always in pain, we had to give suppositories and we did give her Miralax too. She would only have a huge bm that would not go down the toilet once a week, it was as you can imagine very painful. Very flustrating and the docs were no help. What finally helped her was Juiceplus. Now she has regular bm daily to everyother day. If she doesn't take her gummies she goes back to once a week bm and starts feeling sickly again. She has been pain free and regular now for 3 years. Best wishes.

Our ped told me that almost all 3 to 4 year olds hold their poop to some degree. Even though my son was going every couple of days, she could still feel it in him during an exam. she told me to sneak in fiber into his diet so he couldn't control and hold it. We would give him plum juice with fiber, grapes, snack well cookies, apples, raisin bran, fig newton cookies etc. After he had a few painless poops he was less likely to hold it in. And never under estimate the power of poop with a 4 yo. My son is obsessed with it. We made a big deal of it when he did it. Now he will describe it in detail to whoever will listen. My nephew used to hold it until my FIL would pay him a dollar to go each time he went. Motivated by money, he was soon going like a champ. At 18 years old now, suffice it to say the problem is long gone. Good luck to you!

Hi--
My son was EXACTLY the same way. It turned out that he had massive food allergies that were causing the constipation. We chose to go an alternative route to western medicine. At 4 months old he stopped having bowel movements. It took us 14 months and a suppository every day until he finally started going on his own. We had to do a lot of cleansing to get his system cleared out to work correctly. He's now a happy, healthy 6 year old. He does, on occasion, still have issues with constipation when he gets overly emotional. I have helped a number of people through this very same issue and I am happy to assist you if you feel like an alternative method is something you would consider (things like herbs, homeopathics, and diet changes). If not, then I suggest you take him to an allergist and possibly a gastroenterologist.
J.

Wow - that seems so extreme to be on a medication for bowel movements at so young, for so long. I have had trouble with constipation throughout my life, and I have found over the last 5 or so years something that helps me a lot - it's calcium + magnesium. There is a powder that is sold like that and you mix it with water - it's quie bitter but I like the taste of it. Recently though they started mixing calcium suppliments with equal amounts of magnesium and if I take those, I am regular yet controllable.

You might see an internist, but personally I might try to go the homeopathic route for this particular one.
Good luck

OMGosh, I just recently saw an episode of Mystery Diagnosis where a little boy was going through the EXACT same thing. It turned out to be a major problem. For 3 or 4 years, his doctors didn't take it as seriously as they should have. In the end, his mother and grandmother had had enough. Get this figured out NOW! Gosh, I wish I could remember the name of his condition. Maybe you can search for it on your tv or something. Either way, I'd see a specialist.