After Effects of a Broken Femur....

Updated on March 31, 2012
A.R. asks from Oak Park, IL
7 answers

As I had originally posted, my 27 month old broke his thighbone (Femur) several days ago...he is in a sugar-tong splint. We went for his checkup yesterday, and as far as far as the healing process goes it seems to be moving right along.

However, due to the lack of movement possibly, he seems to be constipated, and has belly aches. Poor thing is crying over his hurt thigh, and now stomach cramps. We called his doctor and he said we shouldn't give him any meds for his stomach (he's still on motrin for the fracture pain) For those of you that have experienced children with fractures, has this also happened to your child? If so, what tip or advice can you give me?

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So What Happened?

So far this broken femur has been a roller coaster of emotions for us! Were moving into the third week of the cast on and after a trip to the ER, orthopedic, his pediatrician, and back today to the ER it seems to be healing well. We took him to the Ortho for forr the follow up after the ER and that went well. He seemed to be doing fine for a couple days then he started squirming around a lot and crying......we figured he wasn't eating a lot and he was constipated. So thats when we took him to his pediatrican who suggested taking him out more for walks plus forcing him to eat more. It was ap struggle to get him to eat
while he was in pain. 2 days later he is CRYING HYSTERICAL, nothing seems to calm him ( at this point sleep is a faint memory) so we head back to the ER, they xray him and tell us the bone is healing well. The reason for his crying is the cast had shifted and was causing bruising. Poor thing had a big bruise on his thigh. This was 2hrs ago...his mood is 50% better and he ate a meal with out protesting. This is is so difficult!!

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M.C.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I broke my femur a few years ago. It is one major thing to deal with. There was a time not too long ago that you would have lost your leg with that type of break. I still have a rod in my leg because I'm too afraid to get it taken out. I imagine with little ones that they heal better. It will be long road to recovery, just so you know. Trauma can cause all sorts of issues in the body. I would make sure he is drinking a lot, add juices, raisins (although not sure for his age), cut out bananas, chocolate, yogurt. Add fiber, oatmeal.I would hesitate to put him on anything else. I very much limit any sort of OTC or prescription medicines we put in our bodies. I do when we must (I totally agree with using the pain killers, just in case it sounds like I don't!), but I don't go looking for them. I would go to the health food store and see if they have suggestions. I would primarily use diet and natural means for helping him in this area.

Love on him, poor baby! I didn't see your original post. I will go to see it now, but oh, my heart aches for him and for you. Such a terrible pain. It is inexpressible how painful it is. I've given birth 6 times. This is worse, by a long shot.

3 moms found this helpful
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H.M.

answers from Dallas on

If he's on motrin for that long that is not helping the constipation. I had issues when I broke my wrist and was on all kinds of pain killers. I would sugest giving him a supository. They do make them for children. I had to use them on my youngest when he was smaller than that cause his muscles that helped him poo did not work correctly for a while. Other than that I would say give him stuff like prun juice and stuff that would lossen him up. But depending on how long it's been for him the supositorys may be what will help the most.

Good luck and God Bless!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

Just a suggestion, is the motrin causing his stomach pain? could you switch to something else for the pain (ask a dr)?

1 mom found this helpful
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S.E.

answers from Philadelphia on

I second going back to the ped with your questions. He could be reacting badly to the meds and there are many solutions to constipation, both natural and medical. If he is blowing you off bug him.

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C.P.

answers from Chicago on

I would say that the rx pain meds you had given him (codeine) probably led to this- it's a well documented fact that pain meds cause consitpation. Of course, poor guy needed them so badly!! Also, the motrin could have adverse effects on his stomach too. I would probably push fluids and add in some high fiber foods and fruit juices. If he doesn't get any relief in a day or two, I'd call the pedi again and specifically ask if he can recommend a laxative.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Push the pediatrician. There is no reason why you can't give your kiddo a laxative. Call and talk to the pediatrician, again. Talk to the ped's nurses. Talk to a pharmacist. Find another pediatrician.

I was on opiates and ibuprofen after my c-sections. Because I was on those meds, and they are constipating, my docs made sure I was taking a laxative.

Push this issue with the doc until he takes the issue seriously. If he does not, find another doc. Your son is in enough pain/discomfort, he doesn't need serious constipation on top of it when it is so easy to relieve.

1 mom found this helpful

R.D.

answers from Richmond on

POOR DUDE!! My son broke his leg last summer and was in a full leg cast.

If he's on pain meds, he's probably constipated. Get some pedialyte pops to keep him hydrated, and the sugar in them should get things moving a bit, not to mention, he'll love it because it's an ice pop ;)

Lay him on his back and take his other leg, bend his knee and press it against his belly. A heating pad may help too.

If you have any questions, let me know, I've broken a ton of my own bones and went through this with my son last summer! I hope he feels better soon!!

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