Hirschsprung's Disease or Something Else?

Well for starters, my DD has Hirshsprung's. She is almost 4 months old. Most Hirschsprung babies are born with problems, and generally don't have there first bowel movement in the first 24r hours of life. My daughter pooped normal for 5 days before she got blocked up, but then it got so bad her colon almost burst and now she has a colostomy bag and spent over a month in Minneapolis Children's Hospital, and had 3 major surgeries. Unless your daughter has a very very minor case of Hirschsprung's I wouldn't think that that is the problem. There are tests for Hirschsprung's that can tell you 100% if it is indeed that. It's called a rectal biopsy and pieces of colon are taken out of your child via the rectum and they are looked at under a microscope for ganglion cells. If ganglion cells are present, then your child does NOT have Hirschsprung's. If your GI is concerned that your DD has Hirschsprung's he will do the rectal biopsy. Too me it does not sound like Hirschsprung's, more like constipation, just regular constipation. My DD's belly was so distended and she was losing weight right after birth. I would just get some prune juice and go from there.

The ladies are right. The doctor doesn't know your child. Get a second opinion. I would even get a third from a naturopath. So many things can be going on that might need to just figure out the first piece of the puzzle. If she is simply constipated, then 4 ounces of prune juice should do the trick. My niece who is a little younger has 4 ounces a day or a couple of prunes. Water is very important and most little ones simply don't want it. I have never known prune juice not to clean a system out. It's full of fiber an is healthy. If she doesn't start going regularly after that, seek more opinions.

God bless,

Mim

You are entitled to a second opinion. Go get it. These doctors do not know your child. Not only that some have favorite diseases and diagnose that one whether it is indicated or not.
Just because someone has been to medical school does not mean s/he's intelligent and fair minded and has a good bedside manner.
Feed your daughter more liquids like soup and have her drink more water.

second opinion for sure. i would also check into food allergies. i have celiac's disease and have suffered from constipation all my life (before i was diagnosed). generally people think of diarrhea when they think of wheat allergies but for many, it is just the opposite. dairy is another big culprit.

i don't know if they would recommend it for a 2 yo but my acupuncturist had me take slippery elm and it helps a lot with bowel movements. the only problem is that you can't take it near food as it prevents absorption.