Dairy replacement to tackle 3yr olds constipation?

[Thesunrising]

Background: DD has suffered sluggish digestive system and infrequent bowel movements for as long as I can remember. This came to a head in April when she was prescribed Movicol which we are having limited success with. Frequent soiling, tummy aches, loss of appetite. Ongoing appts with GP to try and manage this.

I'm now at the stage where I think looking at her diet is worth trying. She eats very little (she is v small), not fussy, but will only eat when she's hungry - fair enough. What she regularly consumes a lot of though is milk, cheese and yoghurt.

Does anyone have experiences of trying to replace dairy to tackle constipation? What milk replacement should I try? I've heard soya milk can be equally problematic, so should I go straight to something like oat milk or nut milk? I'm not sure DD will like the taste so is it worth just trying to reduce regular milk by mixing it half and half with a dairy free option? Or is that pointless? Do I need to cut out dairy completely to see if that's what's contributing to the constipation?

Any advice or experiences gratefully received!

[Branleuse]

oat milk is lovely, and does have fibre in it, but might it be the lack of fibre in her diet rather than the milk itself??

[AntoinetteCosway]

I had success for DD with a milk that I now can't remember the name of (helpful?!) but that was cow's milk minus a certain protein. It was very expensive though.

[AntoinetteCosway]

Found it-it's called A2.

m.waitrose.com/worklight/apps/services/www/Waitrose_Real/mobilewebapp/default/Waitrose_Real.html?l=grocery#DynamicTrolleyView,waitrose_views_LeftSidebarMenu_0,waitrose/views/SearchCategoryView_0,LoginModalView,LoginView,dojox_mobile_SwapView_0,waitrose/views/TaxonomyCategoryView_0,ProductDetailsView

[Thesunrising]

Though she doesn't eat much, her diet is ok-ish I think. She usually has some weetabix and 50/50 toast for breakfast and will eat fruit like melon, apples, grapes and vegetables like jacket potatoes, peas and corn, so I don't think she can be too low on fibre. Will check out the link to that milk at waitrose - does the taste resemble milk?

[Thesunrising]

Sorry - just saw that the a2 is like regular milk so I guess it will taste the same. I'll try anything! Thanks

[divingoffthebalcony]

Honestly OP, I wouldn't recommend going down this road when there's not much evidence to suggest dairy is a problem.

I have a 3 year old who's been on Movicol since she was 7 months. She shows no sign of being able to come off it. But (and this is important) Movicol is VERY effective when used correctly, and you should not be experiencing the problems you've been having. Soiling tummy aches and loss of appetite very much suggest to me that your DD is still badly constipated and the Movicol dosage is not quite right.

Sometimes you have to do a disimpaction regime (i.e. lots of Movicol: increase the dose by one sachet per day, until you get to eight, and then reduce it back down by one sachet per day until you reach your regular maintenance dose). Finding the maintenance dose that suits your child is also trial and error. I've been finding that my DD is getting bunged up when she has two sachets per day, so I increased to three, but then her bowel movements were too explosive and runny. It's difficult, I admit!

GPs aren't experts and I really recommend asking for a gastro referral. We see a gastro consultant a few times a year, and they are great at tweaking the meds and offering up new solutions. It's also important that your DD is checked over for any physiological causes of a sluggish bowel. Chances are it's just one of those things, but there are some things you need to rule out (Hirschprung's disease, coeliac, etc).

[Discoflame]

This is going to sound ridiculous. Did you have a difficult birth?

DD is 2. She was a forceps delivery and always always struggled with constipation. Gp wouldn't do anything, just said to change her diet but I couldn't find anything different to change.

After some research took her to see a cranial osteopath and after only 2 sessions she has never been constipated again, her full digestive system works so much better and it's made a difference to her mood as well. Worth a try?

[divingoffthebalcony]

See, his is why GPs can be crap: change the diet... yeah, thanks for that (!)

FWIW I didn't have a difficult birth and I too have suffered with a sluggish bowel all my life, so I put my DD's issues down as being hereditary.

[Thesunrising]

Thanks diving. We've been through the disimpaction regime, had her tummy felt for blockages and from the size /form of her bowel movements we've been advised that a blockage is unlikely. It's getting the maintenance dose right that is proving difficult. One sachet a day was causing a loss of appetite, which she can ill afford given her small size, so we've been trying a half sachet and in the last few days 2 sachets over 3 days. She's having 2/3 bms a week, but it's the constant soiling late afternoon everyday with little paste like bits of poo that is the side effect of the Movicol which is unpleasant and can't go on long term. I know she's still withholding when she needs to go so she's not yet retrained herself to go when she needs to - perhaps this is just a matter of time. Out of interest how do I get a referral to the gastroenterologist? Each time I go to the GP I see a different doctor so getting continuity of advice from them is difficult. I've also spoken to ERIC advisers who were great.

[Discoflame]

I suffer from sluggish as well and apparently always have. I was a difficult birth as well weirdly, DDs birth was almost carbon copy of my own!

Genetics are probably a part of it but honestly the cranial osteopathy, even though it's all a bit woo, really really worked for us.

DDs sleeping got better, her mood was happier, she got louder (?!) and digestive system works far better. I can't explain it and I'm usual so sceptical but it seems to have worked.

Wheatabix and bananas still bung her up tho.

And yes both GP and health visitor were rubbish with advice, DD used to be screaming in pain, it was horrible to watch and they offered me nothing!

[Thesunrising]

I had a fairly straightforward birth with DD though she did shoot out quite fast. She's always had a slow transit - took 12 days after she was born to have a poo - paediatric consultant at the time that though that was a long time it wasn't long enough to be considered an issue. Though in hindsight I've wondered if that was good advice.

[divingoffthebalcony]

It took 12 days to pass meconium?

That's interesting, because when my DD was investigated for Hirschprung's, the surgeon was very interested her bowels immediately after birth. He really needed us to be very specific about what happened, even though it was over a year previously. I got the impression that a delay in passing meconium was a bit of a red flag. Not to worry you, but again I'd ask the GP for a referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist.

[divingoffthebalcony]

Here's a link: www.nhs.uk/conditions/hirschsprungs-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[Thesunrising]

Ah. I wasn't very clear - not 12 days to pass meconium as there was meconium in my waters as she was a week late, but a delay in doing the proper first poo. She certainly doesn't have any of the other symptoms in the link , swollen tummy etc. but I think I will push for a referral at my next GPS appt in 3 months if things haven't improved.

[tobysmum77]

my dd(5) has always struggled with constipation. I discovered about 6 months ago that those 'healthy' (being ironic) innocent smoothies sort her out. One of those a day and no problem. .... I have 2 friends who also swear by it. Interestingly they give dd2 (no problems) the shits big time.

[AntoinetteCosway]

The maintenance dose of Movicol is a pig to get right. DD has been on it for 18 months and is now down to a third of a sachet twice a week, which is such a tiny amount you'd think she didn't need it anymore, but if we miss a dose by a day she's immediately constipated again. It's a nightmare.

[Artandco]

When ds was constipated we were told to decrease / stop giving him wheat.

So you could try swapping weetabix with oatibix for example. And no bread.

Potato, rice and oats good carbs.

We also were told flaxseeds good so gave porridge with flaxseeds mixed in for breakfast.

Pears are good, especially the skin but maybe she will take pear purée.

He's been fine ever since ( had for about 6 months before that), but we still are careful with wheat. He has it in things as don't check like you would for someone allergic but we don't give bread or pasta on a daily basis now, maybe once a week max

[Branleuse]

does dairy cause constipation, because maybe it wouldbe caused by the wheat, which is notorious for making people constipated

[pudseypie]

My ds does have hirschsprungs and although he was late diagnosis at aged 2 after failed diagnosis at birth he'd been in and out of hospital with severe impaction a few times and was a regular in the hospital for enemas. He was also seriously ill at birth from it. Late diagnosis does happen but it seems to be rare (from what I've read) as children are often hospitalised quite quickly.
One thing all hirschsprungs parents seem to agree on is that weetabix causes problems so we steer clear of it. Food that seems to help my ds is kiwi, mango, strawberries, as well as his various laxatives. I would push for a referral from the gp as lots of straining to poo can cause the bowel to stretch which will make it worse.