5 month old baby struggles to poo??

[PurpleRayne89]

My son is 5 months. Is always screams and arches his back abs kicks his legs trying to pass poop. He’s been doing this since he turned around a month old. He will try all day, wake every hour or more in the night with discomfort and on occasion he will either do it the following morning or the afternoon. Then it starts again, as if he is backed up there is always poop ready to come out. It’s having a huge impact on both of our quality of sleep, some night I only sleep 2-3 hours.

He’s exclusively breastfed. I barely consume dairy. When the poop does come out it’s normal consistency for a BF baby. This is making me anxious about starting solids.

Any similar experiences or advice?

@Poppetlove hey, thought I would come back to this. We have gone ahead and had a private stool test done and an intolerance one too; food and non food items. In addition, going to pay for a private scan to look at the bowel for any bulges / abnormalities. Our next appointment with the NHS September. It will just be another conversation like the initial one. Such a ball ache waiting for so long for nothing to actually be done. I’ll update his results from all private investigations.

How did they do the intolerance test? Was it through blood test to look at ige levels?

Theres a lot of private 'tests' out there that take your money and are absolutely BS.

@SmallDucks they took a stool sample. No bloods taken. I’ll see what the results are and share here.

You can't tell if someone is intolerant to food and non-food items through a stool sample.

You might be able to detect things such as blood, mucus etc in the stool and could theorise that it's caused by an intolerance but you wouldn't know what to, and you wouldn't know for sure.

A blood test, which looks at the IgE levels of specific foods, will tell you whether she has an intolerance.
And even then, it isn't always accurate which is why it has to be coupled with symptoms as well.

Im not sure where you went for tests but they might have been fleecing you unfortunately as there are so many companies that make their money from desperate parents.

@SmallDucks hey. No, they used hair samples for the intolerance test and poop for the micro biome test. They have pretty good reviews. They’re a reputable company. I did some research before hand and it checks out. According to information I’ve come across and journals, poop samples is a reliable method to check for stomach bacteria and other things and hair is good to check for intolerances. The blood test is also a reliable method. It depends on the company and also the patient what they’re comfortable with. However, there are plenty of companies out there fleecing people. I will post my resumes and I will let you know heheh I feel they’ve taken advantage. Thanks 😊

No sorry, bloody test is the only reliable method.

You have been fleeced I'm afraid.

There is absolutely zero scientific evidence that says that hair can show intolerances.

If it was, can you imagine how much cheaper that would be for the NHS? And less invasive for babies and toddlers?

Hyperdermic needles are expensive.
The vials, the rigorous testing of the blood, the pain and invasive needle.

If was as simple as using a hair to test, it would be done.

It is, scientifically, absolute bullshit I'm afraid.

I hear you saying they have good reviews but how do the reviewers know that it's correct? They don't. They are just hoping they are.

Unfortunately you have been fleeced.

Please don't reduce your child's diet because of what they have made up.

What happened with the HD diagnosis, was it all clear?

@TheAverageUser we have a meeting the surgeon next week. I think we are heading toward taking a biopsy to see whether he has it. I most definitely update on the result. Might be a while but I’ll still update. Thanks for asking.

@SmallDucks well that’s a bit shit isn’t it. Lol

@SmallDucks hey, I received the intolerance test results where hair was used. They managed to identify many things which cause constipation. I hadn’t mentioned constipation to them at any point. It sort of makes me feel as thought they must be doing something right if they concluded constipation being a huge factor. I am waiting for the micro biome test to return. I will compare them both as in this report, they stated a certain type of good bacteria was low and I can then see whether this is suggested in the second report. I’m addition, they mentioned some enzymes being low which also contribute to good digestion of proteins. Without sufficient levels, this could cause constipation. I’ll update again soon.

I tried.

@SmallDucks No, I understand what you’ve been saying. Lol. I was just asking, as they mentioned constipation, do you think it’s a standard thing they u Clyde in their reports seeing as most intolerances can have the same symptoms (constipation)?

To anyone else. I attended hospital appointment today. Surgeon wants to first start with contrast enema. Depending on that this shows we will take it from there. It there are abnormalities, they will do a biopsy. If it appears normal. He wants to do a Botox injection to help relax the poop muscles. He wasn’t able to provide a long term solution to the problem. There was also talk of a wait and see approach. I’ll continue to update.

Squeeze an orange and feed your baby a teaspoon of that juice in the morning (only a tea spoon!).

My friends kid struggle Dwight pooping and she introduced him to potty at a young age. The baby wasn't old enough to sit independently but she held him in the seating position. That helped with the baby. Not sure if it's anything similar to your situation.

@Oceanus we have tried this and everything under the sun. Hence why we’ve now been referred to the hospital for further investigation.

@Rewis I will give it a shot. However, it appears to be an issue with the poops journey down. Something is stopping it from being passed easily and comfortably.

Good luck with the contrast. I'd push for the biopsy as you say because it sounds like more than constipation. Have they done an ultrasound type thing to see if he has a lot of impaction?

PurpleRayne89 I'm very sorry you've tried it all and none of it worked. I'm keeping you in my thoughts. I hope it's nothing too serious and that your baby grows out if it or that you at least get some real answers about the origin of your baby's problem! XX

@TheAverageUser I felt as thought the doctor wasn’t taking my concerns seriously. He asked me what my expectations were which is fine and the right thing to do. However, the follow up to my response was pretty meh. Well no US for impaction. I might book something private. Hopefully the contrast enema is soon rather than later. I would like it to show no abnormalities but on the other hand it just raises more questions. They won’t do the biopsy in that case.

@Oceanus thank you so much. I appreciate the advice and support I really do.

I will continue to update as I’m certain someone someday will find this thread incredibly useful.

My son had this from about 3 months. He could go days without pooing. The doctors prescribed Lactulose which you can buy over the counter really cheaply. They prescribed a low dose because we was so small (2 months premmie) and when that didn't work the doctor literally said I could keep giving more until he goes as it's so mild. It definitely helped and once he was eating solid food he didn't need it anymore.

No gp yet as you heard it was "normal ". How can you not have done anything for months? This poor baby 😰

@Cotswoldmama thanks. He’s 9 months now so been on solids since 5.5 months and it’s only gotten worse.

@Marvellousmadness clearly you have issue with language comprehension. Please read entire post before commenting. Not poor baby, poor you. I’ve went to the doctor when this first became an issue and again if you had read he’s being treated by the NHS which means slow service. Jesus, some people.

I totally understand, no one took me seriously either and they were all dismissive telling me 'constipation is normal'. You know it's not, personally I'd be pushing for the biopsy because they did suspect HD so you need to know. Hopefully you'll know more after the contrast.

Don't listen to anyone, you are doing right for your LO keep pushing for answers. It's so tiring but 2 years in I'm pretty forceful now when we see doctors. I think it's needed a lot of the time so they don't dismiss you.

@TheAverageUser Thanks, means a lot. It’s so upsetting and stressful but worse for my son. I found the consultant was really on the ball. Then meeting the surgeon yesterday he didn’t seem that bothered. What indicated this was him mentioning the hundred of other children with constipation. However, he did give a starting point which is the contrast. I’ll let you know how it goes.

@TheAverageUser Hows your child getting on now?

I used to give mine a teaspoon of prune juice when they were bound.
It worked a treat.

Mine was diagnosed at 12 months (that's late) and had his operation last June and he's doing great now 🙂 we meet the specialists in Crumlin (Dublin) once a year now but other than that he's pooping normally, eating loads and doing really well.