Cutting out sugar and dairy

[zippyswife]

Ds 8 has had stomach pains for over a year. He was finally diagnosed with chronic constipation. He had undergone a disimpaction regime three times to attempt to clear it. We have now been advised to try a dairy and sugar free diet for 6 weeks. I feel so daunted by this and don't know where to begin. It seems that sugar is in everything from bread to meatballs! Do I have to make everything from scratch now? Any advice would be really welcome.

Who is advising you regarding this? If a healthcare provider they should be directing you towards appropriate dietician support with such a degree of restriction.

"sugar free" is an odd concept here, unless you are aiming for full ketogenic diet (which definitely needs full dietetic support).

My sons consultant said she'd reviewed it with a gastroenterologist who'd advised cutting out gluten and then she called back an hour later to say he'd changed his mind and the plan is to cut out dairy and sugar. I've had no other guidance. I have called and emailed for advice on this and await a response. I agree it feels like I should have received more guidance on this.

The more I think about it the more perplexing I find the advice about sugar. If anything, people (adults usually) who reduce their sugar intake tend towards more constipation rather than looser bowels! Fruits are one of the commoner ways to get fibre into children but are high in sugar.

"Standard" constipation management tends to revolve around going through the gears with laxatives (can add other things to movicol) , other dietary interventions limited to maximizing fibre / fluid intake, unless the food diary or tests suggest specific foods to avoid (which is uncommon).