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PLEASE ADVISE/HELP- YOUNG CHILD CONSTANT DIARRHOEA! FOR MONTHS! GLUTEN? LACTOSE?

12 replies

Judgejudysno1fan · 28/12/2023 10:45

Hi all

Please advise me what you think this could be...
We have an appointment for doctors next week.

My dd is 2yrs old. She will be 3 in a couple weeks. For perhaps the last 6-9months she has been suffering with loose, very loose bowel movements upto 4 times a day. Before she had a pretty good diet, she would eat everything, rice, potatoes, chips, pasta, milk, chicken, fish, some veg but loved fruit. I never allow fizzy drinks only on special occasion and has to be sugar free etc.

But her diet has completely changed, she has gone off everything. I have to really encourage her to eat and even then it will be small. She used to eat eggs but then eggs give her a bad tummy, only eats certain types of chips, she refuses to eat all veg, she doesn't really like rice anymore, hates food touching sauces, will not eat anything except plain beige food to the point where I am sadly feeding her chicken fingers, nuggets often and trying to give her other things, she does take noodles here and there but even that gives her diarrhoea.

She would happily eat chicken nuggets 4 times.a day and 5 packets of crisps. I'm trying different things, feeding her and making it fun but she's fussy and cries.

She is only interested in crisps, apples and chicken and cereal. I swapped to oat milk and almond milk in thinking perhaps its lactose intolerant as the diarrhoea was worse after having chocolate and milk and cheese. But she still has it. She is very fussy with cereal also but only wants Krave.

It all started around spring when her poo stools became less and she would go over on the floor like on all fours like a crab, hunkered down and straining. She will then diarrhoea for about ten minutes solid and the smell is horrific.
Sometimes she doubles over and you can see in her face its painful. But she never complains.

Now there is blood in the diarrhoea. She hasn't done a hard poo in months. I have spoken to the health visitor and when she caught a bug and had a problem with her skin, I raised it again with the doctors then but they dismissed saying Sometimes its normal for toddlers to have diarrhoea when they eat a lot of fruit. She's always been tubby but now she's smaller.

The diarrhoea comes in two types, looks like very, very dark melted icecream very very watery with no texture, basically like chocolate milkshake. Or slightly darker colour beige, sloppy porridge with snot and blood in it. The blood is like streaky and small.

I am trying to get an appointment but its ridiculous at my surgery.
She has diarrhoea like 5 minutes after eating chocolate so I stopped that.
She has diarrhoea after chips. We cut out the dairy for like a week. She still had it. She won't eat much. She's still happy but when the diarrhoea comes on she can't control it. She's still in nappies and am trying to potty train but she's hysterical sitting on a trainer seat so we got the floor type potty. Hates that too. She goes through four clothes changes a day. I cant even put the clothes in the wash, as I have to sit over the shower rinsing out all the diarrhoea first as it explodes. She doesn't complain of the pain. She's a very sweet girl who sort of just gets on with it. But she puts her head down, her face is red and she's clenching onto the side of the bath.

I keep pushing for the doctors but they minimise it by saying kids get diarrhoea/bugs etc. Was finly able to get an appointment for next week and am going to try and ring again today and tomorrow to get her seen sooner.

Does anyone know what this could be??

Is it gluten / celiac/ lactose???? Food allergy? Long term infection

I'm at my wits end.
Hoping the doctors will help.
Thank you for reading.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Lovemybunnies · 28/12/2023 10:51

I would take a sample with you and insist they test it. You could write out your post and give it to them to read as it sounds like she is really suffering. Sometimes we have to be really strong with GPs. I hope you get the help you need.

Judgejudysno1fan · 28/12/2023 10:57

Thanks so much for your reply. Very grateful.

Good idea about the sample. But how would I do it with a test tube!!!???! Would it be ridiculous to take her used nappy there and then get a test tube from reception and make a sample in the practice toilets? Then immediately throw the nappy away???!

OP posts:
wasanneofcleves · 28/12/2023 10:57

I'm genuinely staggered that the doctors aren't taking this more seriously. I would either call the doctor and insist on an emergency appointment this week or call 111 and insist you are referred to the out of hours. Extremely worrying.

Judgejudysno1fan · 28/12/2023 10:58

My husband is pushing for an appointment today

OP posts:
Iizzyb · 28/12/2023 11:05

Could she have chronic constipation?

I would consider this as a potential option alongside other things.

You can take advice from ERIC charity.

It would be worth listening to their podcasts or speaking to someone on their helpline.

Judgejudysno1fan · 28/12/2023 11:20

Thanks. I don't know if it could be ibs ??? Because she is going frequently! Just not producing stools? We are pushing to be seen this afternoon, by hook or by crook!

OP posts:
ChateauMargaux · 28/12/2023 12:41

That sounds horrific. When my DS was a baby, he had gut issues.. we had similar answers to the ones you have been given. I had private tests done and went with the results to the GP to have antibiotics prescribed.

What your daughter is experiencing is not normal and should not be ignored.

My DS's gene sequencing (24andme with analysis from Livewello if I remember correctly) excluded HLA DQ2 and HLA DQ8 which meant it is highly unlikely he has celiac disease but he was very reactive to gluten and also to dairy.

Stool analysis by Genova diagnostics showed high colonisations of a number of bacteria which are potential pathogens when present in large quantities in the stool (Klebsiella and Citrobacter - I don't recall the strains). While it is possible to affect this with herbs, diet and probiotics, in consultation with his GP, we choose to use antibiotics which helped enormously... though the first answer was 'we do not treat this in children'.. despite lots of evidence that it is effective. It is not clear why his gut bacteria was so imbalanced but it improved significantly after the antibiotics. He still has lots of food intolerances, is better without a long list of things but can cope with them occassionally.

My son's condition lead me down a whole host of avenues that I would never have explored if conventional support had resolved his issues. Every avenue we explored showed that he has a host of sensitivities. Many of the treatments we have explored (herbal, dietary restrictions, supplements, removing chemical triggers from his environment ..) have helped but not solved. We have yet to find a magic solution but he is much much better than he was.

Diet restrictions are not recommended unless in the case of tested allergies but no matter where you look.. there seem to be lots of people who benefit from excluding certain food elements. What is challenging is finding the right combination for each individual and ensuring adequate nutrition is a challenge. However.. right now.. it seems unlikely that your child is absorbing very much at all.

I hope you find some answers for your daughter very soon.

Peanut91 · 28/12/2023 12:58

Sounds like chronic constipation. Basically the rectum gets so impacted and blocked by faeces that the new more watery poo leaks round the outside as overflow. It appears very much as diarrhoea so people dismiss it as constipation.

I would be pushing your GP firmly for an X-ray to check/rule it out. If it is chronic constipation then he first line of medication is a high dose of novices to soften the stool and clear the rectum and then very slowly weaning off. The rectum will have been stretched and will have lost tone and strength which can take a long time to regain so expect the movicol to be a long term solution.

As PP suggested above, have a read of the ERIC website as there is lots of useful information on there. If it is chronic constipation your GP should also be able to refer you to a paediatric gastro specialist where they will be able to rule out any dietary causes to the constipation.

Feel free to PM me if you want any more information or support. My son has a bowel condition which causes chronic constipation and we have tried every medication/treatment/test available.

Judgejudysno1fan · 28/12/2023 13:44

Thank you @Peanut91 that is really great advice and suggestions. I really appreciate it.
. We are getting an appointment today. We have been put on the appointment list for afternoon clinic.
its a whole hooha at my practice. Have to call certain times to be put in a queue of 100 people and hopefully get through to get seen.

Wow @ChateauMargaux I'm impressed how you detailed everything. Thanks also.

OP posts:
nocoolnamesleft · 28/12/2023 13:48

Agree sounds very much like constipation with impaction and overflow. Have a look at www.eric.org.uk but I'd very much hope your GP would try a disimpaction regime of movicol/ laxido, to be followed by a maintenance dose of the same.

notapizzaeater · 28/12/2023 14:21

You mention the smell, make sure you tell the doctor that. My son is coeliac and his 'gluten' poos absolutely stink, a sort of sweet horrific smell.

Lovemybunnies · 29/12/2023 22:49

How did you get on OP?

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