Please help me with DD and possible consipation

[FurryFox]

DD 2.6 has been potty trained for about a month. She was dry within a few days and hasn't had any accidents. But in the 4 weeks she's been out of nappies she's done about 5 or 6 poos.

The first one she did out of nappies was fine but ever since then she's been witholding them. She strains for ages and is in agony, sometimes screaming/crying.

She happily sits on the toilet when she feels it coming on but then says it's gone again. She went 8 days once without going. Chemist said to try all the usual things re her diet but so far has not made a difference.

Am thinking I need to take her to the doctors as we can not go on like this. I can't bare to see her in so much pain and really struggling.

So really I'm wondering what the doctor is likely to do/say? Can they prescribe anything? Will she get referred somewhere?

Am feeling terrible that I haven't taken her sooner but I thought she would be back to normal by now. I would say that she has always slightly strained a bit when doing a poo and from when she has been able to walk and started talking she always insisted on being on her own to do it, standing in a corner etc.

Sorry am rambling now, just worried about her and want her to poo 'normally'. Picked her up from nursery earlier and she was on the loo trying. They said she had been in there much of the morning trying and saying it hurts

Thanks

Would help if I could actually spell constipation

DD1 has always gone every three days. I find that giving her fruit for breakfast along with organge juice with a little hot water helps. She also gets fruit/veg at lunch and dinner. The GP said that this is obviously normal for her. But it sounds like your DD may be holding on.

I am in the process of training DD2 (2.6) at the moment. Weeing has been accomplished, except for nighttime. Pooing is a different story. She seems to be a little afraid of it but she does like to look at it when she's done it

I have read on previous threads that sometimes lining the potty with a nappy helps.

It may be a good idea to put this on the nappies/training thread. Someone else might come along soon.

the doctor will give you lactulose, so that the poo gets runny and she isn't able to hold it. It does work but only if she drinks lots too.

Will she not just wait and do it in her nappy when you put it on for bed, that's pretty normal behaviour i think!

No she won't do it in the nappy either. We've just been trying again. As soon as she feels it coming on she holds in it.

She finally got a bit out earlier (sorry tmi) but it was such hard work for her and really yelling in pain.

Trip to doctors as soon as I think.

My7yr old has this prob.We had a tip from MIL's greek friends which has saved a lot of hassle although have had to change to suit a little.
Give child some bread dipped in olive oil(my dd won't eat this so we put it in squash/juice and stir while she drinks it)
Then give a teaspoon of honey.
Doesn't always work fast but def has helped.First time we used this she went within 1/2 an hour to our shock.The chemist gave us some stuff to soften it but takes ages to work and after reading side effects don't like giving it to her as their are probs in family relating to areas that the medication affects
Someone in family had same prob when young and someone stuck ? in hole to stretch it.Doc reccomended it.Am not putting my child through that

how much pain is she in when she does it? DD2 had an anal fissure last year and it was absolute torture. She totally refused to poo, my life revolved around getting her to poo at one point. It is worth seeing the doctor before it gets really bad. There's lots they can give her - lactulose which will totally soften it (eventually) so it just squits out. Or movicol is fantastic - it makes their bowels contract and it bulks out the stool so she has no choice but to do it.

I get these camomile/glycerin squirty pumps from Spain where you just squirt the liquid into their bum, it dissolves the poo and normally then passes easily. These are much easier than suppositories. If you know someone going to Spain/Italy they are just available in the chemists there.

Definately go to DRs. My dd1 was like this and it took me ages to notice and turned intoa real problem. The GP can give you lactulose to soften the stools and senna which relaxes the muscles so they can't hold it in. It took about a week to work with dd1. She has steadily improved and know goes evey day or so with no problem (instead of once a week whilst screaming)

There's a product called FOS (I get it from Nature's Best, they call it Eliminease) that is safe for children. It's not a laxative so doesn't do any harm, in fact it's prebiotic so is actually good for the gut. It's in sweet powder form so easy to take - you can stir it into juice or natural yoghurt, sprinkle it on cereal etc. I give it to my 10yo who is sometimes constipated, and it sorts her out in no time. Definitely better than laxatives in my book.

Thanks all for your messages. Am going to take her to doctors and see what they say, can't let her carry on like this and like amidaiwish said, my life is revolving around trying to get her to poo.

Thanks again

if you're desperate, do CAT me - i'll post a squirty pump to you for you to try!

My ds had this problem - the thing that worked for him eventually was Milupa. Sometiems if he was straining I put him in the bath and he went there. Messy but effective. Also, going swimming seemed to get things moving sometimes.

Your poor dd - I do sympathize!

I've notice a few children go through that retentive phase at potty training stage. I'm sure it's just a phase but don't let it drag.
It's a good idea to tackle it straight away so it does not become an issue (which already seems to be the case)

DS 4 started developping constipation mainly due to diet change.
What works for us:

Definitely second efficacy of olive oil (systematically use instead of butter on pasta, steamed vegetables etc...)

Breakfast of fruit and fruit juice with a warm drink to flush the system.

We also try prune juice and of course lots and lots of water.

Give fiber rich snacks of dried fruit and nuts, fruit and veggie sticks.

If all fails lactulose works but only with copious amounts of water as advised before.

Good luck.

AMIDAIWISH - NEEDS INFO PLEASE!

I think DS has a fissure.
He developped rock hard constipation for the first time couple of weeks ago. It's better now with lactulose and fiber rich diet but he had a few bleeds.
Bright red immediately after a poo and then stop.. No pain.

I'm taking him to Dr tomorrow.
I guess my question is how do they diagnose it? Do they actually stick something up their bum to check?

And does it heal on its own?

it's strange there's no pain with a fissure, they are usually in agony when they actually poo.

DD2's does seem to have healed itself, though sometimes there is a trace of blood on (rather than in) her poo if she does a particularly hard one.

The doctor just had a look at her bum, pulled a bit of skin (she freaked, but he certainly didn't go into her bum iykwim.)

I now give DD2 prune juice to drink every day, diluted with water, which has helped more than lactulose i think, this one is mixed with grape juice and tastes nice here

thx for your reply! I'm really grateful he was not in pain! Poor DD!

Been to Docs now.
She also just pulled the skin a bit...but we have suppositories to use for 3 nights to heal.
Don't know how that's going to happen. DS is 4 so unlikely to cooperate now!

She gave us probiotic tablets too.

Also don't find lactulose so convincing.

Dr said better try prune/fresh orange juice and bowl of fruit in the morning (not apples and bananas) + a portion of vegetable (green) soup every evening + snacks of dried fruit and nuts. And lay low on white processed carbs and carrots.

FURRYFOX doc advised to use stool softening techniques without delay so they don't strain and become stressed about "going".
Good luck