Nasty Constipation Issue

[LittleAsMom]

My dd, Caitlyn, who has just recently entered the potty training phase of her life is having a nasty constipation issue today. First of all, know that I in no way am pushing her to train. She is simply doing so well and kinda training herself. However today she has been really struggling to go #2. She can't really go more than 2 days before her bm gets too hard. It's been 3 days and not only is it hard it is huge. She has been trying so hard to pass this huge stool for about 3 hours now. She sits on her little potty and strains and strains. I have tried liquid suppository, which she didn't like at all, to try and soften the bm and vasoline around her little bottom area to help ease it out. She isn't having any luck. She just keeps straining and straining and saying her poo is stuck. Any other suggestions? I have a really miserable toddler on my hands this evening.
Thanks.

have you tried lactulose? Will she eat onions (cooked)

My DD1 had an anal fisure, and we had to lay of potty training because she got so stressed about the pain it was causing her. Try to keep her fluids up, plenty of fruit, veg and fibre, and if this continues phone the GP. Mine gave something called Docusol.

Lactulose is great for softening stools along their way, but we have a pack of glycerin suppositories from the docs at the ready if we ever need them (dd gets pretty constipated). Prune juice seems to work wonders too.
Hope the prob gets sorted for you soon

Caitlyn finally went at about 10:30 last night. She sat on her potty, "albet getting on and off several times" and strained until about 10:00. Finally I put her in a bath and she went after about 15 minutes in the bath. She still had to strain quite a bit to pass the stool. I just encouraged her to push and rubbed her back as she squatted in the water and grunted and strained. Poor thing went right to sleep after her bath. I am pushing the fluids today and have had her eat peaches for lunch. I don't want to have to resort to over the counter or medicine if I don't have to. The less tramatized she is the better I think.
For now I am going to try to battle it through her diet and fluid intake. Thanks everyone!

Oh, poor little thing ? tho it sounds as if she's being quite brave about it. My friend who had a similar problem with her 2-year-old found putting the suppository in whilst the little one was in the bath helped (not so traumatic), although it did entail scooping the resulting poo out, which was a bit messy.

Thanks for the advice. I couldn't have put a suppository in there if I'd or she'd wanted to. The bm was just too large. Yes she was brave but she had to go soooo bad it was all she could think about. She's been pretty good today, though no bm. She did sit on her potty a couple of times and tried so I think she is still a bit backed up. I am going to continue pushing liquids and feeding her "P" foods. Thanks all.

Glad it's all resolved itself. Fortunately we've never had to resort to the suppositories either - I'm hoping we won't have to. We have them in stock for emergency measures only!!

Hi I have a 2 yr old son,Cody. He's been constipated for as long as I can remember. He has seen doctors, surgeons etc, with no clear results. They just keep putting him on different laxatives.This poor kid has had anal fissures that have become ulcerated due to these doctors putting it down to constipation,(he'll grow out of it has been their attitude) BM's are gigantic, about8" in length and 2" in diameter. He goes every 2 days and unless he has lots of laxatives he is in severe pain and discomfort. He eats everything and anything, fruit and veg, bran etc. He is such a good kid and is happy and healthy in every other way.He is now seeing a Holistic Herbalist, who even from out first consultation was brilliant, she spent an hour asking me questions about everything. From when he was a newborn to now. She didnt make me feel like I was wasting her time with something as trivial as constipation. She pieced together the information I gave her and thinks he may have some kind of digestive disorder. So instead of treating the symptoms she is looking for the cause of the problem, he is now on a Herbal medication and I have noticed a huge difference in just 2 weeks. He never used to pass wind, ever, and now he is which he finds hilarious and I have to admit its so nice to see him laughing at things happening in that area for a change.When i told his peadiatric doc we were going to try the holistic approach he just laughed and told me that "I know where he is when it doesnt work" I find this attitude appalling. We are talking about a 2 yr old, and I cant bare to see him in pain any longer, I was willing to try anything. 10mls of Senokot and 10mls of Laculose a day cannot be good for a child that young. And this present course of action we are on seems to be doing good. I would love to hear from any other moms who have encountered problems like this. Thanks for listening.......

my young cousin had similar issues, doctors kept giving her laxatives which in turn would result in her soiling herself.
my aunt eventually went alternative, and saw an osteopath who suggested also seeing if it was a food intolerance.
She was tested and it turned out that she was intolerant to wheat and dairy products. Since going on her new diet she has had NO problems with constipation at all!

Star lover, I hope this great change will last, brilliant.

For the query about lactulose so regularly it is no problem at all, it is so safe to use, my daughter suffers encopresis due to ongoing constipation, she will have to use it for at the very least 6 months, daily, she also needs to take a greater amount than is mentioned on the bottle. It is the most gentle stuff there is..I have no qualms what so ever.

Many parents do not realize that you have to keep that movement soft,If a childs poo is going hard after 2 days they possibly need something to keep it soft, otherwise they are definatley going to be constipated. You may have to use the lactulose regularly not just on and off.

My wee girl was always constipated and when I first took her to the doctor this is what I was given for her, It wasn't explained to me to keep it going and then she ended up with the encopresis...not nice at all.

My DD occasionally had constipation so we started bran flakes with her cereal & raisins in it, at first she wouldn't eat the raisins till I told her they'd help her poo be soft & not hurt her bottom anymore, wolfing them down now as she knows it makes it more comfortable for her. Maybe 2 is a bit young to get the correlation but you never know. It's heartbreaking sitting holding their wee hand whilst the sweat's running down that little face. My Mum used to have to use suppositories on me when I was about 5 or 6 so I'm hoping that fruit & juice intake keep her regular.
Hope things get better.

When you up the level of fibre by way of bran etc I hope you realize you also have to up the level of fluids, otherwise it can be just as bad.

Oh, I wish I'd found this thread sooner!! I might've saved a lot of you a lot of bother. My 2yr old DD, suffered terribly with constipation for months. I tried everything suggested and nothing worked. Then I saw a Dr through BUPA who prescribed MOVICOL PEDIATRIC PLAIN. It comes in a sachet of flavourless powder that you put in their milk, or juice. My DD always used to detect meds in her drinks but not Movicol, which was a relief. It worked right from the start!! I'm no medical expert but I understand that the longer a child suffers with constipation, the intestine enlarges and becomes loose and baggy. The muscles no longer detect when they need to push. Also, Lactulose, etc can just create a channel through the build up of poo and leaves poo gathering at the sides. Told you I was no expert but hope you get the gist
Movicol's been prescribed for up to a year, to give the intestine time to shrink back. I was HORRIFIED to think of giving meds for a whole year until I was told that once the Movicol has loosened the poo, it is just passed from the body. None of the medicine is absorbed in to the system. IT WORKS!!!! and my DD is SO much happier...A different child!! Try it.

Not working here wondermum

Really!!? What dose was DD/DS prescribed prescribed?

prescribed?

My dd (now nearly 2 1/2 ) has also been constipated from birth. She seems to experience great pain when building up ready for a bm - doctor prescribed Senokot and lactulose - which she took daily - took 8 days for a bm by which time she was screaming with pain. He has now - at last - referred her to the paed so we will see what happens now. By the way - tinned sweetcorn did seem to make some difference to her so she now eats it regularly!

up to 6 sachets a day

we have had lactulose, senokot, picosulphate, on their own and in combination.

I think he needs dynamite

Poor thing It was awful watching mine sruggle so much.It really did seem to take over the whole day. We couldnt go out until she'd 'performed'. She used to dissappear in to her little corner and nobody was allowed anywhere near her. You must be feeling pretty stressed over the situation. Keep on at your doctor until they find a solution. Make a real nuisance of yourself... I did. They'll find you something that'll work, it's just trial and error I s'pose. Hop it's all sorted out soon

he has been like it since he was born and he is almost 4 now. Sometimes he screams and cris,and we have to manually get it out of him as it gets stuck half way

Glycerine suppositories (probably spelt wrong??) inserted while the child is in the bath sounds a good idea. I was 'surfing'old threads earlier today and have spent most of the afternoon reading about your dreadful experience in Thailand. > What a completely life changing experience for you and your family. My thoughts are with you

Here is a link to a medical site that deals with a horrid problem that comes from ongoing constipation, I am not saying that all children who are chronically constipated will get this, but some will. It is called ENCOPRESIS.It is a complaint that makes you feel so alone, you wonder when will it ever get better, it is like living hell, please, if your kids get constipated, don't leave it, do all you can to get the help you need, if your doctors aren't that great, maybe chat with a pharmacist/chemist. In reality they know the medications better than the doctors.

Another thing, is when my daughter was diagnosed with encopresis I was not told to use the Lactulose every day, I was only using it when I thought we needed to , to get the softening effect that you need to keep that poo coming out it needs to be used every day, and maybe for many months, it is not just here and there.

Lou, I am very concerned about your post, have you had your child to Doctors, paediatricians etc??, Your child MAY have an anorectal problem, not just a constipation problem.

encopresis.com

he has cerebral palsy which slows down the mobility of the bowel. He is under countless docs, manages to do one bm a week atm, which is as it has always been. He doesn't have any anorectal problems

O.K lou, glad you know exactly what the issue is re slow bowel mobility, hope I didn't offend you, but I do know about anorectal problems,and how they can cause poo probs, a lot of people are not even aware of such things, having been through this problem to the max I really want to be able to give advice and help thats all

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