Toddler Constipation - desperate for advice please

[CrownDoesntFit]

Hi, new to the forum so I haven't seen previous posts. Can anybody recommended something for a 2 year old (not a great eater) who is very constipated? Tried movicol and dr prescribed suppositories which get pushed out immediately. Any advice would be appreciated please. Thanks in hope!

My DS has long term constipation which is now thankfully under control. He takes sodium picosulphate daily - we couldn’t get him to drink Movicol sachets at all. It’s been a game changer.

It’s horrible but I’d honestly persevere with the suppository. It should give such quick relief.

Oh OP this is not easy. Would she sit on a potty without nappy or pants on, with a book or watching cartoons? In case it might help. I think it is advised to have knees slightly higher than hips for better evacuation (I don't know how else to phrase this sorry) so is more comfortable than toilet for a little one.

My dsis use to cycle dn legs,to help him

Solidarity to you as it's horrible seeing your child like that.

My youngest has struggled for years and regular movicol has largely stopped the flare ups of Extreme constipation but the underlying issue is still there.

It's not what anyone wants to hear but it seems to take years to resolve chronic constipation. However my day to day life isn't ruled by it in the same way as it was when DC was younger so it will get easier once you are past this stage and get things to a steady state

It's a very long time ago now but my exes oldest had awful bowel issues. His issues stemmed from holding his poop in, which stretched his bowel and his Grandmother seemed to think inconsistent toilet training hadn't helped. I found a good morning routine was crucial, warm drink in the morning, breakfast and then time to sit on the toilet to go. I used to give him dried apricots, stewed apples, and plenty of fibre in his diet. He had Sennacot to make him go to the toilet, at one point he was having 6 spoonfuls and he a lactose to soften the poop. Will your daughter drink warm milk in the morning? Unfortunately, the poop that has become compacted needs softening in order to come out. You might need to go back to the GP or hospital, as it sounds to me that she needs the compacted poop removed.

Will they take fruit pouches? Try find ones with the P fruits that help constipation: pears, prunes, peaches, aPricots, plums, graPes. Can also do the fresh or dried versions of the above.

Aim at least one pouch a day and add in whole fruit. Avoid bananas as they can be constipating. Oranges/orange juice is good too.

My toddler gets bad constipation but doesn't like taking pouches so I've started freezing the fruit purees in mini ice cube molds and then giving them as small frozen cubes which he will eat, something to try especially in this hot weather.

@CrownDoesntFit can you put the Movicol or lactulose into a home made lolly? Made with orange juice, mashed strawberries if they like them.

1 other idea- a potty in front of the tv?

you must both be feeling desperate now, awful situation really. :(

DD also will only drink water, we gave the plain Movical in ice cold water, a full cup so it was more diluted and we managed to get it in her that way.

Also, is she constipated or is she withholding too - I thought at first DD was screaming and shaking because of the pain when she was trying to go but she was doing it because she was trying hold it in. Was helpful to know so I could change the method with how I tried to calm her down.

Plum pouches of prunes. A few of them and that should get things moving.

This is a baby weaning trick but would definitely help with your toddler in general as they like fruit. Buy a tin of prunes, remove any stones and blend the fruit. It tastes pleasant and a few spoonfuls works quickly - much more effective than the pouches. You can freeze it in ice cubes and give a cube or two every day alongside a meal / on yogurt etc.

I’m not sure how much it will help with your emergency situation I’m afraid (though I would absolutely try it!), but it works well as an ongoing solution. X x

@CrownDoesntFiti really feel your desperation. We have had the same. I found I got so much advice, it was hard to navigate. Personally it totally floored me and my nerves are a bit of a wreck now with it. The ERIC website was good but again so much info. I’ve linked the page I found most helpful.

We had about 6 weeks of hell. I felt like I lived in the toilet and it is so sad to see your little one struggle so much. We ended up giving movicol (plain sachets in diluting orange) as the only drink throughout the day until they had had enough of it. Then back to normal water, milk etc. It seemed mad to be giving such a high dose but it did eventually start work after about 6 days for us. And then you have to keep going until you get what was described to me as “brown rusty water”. So that the bowel is completely empty. Thankfully the nursery we’re on board but I did put them in pull ups and they did have some accidents which I felt sad about.

our little one was potty trained and using the toilet, but we moved back to the potty as it provides a better squat to help get things out. I tried all the blowing bubbles, harmonicas (!!), whistles… for us that didn’t really work.

Books did work for us - to make them sit in the toilet for long enough to help move things along and books semi distracted from the process (Poo Poo Bum Bum Wee Wee, Come out Mr Poo) then a lot of talk about the poo being “nice and soft”. But that chat took a few weeks itself as we couldn’t really mention it before then as going to the toilet full stop had become quite frightening.

We are still one one sachet a day now which means have been advised to continue “well past a year” to prevent anything. I think the idea is for them to be old enough to chat/understand more before removing the laxative too. We also now spend time in the evening on the potty “to poo” if it hasn’t been done earlier going through the books etc. and they are now no longer scared which is the biggest thing. So it continues but it does get better OP.

I hope that helps a bit @CrownDoesntFit

https://eric.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/A-Parents-Guide-to-Disimpaction.pdf

DS didn't poo in his own from 6-14 months, we would end up in a&e every 2/3 weeks where they would give him an enema. Eventually they let us give them at home, they were the micralax paed ones.

He would also be on up to 16 doses of movicol a day, again if we would get them in. Our Paed said to mix them with yogurt/angel delight/chocolate mousse, basically anything to get them in, and just make sure he was drinking tons of water. If they don't drink enough it just made them worse. Suppositories came straight back out.

He was in high doses of sodium picosulphate and seems, neither helped at all. He eventually needed surgery, and did grow out of it but he was on movicol for a long time to help.

I have struggled all my life and have recently been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos which means my bowel just stretches bigger and bigger and I have low motility, and assume he does too. There's no'cure' but keeping on top with regular movicol and starting better things get really had is the only hope.

I really wish your all the best, it's awful and becomes all consuming and their personality completely changes when you're all this stage.

We managed to get the movicol in by mixing it with fromage frais. Ice cream and chocolate spread also worked. The amount of sachets needed to get things going so to speak was quite a few a day so we had to be creative. Odd bit of bribery on occasion as well! Drinking was key and we were told to get her to drink and it didn’t matter what - milk, juice, smoothies, squash etc.

This 100%

Thank you all so much for all your suggestions and kind wishes. I'm certain the problem is caused by her diet but I've never a child struggle so much trying to go. She goes blue in the face. She won't eat ice cream or lollies, but the tinned pears is the next step today. Plus adding the Movicol into yogurt.

The Dr at urgent care didn't offer the enema we were hoping for yesterday.

Don't give high fibre to a child who is already impacted! Especially not dried fruit. You will just increase the size of the blockage.
You need to figure out how to achieve a proper disimpaction regimen, which means finding a way to get movicol into her in the correct doses for the correct amount of time.
Will she eat frozen smoothies of any sort? Could you try blending strawberries, cooked apple (much better for constipation than raw), kiwi fruit, add in the movicol in the correct amount of water, freeze it and serve it as an ice cream?
It can take years to solve constipation as it is a physical and psychological problem. It is also a family problem, so everyone in the family has to be on the same page.
I always recommend the poo nurse's video, easily found by googling and the ERIC help line.

Sorry - just seen your post that she won't eat frozen things. Could you try the mixture at room temperature?

She was eating loads of strawberries daily but has gone off them unfortunately.

Raspberries are also great to get things moving. But ultimately it's a case of finding out what she will eat/drink that has movicol added. One of my DC thankfully drank it in squash, the other one we had to make strawberry milkshakes with 2 sachets in each.

Don't give the glycerin suppositories until you are managing to get a decent quantity of movicol into her for a couple of days, otherwise it will just make her strain really hard which will hurt.

I can't believe how common this is. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and advice. Not much further on but may go to A&E if nothing happens soon. xx

Baby prune pouches. Smoothies. Any fruit pouch if won't have prune. Only thing thay got out daughter going regularly.

Can completely empathise - constipation has been a lifelong struggle for my nearly 4yr old DS!
We made the mistake of adding Movicol sachets straight into drinks without diluting in the correct amount of water FIRST - am in the fb group ‘Movicol Mummies’ which you might find useful and I’ve read about other parents who didn’t know that it was really important to mix it properly firsT

We add it to orange juice and syringe the orange juice into DS’s mouth whilst he watches TV - it might sound ridiculous but he’s autistic and it works for us! We also use picosulfate (prescription only I believe) which I think is what actually is most helpful for him. Sadly he had to go to hospital for 5 nights earlier this year to have a clear out with lots of laxatives via NG - no one knew he was so constipated/impacted until he had an xray because his tummy remained soft!

Just reading others comments - completely agree how all consuming it is! I have a bloody folder on my phone just of poo pictures to keep a diary. There were many days where I was in tears and DS got so frightened of pooing. Somehow, with a lot of hard work from him (and with toys as bribes !!) he is now fully toilet trained and pooing everyday , something I thought would never happen at the beginning of the year. It takes time to get there but Eric charity and Movicol Mummies fb group are great