My son is 3 1/2 years old and has severe problems with constipation. He only has a bowel movement once a week for about a year now. He refuses to go to the bathroom becase he says it will hurt and he holds it in. To make matters worse, his only source of protein is mainly dairy. The only meat he will eat is chicken nuggets. He will not eat vegtables. The only fruit he will eat is apples, pears and bananas. We recently started giving him Miralax but was wondering if anyone else had any advice on what works. We have tried giving him rewards etc for letting his poop come out but to no avail.
My Daughter had constipation a couple of times and was so afraid to go potty, I would put her in a warm bath and let her play, it would relax her then sit her on the potty and read bopoks, it was time consuming but did work.
Also drink lots of water!
My son did the exact same thing for well over a year when he was 2.5. Potty training was hard because of this also. He didn't even want to eat because he knew it would make him go. I gave hime Miralax as well, I kind of had to make up my own dosing for it because the amount I was recommended to give was causing him to go too much. So I lowered the dosage and gave it every other day or two. The doctor just kept telling me some kids do this and it is very common, they just grow out of it. And eventually he did on his own, but the Miralax made it easier for him to go. So after he started on his own I took him off the Miralax, he's five now and has no problems at all. Good Luck!
First of all, take him to see your pediatrician if you haven't already.
My daughter had the same problem. To break the cycle (my daughter's bowels became stretched out), the doc had us give her Miralax for several weeks (to let her bowels shrink back to the regular size). ALSO - changes in her diet: switched to "double fiber" bread (Brownberry/Orowheat makes some, sold at Jewell), added probiotics like Kefir (which adds good flora to the intestines to help digestion), cut back on the cow's milk and switched to Soy Milk for a few weeks (cow's milk is constipating, soy still has protein), switched to "whole grain" snacks (even Goldfish come in whole grain), and made her drink tons of WATER WATER WATER (that's really important for avoiding constipation)! Also, oddly enough, our pediatrician said that bananas and grapes have been found to constipate younger children (that was a surprise to us).
Will he eat whole grain pasta? Read the packages, wg pasta, even rice, have fiber and protein.
Good luck, I know it's so hard to see them in pain!
M.
Beth,
You should take your son to a pediatrican and have this worked up. Once kids experience pain with a bowel movement they can associate that feeling and then they start holding their stool. He can become impacted which will require medical intervention. Don't wait and think it will chang. He is already in the cycle. A.
I think most people have given good advice. My only other idea for you is to try vitamins, especially a liquid multivitamin. We use Vemma. It's made us all regular! I know, TMI, but it really has helped.
We switched our daughters juice to a juice made by Bolthouse. It's in the grocery section. It cost a little more but has done a world or good. It's all fruits and veggies. We are no longer on Benefiber, Mineral oil, or Prunes. She also isn't afraid of pooping.
Good luck
My daughter who is 4 still has popping issues, but the Mirlax works just keep at it. She has had this problem since she was about 2 and is starting to get better. I tried everything and nothing really works. They have it in there head that it will hurt and they hold it in. You need to just watch him and when he shows the signs of holding it in get him on the pottty.
My son has had this problem since he was 3 or 4 and is now 10 and I am still tring to figure it out. I even spent 7 hours in the emergency room on christmas eve for this problem. I used to give him mineral oil daily and that seemed to help but was nervous about him taking it daily.I also had him eat 4 to 5 prunes a day and he still was not going. I now have him take mirolax daily,by a drs. order and he does go every day to every other but if I take him off he stops going. My son also used to not want to go because it hurt ,but i explained to him if he goes everyday it wont hurt so bad and that everyone goes poo..Have u tried an enema? That works for my son he hates it but u gotta do what needs to be done.I wish u luck and if u find something that works let me know I will do the same...
My 7yr old has this issue. She is back on Miralax twicw a day for a month, after that I will try once a day, or I may just use the benefiber.
There is a plum juice that I have been giving my daughter as well as lots of water. Alss look for cereal, bread and crackers with at least 3 gram of fiber per serving. My girls will eat the 100% whole wheat bread, but prefer the Wonder whole grain white bread.
I think you should first make an appointment with the ped just to make sure there is no other issues going.
Good luck, and hang in there.
I would stop feeding him bananas and too much dairy because they are both terribly binding. Miralax is great and will work, but be prepared for this to take months. It is not a quick fix. Also, consult your pediatrician about the dosage. We started by giving our son what the pharmacist said and it turned out not to be nearly enough. After putting him on a regimen recommended by the doctor (and waiting 6 months) our 3 1/2 year old is now pooping on the toilet with no problems. He used to go a week in between poops and it was really painful and traumatic - sounds like your son.
Also, push fluids and high-fiber foods. Try to get some vegetables, especially broccoli, into him any way you can! Fiber through his diet is the best way to take care of this in the long run. You should be aiming for about 9 grams of fiber a day. Fiber One came out with a line of products that have a ton of fiber. My son loves the apple cinnamon muffins. They have 5 grams of fiber per muffin, so if you could get your son to eat one of those a day, plus fruits and some vegetables, it would really help. Good luck!
my 3 year old does that to...after about 2 days ill give him a suppositorie..they make them just for toddlers have him touch his toes and it should go in smoothly....and keep giving him the miralax....hope this helps your little boy
Dear Beth,
I have a 3 year old daycare kid that has the same probelm. I started giving her the digestive yogurt everyday. I also give her the fiber garnola bars. I also bought a over the counter at a health food store that really seems to work. It is natural calm, by peter gillham's natural vitality. I mix a 2 table spoons in warm water and then I add it to a 64 oz thing of juice. The first 2 weeks I gave her a cup in the morning and the evening. Now she just gets one cup a day. I now only put a table spoon in the juice. She has a lot easier of a time pooping. It is not so hard that it hurts anymore. It was so bad that she would rip her butt when trying to go and it would take her hours. Now there are no more problems and she is off the miralax too. Good luck.
B.
My son is 11 and we have had to deal with this issue since he was about 3. Miralax does work very well. Someone explained to me that Miralax is to be used as a titrate. (You just increase the dosage until it works!) (I also had problems with the prescribed dosage being way too low.)
We have also had good results with scheduled time for the toilet. After dinner, before bathtime seems to work well for us. Sometimes mornings are too hurried to find the time to sit on the toilet. Sitting on the toilet at the same time every night helped to get his body on track for daily BMs.
When my son was younger I used to read to him while he sat on the toilet. Then, when that grew old, I started to make up stories (starring him). They were continuing adventure sagas that I would only tell during potty time. It seemed to change potty time from a negative to a positive.
Now that my son is older, I pack organic tortilla chips in his lunch everyday. I swear that keeps him regular. Unfortunatly, tortilla chips are a choking hazard for younger children.
Good luck!
Dairy and bananas are extremely constipating. My daughter had thet same and we took her off both for a week, and the difference was incredible. From not going, to going several times a day. After a week, try kefir instead of milk, if milk seems to be the culpreit. Good luck!
My 14 year old son, has been going once a week all his life. As a new born he was sick, and on lots of differen medications and formulas, as well as, nursing. So we just assumed that his digestive system was slow do to all of that. However, his system is still the same to this day. The Dr. says he is only constipated if you see his struggling to bear down (push)all the time. If he is walking around red in the face sweating all day. My son at the age of 1-2 use to go hide when he did it. He would be be laying on his belly under the table or under his bed, bearing down! LOL He even would lean his tummy against something like the couch arm. Weird! However, this is how he has been all his life. He is Fine now. Healthy and Athletic. Still he loads up our toilet with a weeks worth of Shitz! LOL. We have had to use the plunger many a times. I am sure you have heard all the remedies: Lot of Water, Apple Juice, Sugar Water, Prune Juice, Running around playing works also. Yet it could just be his cycle.
I can only help with suggestions and not medical advice. My first advice is try a different opinion of a pediatrician. Dairy can constipate sometimes, and you really need to work on a source of fiber. If he enjoys sweets and goodies, there is really no harm in pureed veggies in the food processor (soybeans, peas, beets, zucchini) and throw them in a sweet bread. He won't know. You can also add fiber to his puddings and even his milk without him knowing. Miralax is good, but he needs different sources of nutrition. Soy milk also might be a key item, as well as drinks like pediasure for protein (it may have fiber as well, check the label). You can even make cupcakes with pureed fruits and veggies, or use a juicer to make apple-carrot juice (which will taste like apple), and try new things too.
There are also vegetarian chicken nuggets on the market, you may want to see if those will pass muster.
Use grape juice, like ocean spray, etc.....grape juice works like a laxative. Or use benefiber about 1 tsp in a cup of water, juice, etc. I also took my 3 1/2 yr old son to the Dr., after an E.R. visit for abdominal pain, so she could talk to him about the importance of eating his veggies. He is now 4 1/2 & if he gives me trouble eating his veggies I remind him about the Dr visit. Now we laugh about how silly it is to hold "it" in.
