My daughter's doctor wants me to start her on Miralax for constipation but that seems like more of a "fix" for the time being but adding fiber seems like a good long term solution. I've tried adding foods to her diet that offer more fiber but she's 3& 1/2 so she's a little picky. He also suggested mineral oil. What? I will of course start the Miralax just to give her some relief but I'd like to have a long term goal so she doesn't have to go through the painful b.m.'s all the time.
thanks moms...I gave her some Benefiber and a dose of Miralax and we had a poop a few hours later. It was still on the hard side but at least things are moving. I've been giving her more water,some Juicy Juice, and pears too. I'm laying off the milk and yougart for a couple of days to help things along. Thanks for all the nice answers. Lately the moms on this site have been so nasty that I was afraid to ask my question. So I really appreciate all the help.
I just want to chime in: blueberries. They do wonders. I don't think I would have made it through my pregnancy without them. Lost of fiber, tasty as can be... no more than a cup a day, though!
I would continue to try to give her lots of natural fiber in foods and water water water. Any kind of berries are great as well as grapes and applesauce. Lay off dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) when she's backed up and keep her fluid intake up. Also get her lots of exercise as well. Don't think miralax can hurt her, but if you can help her naturally, and create good habits in the process, it's worth a try.
Above all, make sure she is hydrated. Dehydration can lead to hard, difficult stools.
Also, give her more natural fruits, vegetables, and complex carbs with dietary fiber. These food items have components that are not digested and move through the colon. They pick up other bits of waste and help move them out of the body. Consuming more water will help this 'waste package' become more soft and easier to pass.
My 23 mos old loves fiber bars, like a chewy granola bar, but with fiber. Becareful to limit to 1/day. Lots of fiber!
Also, when she seems to be getting constipated we give her one of our activia. Works like a charm everytime.
Ask your doctor if it is okay to give her Magnesium supplements. The side effect of that is relieving constipation. My doctor said it was very okay for me to use it for chronic off and on constipation and it works great. If you need to cut it down or out for awhile, you'll know it by the loose stools.
Please do not use laxitives! They relax the bowels and soon she will not be able to hold poop IN! Some people become relient on them to go at all! It is BEST to eat higher fiber foods (fruit!!) and drink more liquids. Benefiber is not recommended either. Stick with NATURAL cures.....HIGH FIBER FOODS!! Beans, whole grains, veggies, and fruits.
Yeah I am going to go ahead and tell you that a stimualnt such as Miralax can be quite uncomfortable and fiber is much more natural. I know this from working in a pharmacy and having girls with immune deficiencies that need a little help sometimes pooping!
I want to second the opinion of Michele S: my daughter was constipated for a while which caused the colon to stretch (the doctor called it an efficient colon). This meant that a little 5 year old was trying to get a "log" out that was huge. She really needed the Miralax for several months to a) shrink her colon back to normal size and b) get over the fear of pain which in turn made her withhold her poops. It is a negative cycle that you need to break. Once she was on a regular schedule, and the consistency was not causing her pain, we slowly reduced her dosage until we stopped. The mineral oil is a stool softener. Good luck.
TRICK: Put vaseline on her rectum. As she gets older she can do it herself. Half of why kids will avoid pooping is because it hurts. REAL vaseline on the rectum prevents tearing and "slides" poop out 1000x more easily.
I would DEFINITELY do the miralax for awhile. Get her body used to a smooth process, and with that and the vaseline a lot of the "fear" will evaporate. But I would AVOID fiber. Fiber moves things along quickly, but if she's already prone to constipation, one of the reasons for constipation is that the body is holding the waste longer to extract every single bit of nutrition and water from it. So I'd up the calories (double, preferably, cram in the fats BIG time), make sure she's drinking at least 8oz of milk our liquid per hour, and avoid fiber. When her body KNOWS it can have a surplus of nutrients and be hydrated it will be FAR less likely to try and slow the elimination process down to extract nutrients and water. Adding fiber, otoh, and other things that make it hard for the body to extract nutrients and water, can actually CAUSE constipation in toddlers. Make SURE with miralax that she is eating a "heart attack" diet, and you're pushing fluids. That way you hit the problem with both barrels. Her body gets used to a smooth process WITH all the nutrients & H20 she needs, and her mind gets over the fear of the pain.
Add oatmeal and other higher fiber foods. Some people just have a different system and need that extra boost occasionally. Our 7 year old had an issue recently and the doc took an X-Ray, even though she didn't think there was a real issue, and was shocked at how backed up our girl was. She took Miralax for a few days and had results. She is doing better now.
It should not be a full time supplement in my opinion but then I am not a doctor who knows what the long term side effects are and the long term benefits.
Mirilax!! It's non-habit forming.
Just be sure to stick with it. If she starts going and/or stools soft - stay on top of it. Trust me! (went through hell with my daughter from age 2-5 - severe encopresis - you don't want to end up there!) Didn't learn about Mirilax until she was 5. We actually had to do a "clean out" which included using mineral oil but that was for a very short time and absolutely neccessary as she was very backed up. My daughter is now 8 and we still use Mirilax at times. She lets me know when she needs it. Once a child has gone through severe constipation/holiding/colon stretching, etc... they can go back to square one pretty quickly. We've been very lucky, no issues since turning 5 and getting cleared out, but then again that's because we are on top of it.
I should add - prior to getting sick my daughter ate very well, lot's of veggies, fruits, water, all the right stuff. Even fish oil, flax oil, she should have been a poop making machine - lol. But, she had bigger problems:-( Her body was making poop but because her colon had stretched out from the large bm's - she could no longer push the poop out. I know this is way too much info and you aren't at this point, just wanted to give you a heads up of what could happen.
I use Benefiber on my 7 & 4 year olds. Both of them like binding foods like bread, cheese, milk, apple juice. I add Benefiber to their water when it's been more than a day of not having a BM. Benefiber seems to be easier on the stomach. My oldest has been constipated since birth, my youngest only when she doesn't eat a good balanced diet (which when you only like ham and hot dogs and corn is often). My oldest would be in the middle of playing and all of a sudden start crying. We knew what it was. Now my girls ask for the Benefiber when they haven't gone and I haven't asked. Let's just say that my girls always announce "Mom, I went poop" and preceed to tell me just how big it was....TMI, but you get the picure. BM's have always been an issue and the Benefiber keeps it in check. I used Kyro syrup when they were little and it helped a little but no where near as good as the Benefiber. I love the Benefiber for myself because it really helps keep the weight in check when I'm eating not so great things.
