My boy has a very good diet, high on fiber and grains. He has proper amounts of fruits and vegetables and was very consistent with his BM until a week ago. We haven't change his routine nor diet, no stressful episodes, nothing that can trigger the reason of his constipation. I haven't call his pediatrician because I know she will recommed Mineral Oil and fibers. When my son was born he was in the NQ with a stomach obstruction, however, he hasn't had any tummy problems after we brough him home, other than the normal constipation during potty training 2 yrs ago.
I began to give him Miralax 3 days ago, in addition, just last night began the Mineral Oil. Yesterday, he had plenty of grapes, a pear, and plum juice among other foods that I would think would make him go. I am starting to get worry, he tells me he needs to go, we go and is just gas, he's not holding it in, as a matter of fact he tries so hard his poor face gets all red. Please HELP I am worry.
Called his pediatrician that same afternoon and since he did not complain of a tender stomach, obstrucion was ruled out. The boy was clogged. I talked to him and explained that poopin can be painful when you do not go everyday which is why i needed him to be brave and we were goin to have to give him an enema. Of course, he cried and it took me a while to distract him, but since he loves dinosaurs, I put a book in front of him and when he was relaxed enough, puff, there went the enema :0; since that day he's been poopin everyday, sometimes even after each meal, I make sure he gets the right amount of water, and of course he gets praise for goin poopi and even wiping himself. Thank u so much for all of your comments and suggestion.
It's good he's passing gas. Since it's been this long, I'd call the Ped... I would also take him in to have his stomach examined. If there is an obstruction (worse case scenario) you don't want to mess with that! Is his stomach puffy, sensitive to the touch?
My suggestion is to take him to the doctor anyway. Especially if he is saying that he has to go and that it hurts but nothing is coming out. In the mean time I would keep up with the fibre and prunes and prune juice but just to be safe I would go.
Good Luck
Hi M.,
I agree with the ladies. If prune juice at this point doesn't work, there's something more serious going on. Is he getting enough water?
A child's system can be sensitive. It may have nothing to do with diet. It could be stress. Or he could have been withholding going and now he's stuck. My daughter needed a little help to get her system going a couple of times when she was younger. The pediatrician recommended glycerin suppositories. They worked well. We got results almost immediately. She was younger than your son so I didn't have to fight her on it. I hope this helps! Best wishes:)
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Both my daughters have gone through periods of constipation. It seems like when they were younger (now 5&6) we had to use miralax often, prune juice, you name it. I can't recall a week without pooping though. I kind of remember starting to panic after 4-5 days so that was the most. Likely he's fine but since you've given Miralax for 3 days, I'd call the doctor. That plus mineral oil really should have done the trick by now.
I have this same prob with my almost 3 year old son. He eats and drinks great but is having some problems with the BM. I bought some pedia lax from the grocery store. It looks and taste like a sweet tart and they can take up to 6 a day. We give him one or two when he starts to not eat much. When he doesn't go for a while he will not want to eat. Usually by that night he ends up going. We tried different fruits and juices and miralax and it wasn't helping him much. Good luck!
Hi,
I would up his water, as much as possible. Also, instead of a enema, you could try a suppository. We had to do that to our daughter. It was not fun but it worked. Otherwise call your pediatrician and see what they recommend.
Good luck!
This answer is not to worry you; but rather a worst case scenario...
My daughter had stomach pains, followed by constipation in mid-december. We took her to the ER (didn't know about the constipation yet), thinking it was her appendix. They told her it was a UTI and bad constipation. She took antibiotics for the UTI and had all the "usual" for bad constipation.
Weeks passed. Fevers came and went. "Atypical" chickenpox reared it's ugly head (not bad at all - but the dr. thought it was the explanation for the fever). Constipation persisted? She was still having pain on the toilet, but we figured she was so constipated, the "new" poop was passing by the old, and slowly "chipping" away at it...
I kept taking her to the dr. Pain on the toilet was unbearable - I knew that something was wrong, but couldn't figure out what it was.
Finally, her dr. did a ctscan. It showed an abscess 5cm big in her abdomen. This was January 7th.
We went to the hospital that night - did another ctscan and it showed a blood clot (due to the abscess), and a fistula (a little tube that is a trademark of Chron's) that had formed from the intestine to the abscess. They said it was Chron's Disease and moved us up to the GI floor...
**MANY tests and meds omitted for the sake of time**
On the GI floor, they said it was Chrons, but to have proof, they needed to do a colonoscopy (and the one down the throat - I forget what that one is called.) She had one of the top GI drs in the nation working with her.
We did this prayer... a healing prayer... every night in the hospital. (More on this later.)
My daughter even was having bloody stools. I mean bloody! Then, the colonoscopy day came... She had the procedure done, the doctors called us in the consultation room. My heart was in my toes. The doctor was stunned. He said her colon (and all) was perfectly healthy. He couldn't explain it. They took 14 biopsies to try to find what caused all of this.
She was sent home. No more symptoms. We then waited for the biopsy results. Days later, the results came back normal. Nothing wrong. No Chron's. No digestive disease - much to the surprise of the doctor who specializes in digestive diseases.
So, now, she is enduring 2 shots in the belly daily for a blood clot that they could no longer see on another ctscan (after we started the prayer). She will be off the shots soon.
All of this because of constipation. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks. We did the prayer over and over at night. If anybody wants the prayer - let me know and I will send it to you. It is not religion specific.
I guess what I am saying is to please take your son to the doctor! It is better to be safe than have to go through all of this!
you can buy over the counter glycerin inserts for children. They stimulate the muscles so that bowl movements are easier. I used them on my baby, now 40 and very healthy. You must see the doctor, however. It could be an obstruction.
Yes either the suppositories work or the pediatric enema. They are small bottles and are very easy to insert. I have to use them on my 7 year old a lot but have been using them since he was 5 and he doesn't even care. You may have loosened up what is already in him but he sounds compacted below. Giving him a suppository or enema will make it easier as it will soften the poop so it's ok. Watch his book for the next few days to see if it goes back to being hard. If so giving him half a cap of miralax a day long term would be beneficial.
Updated
Also over the counter fiber gummies work great!! Just in case this is an ongoing thing :) Poop issues should be taken seriously. My son had one bad poop experience, held it in and now we have issues with pooping and holding it because of experience with constipation and pain. He's 7 now and we are still working with it. Lots of miralax here and fiber gummies daily! Also fruits and veggies and exercise.
After a week and with the tummy being obviously bloated - you need to take him in. They can do a super quick Xray and just make sure there is not something worse going on. If it's a blockage, he needs help! The longer the poop sits in the colon, the drier it becomes, then it becomes blocked. He very well might need an enema.......Take him to the doctor soon!
Magnesium citrate works well for constipation. There is a product called Calm that van be added to water that may help. For the time being I'd also recommend the glycerine suppository or enema.
