What Can I Do About My 5Yr Old Sons Constipation?

When one is backed up loose stools can still pass so you can poop and still have a blockage. With my son they said that often this is the result of the body not being able to fully digest certain proteins, often the culprit is milk/dairy. We put my son on a dairy free diet for a few months and used the Mirilax to clean him out, and then we reintroduced small amounts of dairy, first things like cheese, and eventually organic milk. He is now a 14 year old with no digestive issues.

Poor child. Sounds miserable.

A few points: blood in the stool may or may not be noticed by you. They can test a small sample of his poop to determine that blood is in there, whether it's visible to the naked eye or not. So believe the doctor.

Yes, your child poops a little every day, but he still has a lot of fecal matter (poop) blocking his intestines. My guess is - which you should confirm with the doctor - is that there is a lot of "sludge" stuck to the intestinal walls with a narrow passageway down the middle through which some food residue is passing. Think of those plumbing commercials with clogged drains - the grease is stuck to the pipe but there's a small opening so some water drains through the pipe. The problem with this in humans is that the "sludge" keeps the food's nutrients from being absorbed by the body. So your child is eating veggies and fruits, but getting very little in the way of nutrition because there's limited absorption. And the sludge irritates the intestinal walls - which causes bleeding. Probably one of the things off the list of "acceptables" is stuff with red dye - red jello, red Gatorade, etc.

It sounds like the doctor is doing everything to avoid surgery. Please work more closely to find some acceptable foods. Dehydration is a problem, as you've learned, and if your child needs an IV to boost his fluids, well, it's not ideal but it's better than the danger.

Verify that there are impacted feces vs. a kink in the intestine, and ask about encopresis. I'm not saying that's it, but be sure you've addressed these issues. Do get a 2nd opinion if you're unsure, and make sure everyone has the x-rays from all imaging dates. Keep a very detailed log of food and liquid intake (amounts and types), poop output, nausea, and all the various meds like Miralax. But verify that this needs to be done on weekends only, and ask if that's the only way. Please take copious notes at all appointments - you're getting to the point where it's going to be impossible to remember everything, and that's going to add to your stress and frustration.

I've known quite a few kids with problems like this, and while the treatments varied, parental vigilance was the most important thing.

Poor kid - it's a lot for him to go through.
Yes blood in his poop could certainly be due to severe constipation.

The liquid diet is to keep from adding more to the blockage.
If a drain is clogged up you certainly don't try to put more material down it and hope the clog clears.
If he's not drinking enough fluids anything solid that goes into him is going to make things worse - his poop could get a lot like rocks.

While water and popsicles are fine - what about jello, clear soup broth, apple juice, ginger ale?
People can go a long time without eating any solid food - as long as he gets enough fluid and electrolytes stay balanced he could go without solids for weeks with no problems.

If his intestines are blocked eventually he's going to have to have surgery to remove the blockage.
The gastro doctor is trying to figure out why things aren't moving on through and it's important he figures that out otherwise this will keep on happening over and over again and that could be very damaging to his intestines.
I hope he gets better soon.

This seems to be a very difficult problem for your son. I always suggest you follow your doctor's advice and if you don't agree, get a second opinion. But it seems you are working with a family doctor and a gastro doctor. Does the family doctor agree with the gastro? I would suggest you talk to either one if you are thinking of not following their directions.

After things are back on the right track, there are lots of hydrating foods that can be part of his regular diet. But you also have to restrict constipating foods, like chocolate and rice.

I so hope you have support for this time in both your lives. All my best.

So is your son eating anything solid between the weekends? Maybe I'm missing that. You said all liquid diet for the 3 weekend in a row. What's he eating in between?

This is what's confusing me. It's one thing to be cleaned out on the weekends, but if he's eating foods in between, it's not helping matters is it? It sounds like he needs to be admitted and have this properly taken care of - once and for all. I don't really get the whole going home, and repeating the process over and over. Here he would be admitted I think by this point.

I think I would push for that. He needs to be cleared out properly - I think you're doing the right things, but eating in between to me seems counterproductive. It's like doing the same thing over and over .. .expecting different results.

As far as eating just popsicles, he will vomit. I was given those only before a c-section, and vomited big time. It's too sweet.

I would give him broth - especially the chicken. Low sodium variety. It's just like chicken noodle soup, without the noodles. Give him a spoon, put it in a cup and if you need to have it with him - in front of TV to take his mind off the fact that it's not too interesting - do it. It's far more nutritious that popsicles. Don't offer the sweets. If he's hungry - he'll eat the broth.

Same with clear juices. Why won't he drink apple juice?

Blood in stool with this much going on? I would say that's probably fairly typical.

What about massage? One of mine had a blockage as an infant. I don't know if it loosened anything up, but it felt like soothing to him - and I felt like I was helping.

Good luck - I hope they can clear him out. Again, I would really push to have him admitted - just for a day even, and have them do all this until he's got that cleaned out of him. This is just not working - have his doctor work with you to push for this.

sounds like your gastro doctor is working hard to get your poor little boy's bowels cleared out so that you can avoid surgery. it must be incredibly frustrating that it's 'not working' but sometimes things don't work quickly. and i think that trying everything else before surgery is a great idea.

the clear liquid diet has got to be hard on everyone. i totally get your frustration with the process.

constipation can absolutely cause blood in the stool, and it's not always visible. i certainly wouldn't pooh pooh your specialist just because you haven't observed with the naked eye what he's been able to observe.

if you really don't trust him, then of course you should get a second opinion. might be a good idea anyway.

but it sounds as if your son has some digestive issues that are serious. eating fruits and veggies and being able to pass some poop doesn't mean that everything's fine. something's clogging him up, and you need to work with and not against the doctor who's trying hard to figure it out.

khairete
S.

I’m so sorry your little guy is going through this. Please be careful not to give him too many x-rays. Too much radiation. There are so many problems with MiraLAX for children. You can Google and check it out for yourself. I’m not quite sure why a clear liquid diet when really he would need some fiber to get that stool moving. I would have him eat some fiber filled foods including lots of veggies. My kids take fruit and veggie chews which keep them very regular. Good luck! Please keep us posted!

Hi Bekah, there could be many reasons for his constipation. So he was having BM 2-3 times per day and now he has not? I am a holistic nutritionist and herbalist and I would have a lot of questions to get to the root of this.

The first thing I think of is stress. Have there been any new changes to his diet, to his life, any stressful events in the home, or has he been eating new and different foods at friends house's etc? For instance, did he just start school? Some kids won't go the bathroom at school and he may now be holding it in causing constipation. Or school may be a new stressor for him, for example. Stress can slow down digestion and motility. Also, did he travel, did he pick up a bug/pathogen from food, putting something in his mouth, etc.? All of these can be factors. He really needs a thorough assessment and unfortunately doctors just don't have the time that is needed.

The second place I would look is diet. What changes have occurred? What is his diet like? Is there a lot of gluten and dairy? Dairy is very constipating and for some, just removing this can fix things. Could it be a food sensitivity? Or is his gut flora out of balance? Was he on any meds/antibiotics in recent months? There are many things to consider here and you may want to work with holistic professional to get to the root of this.
Not only is he probably in discomfort and pain but we remove toxins via the bowels. When the bowels sit there, unfortunately toxins do no just sit there too, they recirculate instead.

Like another commenter stated, magnesium (in the form of citrate) can be a useful aid for constipation. Dose depends on his size/weight and age. But this can he very helpful and majority of us are deficient in magnesium, our calming mineral.

Senna is a very harsh and strong herb and as an herbalist, this is not one I would ever suggest for someone his age. There are gentler herbs to use for kids. A high quality pre and probiotic at this time may also be helpful.

Another commenter also mentioned miralax. I agree, avoid this for future use if you can. It has now wiped out the gut flora which is very important for healthy bowels. Again, restoring the gut flora is going to be very important. It is also not a natural product as led to be believed and not as safe a product as led to be believed. I will not go into the harmful effects of it use on this post.

Also, while he may have been moving his bowels before regularly, what were they like? Logs, like pebbles, did he have to strain to go and so forth.

How much fiber is in his diet? While you said he eats fruit and veggies which is great, you may want to add in for now beans and legumes which are very high in fiber.

So a lot for you to think about! I see distant clients if you want to email me to set up a time for a free phone consult. Otherwise, this info is for educational reasons only. I would love to hear his progress and what worked for him! Remember we are all unique individuals and so there is not one solution for the problem, there are many solutions and the trick is finding the root cause for your son's issue so that you come up with the right solution. Best of luck!
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Sorry, it sounds awful and really stressful. I’ve read concerning things about Miralax too. I know when my oldest was little and was constipated, none of the things her ped suggested worked. I figured out that by giving her a little magnesium, it took care of it. At the time, I figured out the dose for her size, which was 1/6 of a tablet (tiny!) which I would crush and put in applesauce. No more constipation. Now my kiddos drink Natural Calm, which is a powdered magnesium that is mixed in water...comes in flavors. They are never constipated, and it also helps with lots of other things...google magnesium deficiency and see if anything else fits. If he’s gettting lots of calcium (milk, cheese etc), calcium makes muscles contract, and magnesium allows them to relax. I would guess that both are important for elimination. I’m not saying that it will clear his blockage, but talk to his doctor, as it should be a safe thing to try.

Please read this article. https://www.parents.com/health/healthy-happy-kids/when-yo...

It is written by a highly accomplished Doctor who I happen to have known through high school and college. His child suffered from the same condition.