# Constipation 2.5 year old--SEVERE!



## MamaKoalaNY (Oct 17, 2004)

Hi-
my DS has been seriously constipated for about 3 months. We tried everything: more fiber (he doesn't eat alot, vegetarian, some fruit, lots of whole grains, a little sugar, some dairy, soy), laxatives, even an enema. I have resorted to sneaking Colace into his chocolate soy milk once a week, and then he poops. That's the only time he poops, 1 x a week, and it's ALOT. It started a few months ago, he either had pain, or he was afraid to poop due to transition to toilet training (he is potty trained for pee, not for poop). He HATES poop in his diaper, butisn't ready for the toilet yet. So I think it's partly psychological him holding it in. But at the same time, i never pressured him about the potty, in fact, he initiated the whole thing. But i think he's partly afraid to go due to fear of pain (which has passed--he even says "it doesn't hurt" when he goes). Any help on how to get over this is appreciated.


----------



## goodjoan (Jan 8, 2005)

Ugh, I hate to admit but I can empathise! my 2 older boys had this same problem when they transitioned to pooping on the potty. They'd hold it, then eventually just have to go and get a fissure and then the pain would cause them to hold it more. I spent hours in the bathroom coaching my little guys to poop like I was a midwife! We tried diet changes, suppositories, enemas, begging, bribing...After a consult with the dr we decided to 'sneak' as much fiber as we could, push lots of water and then add 1tsp of milk of magnesia at bedtime for an entire month. The MOM helped keep things really soft so that 1) it was harder to hold and 2) it didn't keep reopening that sore fissure. We also used tucks wipes to clean and americaine hemmerhoid cream to help numb the area when it was sore. My #2 son would come to me and ask for the numb cream before he'd poop and knowing it wouldn't hurt helped him relax a lot and helped get the job done. I snuck fiber by offering frosted mini wheats as a snack! Also, dried fruits and veggies that tend to reappear in the diaper whole, like corn and raisins. I also spiked their food with benefiber and started buying bread with higher fiber content.

#2 had a problem for a longer time and eventually I could talk to him rationally about it. I found a drawing on line showing how withholding causes the poop to 'back up' and cause only watery poops to come out (which causes huge accidents!!) and we gave named to the poops. Normal everyday poops that didn't hurt were "good poopies" they got rid of the trash without hurting anyone. A poop that didn't want to come out was termed a "bad poopy" and we did whatever we needed to do to get that bad poopy out of there. Bad poopies hurt and cause tummy aches and sore bottoms and they only got MORE BAD if they weren't pushed out! My boys were always big into super heros so when we made the bad poopy the big bad enemy they worked pretty hard to get rid of it! They'd take the MOM even though it didn't taste great, and they'd snack on fiber tablets because they wanted to WIN the battle! My #2 son is 8 now and still has occasional constipation issues but he's old enough that he knows it only gets worse so he's careful to make sure he goes every day, even if he has to 'work at it.'

It does get better! Unfortuntely, it CAN get worse and in extreme cases can require surgery so you are right to be on top of it and make sure he's going every day or two. Some kids don't need to go that often, but if he's straining and hurting then clearly he's needing to go every day for now! With your help, he will get past this and probably have no memory of it until you remind him when HIS child is constipated!


----------



## 3girls1boy (Nov 20, 2001)

One of my daughter and my son went through this too, at about the same age.

I put a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup into chocolate milk every day for a few weeks. The corn syrup draws water into the bowel, so it is a fairly natural and non-invasive thing.

This worked great for my daughter. Not so well with my son--I don't know what finally got him past it. He still doesn't poop every day and when he does it's huge--but it doesn't seem to bother him, so I don't let it bother me.


----------



## Chele (Nov 24, 2004)

I would try magnesium, it also draws water into the bowels, and really keeps them moving. It helps with lots of other things too. Try a capsule you can open up into to applesauce etc...or a powdered form. It is safe, helps with sleep as well. Good luck.


----------



## happy_mama35 (Jul 14, 2003)

When I worked in a health food store, I had a few customers swear by oil-roasted cashews. They would let their youngsters snack on them and perhaps the combination of fiber and oil did the trick.

I also believe plenty of water in the diet helps, too.


----------



## Marsupialmom (Sep 28, 2003)

My son had chronic constipation and developed encropresis.

I would highly encourage you to add flax seed/meal/oil to your child's diet.

More fiber is not always better. Sometime the source of fiber stay away from things in the BRAT diet. Bananas, rice, apples, and toast. These things help firm you us after diarrhea.

If he gets apple juice eliminate it. For some kids it can get them going but for constipation prone child it can be very constipating. Try the P juices prune, pear, peaches.

What has most likely start to happen to your son is the area behind the rectum that holds bm is stretching. Now his little body can hold more than it should. So this stuff is getting dried out more and compounding to the issue. So you need to get him on something that will soften his bm for a good while (MOM or Flax seed/oil). Then wean him off slowly.

Also encourage him to sit on the toilet after meals. At first a minute then try to get him to sit 5-10 minutes (build up). His body is naturally moving since he add foods. It will make his body more likely to bm. **Some parents have better luck if they wait 5-15 minutes after a meal to ask them to sit on the toilet.

Have him carry a water bottle around. This will make him more prone to drink more often. (A cool new canteen might do the trick).

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t081100.asp


----------



## heatherdeg (Dec 30, 2003)

WAIT!!! You don't have to give them anything special, just overdo the bm and/or water. And if you add fiber to the diet and don't simultaneously increase liquids, it can make it worse!!!

You may think he's getting enough liquids, but if you give them enough, the poopy will come. DS had the same problem--and it was so difficult to get the poopy out that DH & I had to force him into a squat when he pushed. I want to cry just remembering it. Even with the enema, that initial burst hurt him. Turned out that he just needed more liquids than most kids do. My sister had the same problem until she was 28 and had to triple her water intake--which solved the problem. I remember her being 13 and screaming on the toilet for nearly an hour.

AND... we think the constipation was caused by a food allergy. Apparently diarrea (sp?) is more common, but they're finding that they can cause constipation, too. He has more of an intolerance than an allergy: it only shows up as constipation and developmental problems--irritability if he's ingested a LOT of the offending food.

HTH!


----------



## blessedwithboys (Dec 8, 2004)

_lots_ of water.
aloe vera juice, which is a stool softener.
vit C (emergenC kids is good if these are not appealing enough in water, try prune juice
definitely do daily bowel training


----------



## chumani (Apr 12, 2002)

We are currently dealing with this as well. Jonah will be 3 in may. He has no interest in potty training. It has been about 2 months. He eats tons of fruit (plums, pears, grapes oranges, occasional bananas and apples) we don't allow refined grains or sugars in our home. Very limited dairy and meats. Lots of legumes and rice. This is the first time I have had a toddler with chronic constipation. Jonah is very strong willed when it comes to bm's. We have tried milk of magnesia and it does not work (I have given him up to 2 tsp) I don't know what else to do. I gave him an enema and he held it in until all the liquid was absorbed. I am so frustrated! Jonah doesn't like emergen-c or water. We have discovered that he drinks a lot more when we use straws. I will be trying the aloe vera and flax seed/oil. Thanks for the suggestions!

Sorry to hijack this thread but I am online late doing a search on this very thing! Thank you!!!
Sarah


----------



## ceciclem (Nov 17, 2002)

We went through this too. (and still do on occasion) for us, it's a dairy intolerance that sets it off usually. He can handle a little cheese from time to time but he has his limits. He gets everything soy based 99% of the time. His diet is also extremely rich in fiber so I know that's not the problem.

The Dr. Sears website the PP gave has been a great resource for us. Do check it out.

This is what we usually end up doing... encourage LOTS of extra diluted juice (he just won't drink plain water) and I sneak him 2tsp of flax oil in his food up to 3x a day. I think this helps him with the initial big, solid, often painful poop. I also offer him prunes (which don't really help much on their own) and if it goes past 2 days I start with 1tsp of Milk of Magnesia mixed in a jar of baby food fruit (it's like a little pudding for him) after each meal until something happens. This clears things up in a day or two.

Best of luck. I know how frustrating this can be!
Ceci


----------

