chronic constipation..

we are off to the pedi this morning to see about DS chronic constipation. poor kid, he has always been a dramatic pooper, but lately he has really been having a hard time. i have been loading him up on fruit, cut out cheese and push water and juice but nothing seems to be helping. the only time he has a good poop is when i give him a suppository and that just can't be a good thing. plus, his poops are hard and pelletlike.

i'm hoping they can give me some suggestions on how to help him. i guess maybe he might need a rx stool softener. i'm just worried that he is going to strain too hard and give himself a hemmorhoid or something..

anyone with any experience with a chronically constipated kid? what did you end up doing that worked and did they ever grow out of it?

 

no advice, but I hope he feels better soon. ))

 

Let us know how it goes at the ped, I hope they have some good recommendations for you!

 

well, it looks like it is time to find a new dr... aarrrggghhh! we have been seeing a family practice doc, not a pedi, but i am going to switch to a pedi. she had no idea what she was talking about, she basically had to look it up on the internet and come back to the room to go over the info with me. she rxd senna liquid which she said was a bulking fiberlike agent, like psyllium(metamucil). well, i didn't think that was right and on looking it up on drugs.com, senna is a stimulant laxative, and i don't really feel comfortable giving it to him, especially since the dr. had never rxd it before and had no experience with any potential side effects, who knows if she even got the dose right?!?! and it says to give it at bedtime on an empty stomach. how many of us have babies that we put to bed with empty stomachs??? that would make for a pleasant night, right?

so, i guess i will start looking for a new pedi, it is almost time for their 12 month check up anyway, so i might as well start fresh with a new doc. in the meantime, i guess i will just keep on doing what i have been and get more serious about fruit and juice intake and make sure he drinks the cornsyrup stuff everyday. wish me luck!

 

Hannah had this problem and the doc put her on Mirilax... she stayed on it for 9 months and then was regular enough to start phasing it out. My ped told me its very safe and non-dependant, and it REALLY helped her. Poor kid wanted to potty train at 16 month, but got scared of the potty after having too many screaming bloody BM experiences while trying on her little potty. I was beginning to worry about megacolon when we started her on Mirilax, and it really worked wonders.

 

i was thinking that the doc would suggest miralax, but when she looked it up, she said that there were too many side effects???? see, i told you she didn't know what she was talking about.. i'll be sure to ask our new pedi about it.

 

I like this article about constipation. http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/conditions/l/aa081200.htm
I'm a nurse with some peds experience, and I stress out with the babies struggling bowel movements since starting solids. I had to do the suppositories. I cut them in half and skinny them down.
With your babies older you probably could safely Karo syrup in bottles, and or METAMUCIL in juice.

Good luck, I'm gonna try the KAro first.

 

thanks for sharing the article, it had some good pointers. he just drank his karo, we'll see how it goes..