Advice needed for constipated 3 year old...

I know this can be a painful problem for the child as well as the parents.  My grand-niece has been though this and she's 3 1/2.  Anyway, her pediatrician put her on Miralax, an over the counter medicine for constipation.  Besides drinking enough water, remember that carrots and corn also help a LOT with that (in adults to).  And of course you're sure there are no obstructions?  This is where a doctor is important to determine that.  My two cents.  I hope she gets better.

You might want to look into to switching her to soy milk if this is a continued problem. You could also try little tummies laxative drops, they've worked for my friend's child. You should be able to get that at walmart or a drug store.

I had a lot of constipation problems when I was a kid. I would get really bound up and then I would be afraid to go because I knew it would hurt, just like your granddaughter. My mom would make me drink prune juice. That stuff really goes right through you. My advice is to give her at least one glass of prune juice a day. Make sure she doesn't eat a lot of cheese. That was my problem. I ate too much cheese. Do you have a doctor? I assume you do, so I would tell him/her the situation and see what he/she says. There are ways to go around one doctor's opinion. This doctor sounds like a real ***. Also, if she is really constipated, you might try children's suppositories. After my son was born, for a while he would get really constipated. He would cry because he hurt. Then we woul give him an infant suppository, and as soon as we put it in, he relaxed. It's like he knew he would feel better. Sorry I don't have any other advice for you. I really hope this helps.

Dagger,

    My grandaughter is going through the same thing. Chey is 5 and going to school.

It hurts her terrible when she does go....sometimes 3 or 4 days between. She

says she poops rocks. I tried reflexology and it helped but to get her parents to

get off their butts and help is like pulling teeth. I've told them about using vit C or

even putting flax seed in her food.  Her dr is even worse and says

there is nothing wrong with her. She ended up at the hospital after 5 days without

a movement. 3 enemas and laxatives later, still nothing. After about 4 hours she

did a small one and they sent her home. For her she will hide in a corner where

nobodys around and do it in her skivs as it is more comfortable to do it standing

up. Someone on the celiac site said to test her for it...it's a simple blood test.

I told my son but I don't know if they will do it or not.

        Nana Monster

Unfortunally, I have some medical training. And I hate the ever so unfortunate part on saying the doctor was right on about fiber. How? Fiber works TWO ways, increase the fiber when constapated= movement, Lower the fiber when too loose= solid. Its an old natural trick. Now another natural trick (ok get ready to laugh folks) is dairy on lactose intolerants. Seriously. After my surgery they would not release me til I had a bowel movement ( one week later I still have no movement). I refused stool softerner and asked for a milkshake. They thought I was nuts and told me I'd get sick (I'm lactose intolerant LOL). I drank a small milkshake and within an hour....."Nurse, I had a BM" Next day... Released from hospital LOL. Ironically, I've tried the "dairy" approach a few other times, and I still got results. Go figure, sometimes being lactose intolerant can be useful instead of a drag LOL!

Fiber does help a lot but sometimes, with a 3 year old, you need dynamite, LOL. She definitely has more fiber in her diet than your average 3 yr old but kids her age don't eat a lot to begin with. Short of force feeding her wood chips, I don't see how we can get her to eat more fiber. My daughter is calling the pediatrician Monday and telling him she is going to give her Benefiber. It mixes right into liquids so we'll be able to get a few more grams of fiber into her a day.

She refuses to go now even when she has to. She'll run around yelling "No, I won't go!" When she is sleeping, she'll squirm around and yell "No, I won't poop" My thought is that we remove the choice, make her loose enough where she has to go until she learns that she can go without pain. Adding a bit more fiber and some kind of laxative (prune juice, Milk of Magnesia, or even Miralax if necessary) until she can't hold it in even it she wants to.

Her other grandma had decided to potty train her at 18 months and it turned into a big power struggle. My granddaughter, like all of the women in my family, won't do something just because someone wants her to. My granddaughter is even more stubborn than my daughter which I find rather amusing. She kept telling her grandmother that she wasn't sitting on that potty and she wasn't ever going to go poop. Grandma kept buying her things to bribe her with but it didn't work. My granddaughter won the power struggle, she showed everyone that she doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to. This is why I don't think there is a medical cause and why I don't think we can handle it with diet alone.

Poor baby!  One thing I have learned is that too much fiber is just as bad as too little if there is not enough liquids.  Bananas are simply packed with fiber but most of us don't have enough liquid with them.  Fiber is great if there is plenty of water and other liquids being injested.  That is why fruits are so wonderful!  They have the fiber and the liquid as a package.  So plums would be much better than prunes.  The whole point of the colon is to remove excess water so we don't have diahrea.  If you have fiber and fluids then the colon is unable to remove the excess liquid.  It stays bound into the fiber.  Fiber with liquid is a wonderful way to get that much needed fluid to the lower colon. 

This does sound like a vicious cycle for this little one.  She has learned that pooping hurts so she holds it thus allowing for her colon to dry up that stool even more!  Miralax could be a good short term help with a doctor's ok.  It is nice since you can slip it into juices and water pretty much undetected. 

I have a chronic problem with constipation due MS.  It is very common with spinal lesions. My lower colon has very spastic peristalsis.   Berries work wonders here.  I eat blueberries and blackberries year round (thanks to canned, frozen and mexican fruit).  You could make her a berry smoothy.  This is great with a bit of yogurt. 

Good luck.  I hope she can find some relief soon and learn that this is not suppose to be painful! 

Dagger,

     I think the main ingredient of benefiber is phyllisum husks. You can get them from

an herbal shop. If I'm not mistaken you can use them like flax seed and sprinkle

them on food or in drinks.

      Nana Monster