6 yr old with IBS, anyone else have a young child with IBS

I am looking for support from other moms who have young children with IBS. My daughter is only 6 and it has been very difficult trying to help her. Is there any other moms out there struggling with the same thing?

HI Snjnluv,

I feel so sorry for your little girl. I only have the one daughter and so far it doesnt seem like she has IBS, although she has always had some trouble going to the bathroom from time to time. However, I started IBS as a child and It was pretty severe. I even ended up with a torn rectum from a bout of constipation. Mine was mostly constipation as a child...but it sometimes was diarhea. The only thing that was done for me is constantly regulating my diet. I was allowed candy and stuff only around Halloween and special occasions...and not alot of it during these times. Our family doc scheduled an appointment with a specialist for my daughter to assure she is not suffering from IBS and to help us with her diet since she has shown signs of difficulty in the bathroom area. She was very nice and informative and said she couldnt be sure it was IBS just by the info etc. She wasnt prepared to do any tests on her at the time or until symptoms worsen (she was only 3 years old at the time and is 4 now). Meanwhile, she suggested keeping her on a very healthy diet and provided examples...high fiber foods, little sugar etc (I wasnt aware that even the snacks made with "real juice" are in fact packed with sugars and arent all that healthy when it comes to bowel problems etc. Dairy products seem to affect her bowel movements as well, so we limit her intake. I'm sorry but I am not familiar with any meds that may help your daughter. If she has problems with constipation, a teaspoon of mineral oil per day (check with pharmacist or doctor on dosage of this) can at least help her when its time for a movement. The specialist said it is also a good idea to not keep them on the toilet for a long time. If she doesnt have a movement, removed her from the bathroom and have her go back when the "feeling" starts again. I hope this helps. And good luck with your little one. It's so hard for them to understand why there is pain etc. If you need to talk my email is at yahoo.com and my id is my handle here.

Hi again,

First and foremost, my daughter drinks a lot of water...I started her on water since she was old enough to drink it. We always only serve water at the table for breakfast, lunch and dinner (it means I have to drink it too... ). I give her a lot of raw fresh veggies  (carrot sticks, cucumber etc) or fruit for snacks. But you have to watch for those that are a trigger for her. My daughter is lucky, only bananas seem to bother her and only on occasion. If you decide to switch your daughter's diet now she will or course resist at first. It's normal. I found the best way to convince them is to eat the stuff yourself and not carry anything in your cupboards that is tempting. I do allow her to eat "regular" snacks...fruit roll ups, packages of real fruit gummies, even chips and stuff when she is on vacation or visiting with friends (not family, however, grammy and grampy are allowed some spoiling time too LOL). To encourage her to eat fruit, I have even bought baskets of hanging strawberries for her to pick and eat. I also bought blueberry bushes and a grape vine. Her grandparents have a garden so she frequently goes and picks her own veggies. I get her to wash to veggies for dinner so she feels part of the process and is more likely to eat the stuff if she helped preparing it. I lie to her during winter and tell her the veggies and stuff come from grampy and grammie's garden ). We also eat a lot of fish here...hallibut, sole, salmon, haddock. The specialist said I could include sprinkling bran oats (or something like that) on her cereal (only a tsp a day is required to help). Please remember if you start her on bran or anything to promote bowl movement, start in a very small amount and work your way up. Make sure she also drinks plenty of water. It will have the opposite effect if she gets too little water. I can't think of anything else right now...but will keep this in mind and write down more thoughts and post again later on. I hope this helps a little in the meantime. oh yeah, if she is fearing going to the bathroom cause of pain, you may try to teach her the deep breathing technique...it relaxes the muscles and can help her achieve the movement with less pain. Plus the more she concentrates on the breathing, the less she is concentrating on the pain.

Please let me know how you make out. The reason I am concerned and I empathize with her and you is because even now as an adult, I remember those years as a child. It's a terrible thing for a child to go through. But it can be manageable...don't give up hope okay. Keep us updated and best of luck to you. I'll be thinking of both of you.

Hi Snjnluv,

My daughter was diagnosed with IBS when she was 5 (now 15).  It took us over a  year to get it under control.  Her dr. put her on a special diet - no milk or processed foods of any type, lots of water, it really seemed to have helped.  She still had bouts on and off, but it was something that she could handle until recently - they now think that she has developed crohn's disease.  The good news is that she was able to control this thing for years with her diet, and she was able to have a pretty normal childhood(all things considered). My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your family!