Vomiting and constipation?

amr1218

Have you ever experienced your toddler vomiting due to constipation?  I only ask because I am trying to calm that part of my mind that over-reacts when my child is sick (the part that convinces you that things are worse than they actually are...).  

Symptoms:

Last bm was last Friday.

Blood in ear on Sunday morning

She has asked every day to sit on the potty and "get the poop out"

Started vomiting Wednesday at 4 am, 6 am, and 2 pm

No fever or lethargy prior to vomiting episodes

Commentary:

DD will be 3 in September.  She has been potty trained for a year.  We have dealt with constipation since she was born.  She receives a daily does of Miralax. Her typical pattern is to have a bm every 4-5 days.  There was a constipation post last week and I related to every single response. Her reaction to having a bm is predictable and consistent.  She holds it in until the absolute last second. We can always tell the "poop day" by how she is acting.  She does the poop dance (on tip toes, butt stuck out) and we make 1000 trips to the potty to wipe before the inevitable happens. She NEVER volunteers to sit on the potty to "get the poop out".  

Because the vomiting was sudden and didn't correspond to other viral symptoms, I called the pediatrician.  He confirmed that she didn't have a virus and had no signs of infection.  We assume that the blood in the ear canal was unrelated and was probably due to a scratch that had already healed.  DD's stomach wasn't distended or hard - so he ruled out a blockage.  That left vomiting and constipation as the two remaining symptoms.  I get that the two are related (or so says Dr. Google).  But the lingering doubt comes from the fact that DD's bm cycle wasn't out of the ordinary.  We justified her voluntary attempts to sit on the potty to poop as a way to get attention (not in a bad way - but she knows that we will drop everything to go with her to the potty and sit there and scratch her back).  

Doctor recommended the dreaded miralax cleanse (which are are doing).  I just can't help wondering if the vomiting was actually caused by constipation.  AND if not, what would cause the sudden vomiting with no other symptoms? 

Emerald27

My DS did not vomit when he was constipated for two weeks before our Miralax cleanse. He did lose his appetite, though. Your poor girl.

When she sits on the potty, are her legs propped up/feet supported? We have and love the frog potty because his knees are bent with feet on the floor, and there are handles on the sides for him to grasp as well as the eyes on the front of the potty to lean on. Having knees raised/ feet supported and leaning forward slightly is the best position for ease of pooping.

I've found that DS cannot poop easily standing, but now that we've started having him sit every day on his frog potty, he more often than not will poop. The positioning is as helpful to us as the daily Miralax he gets.

I'm also giving him smoothies every day made with blueberries and spinach (and other yummy fruits like peaches and raspberries), and a splash or two of prune juice. Between this and the Miralax and the potty training, we are now getting a daily BM.

Wishing you the very best! I know how hard this is. Hang in there, and PM me if you need to vent.

LSU628

Could your LO be straining to poop and that's causing the vomiting? I just ask b/c last night DD was complaining her stomach hurt and that she needed to poop. She was trying to push for a poop and threw up all over herself, me and the bathroom. :-(

amr1218

Thanks for the replies.  I'm beginning to think that the two were not related.  I have a feeling that the vomiting was just a fluke.  The miralax cleanse has not gone well.  We've followed the dosing instructions from the Ped., but haven't had the expected results.  DD is still holding it in.  She has woke up three different nights crying because she had poop in her pull-up.  We've gone from sporadic but successful poops in the potty to horrific fits of her trying hold in what basically is diarrhea. I really don't know what to do next.  

She sits on the big potty and has a step stool for leg support. She also hugs DH or me while she goes.  I think her poop posture is okay.   

Ya Never Know

I took DD to the doctor a few weeks back because she was nauseous, and my daycare provider had told me that she had a really small and super hard bowel movement (which would have been the first in several days of DD holding it). I was worried she might have some kind of blockage. Our doctor told us that she also thought it was constipation from holding bm's (which can cause nausea and vomiting) and DD was put back on the gentle laxatives that she was on before. She will remain on them for a minimum of 3 months. (We've been through this before). That worked for her nausea, she's doing much better now, and pooping on a more regular basis.

LSU628

I went back and re-read your original post. Just our experience, but the pedi didn't think DD had a blockage b/c her stomach still felt soft. He sent us for an x-ray kind of on a whim and DD was seriously backed up to where they coudn't see her spine in the x-ray b/c of all the poop. Just b/c your LO's stomach is soft to touch doesn't mean they can't have a blockage or be impacted.