Constipation with toddlers: suggestions please!!!

docmay25

Emelia has suffered from severe constipation since she was about 6 months old.  She takes Miralax regularly and it gets so bad that we have to use enemas sometimes.

Problem is that a lot of it has become behavioral now.  She has it in her memory that it has hurt in the past, so she just won't push the poop out.  She cries all day that her poopy hurts, but won't go.  What can I do?  Anyone deal with this problem?  We try to be positive, but nothing has worked.

Amanda&Chris

I just had my DD at the pedi gastro last week for a similar issue, although hers was new.  But it turned out that she had a small tear just inside her rectum so it hurt every single time she had to go.  Have you had your DD checked to be sure it is nothing like this?

If not, have you tried vaseline?

ppants

DS is on miralax daily also and luckily never held it in.  Can you give her something to loosen her up?  I found dark chocolate covered plums (little bite sized) that my kids will eat.  Sorry I can't remember the name.  Juice?  Can you tell her it's important to go poop so she doesn't have to have an emema?  Try rewards?  My kids will do just about anything for a sticker. 

Sulla

I think a lot of people don't realize how much of what we typically feed toddlers can be constipating -- applesauce, white pasta, goldfish, pretzels, graham crackers. All that refined white flour.

 The more unrefined "stuff" you can get in her, the better, because that's what bulks up in the colon -- anything with seeds, skins, whole grains, etc. Try sweetened dried raspberries. My kids love 'em. Fiber One also makes pancake mix -- they taste like totally normal pancakes, but they have something like 30% of the daily fiber. We also eat the Barilla Plus pasta, which has much more fiber (and protein, actually.) Tastes just like regular. (I don't like the taste of most whole wheat pasta.) I'm also always pushing Clif Z Bars, which have a good amount of fiber.

I'm kind of a nut, but I try to make sure there's a whole grain source and at least one fresh fruit/vegetable with every single meal... And both my kids have never been constipated, ever.

GL!

 

snickerdoodle27

My friend has dealt with this with her son since he was a baby, he's now 9. She takes him to a pediatric GI doctor once a year. She was giving him Miralax which helped, and it got to the point where the constipation stopped. He had an episode about a year ago where he woke up with sharp pains, said it felt like someone was stabbing him. They took him to the ER, turns out he was constipated, and needed an enema. It's off and on with him still. I think sometimes it's mental, they know it's going to hurt and they don't want to go, so they hold it in and it gets worse.