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4 year old doesn't want to poop.

blowfish11blowfish11 member
in Pre-School and Daycare

Hello ladies! This is my first time posting here.  Hopefully some of you have some advice :)

 

My four year old has always struggled with having a bowel movement, sometimes going 4-5 days without on.  Ever since we switched her to regular milk (at 12 months), she has had problems.  Per her pediatrician, we cut back on dairy products, and pushed water.  Things got better for a while.  Then took a turn for the worse around her 4th birthday.  We saw a pediatric GI doctor who ran some tests, a barium enema - which was normal, no structural defects, and some labs to check for hyper/hypothyroid.  Everything was normal.  We were advised to give her miralax 1-2 times per day.  That will work for a while, but then we'll have to increase the dose every once in a while when she becomes constipated.  Her GI doc doesn't want to do a colonoscopy until she is older if the problem still continues.

Part of me feels like she is embarrassed to poop, so she holds it in as long as possible, until it's too big to pass, then it hurts and she REALLY doesn't want to go.

Does anyone have any similar experience and/or advice?

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Re: 4 year old doesn't want to poop.

  • hapygoluckyhapygolucky
    DD is 4 1/2 and is terrified to poop on the regular toilet and even the training chair. She will go in her pants and a diaper. I've tried everything from bribing her to taking things away. Don't know what to do. Ped told us to try miralax and to give it time.
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  • CandKmommaCandKmomma

    DS went through the same thing.  His issue started with milk also.  So it was a mixed issue of withholding but also constipation.  Our pedi wanted us to stay on mirlax for 4 months!  I wasn't comfortable with the idea so started looking into other options.  What I found is a cup of pear juice every morning mixed with culturelle for kids.  He goes every other day at least....sometimes every day!  I'm so thankful I stumbled into this combo.  Good luck!

     https://www.culturelle.com/your_health/culturelle_for_kids

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  • ArcticFoxArcticFox member

    My DD has always been constipated, and we give her pedia lax fiber gummies.  Our pedi said to make sure that she doesn't have constipation especially around potty training time, because then it is painful and starts this bad cycle of not going, and it can actually cause damage.

    I would highly recommend sticking with the miralax, or trying something else like benefiber or pedialax fiber gummies.  I would also probably recommend some kind of probiotics, with a really high count (like in the billions).  And make sure she gets a lot of fluids with fiber as well.

    Another thing is my pedi said not to follow the instructions on the benefiber etc.  My DD has more than it recommends - he said obviously with common sense trial and error, you figure out just the right amount.  So talk with your pedi but I think you don't have to stick with strict amounts of fiber that are written on the container.

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  • boo-bitzboo-bitz member

    I would say maybe try adding something like benefibre clear to some juice to help move things along - just make sure she is also getting lots of water because fiber with no water will worsen the problem.

    We see lots of wee ones with this isssue every day in my pharmacy. Some of the other good suggestions are dried fruits like apricots, apples and prunes, prune juice, fibrous veggies like celery (also high water content), fruits like watermelon and berries (same thing as celery), and if it is a behavioural issue - maybe letting her come and sit in "with you" when you go to the bathroom. If she sees mommy doing it, she might be more inclined to go herself. My little girl is one of those monkey see monkey do types 

    HTH!

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  • mrsblueeyesmrsblueeyes member
    We struggle with this too, a lot of it is a behavioral/control issue, but if they try to hold it in and end up getting constipated it makes the cycle so much worse.  What works for us, besides water/water-downed juices when ever he wants, is a daily fiber gummy which he loves.  He also can't get enough Fiber-1 bars. They have 9 grams of fiber and he thinks he's getting a special chocolate bar everyday. Good luck. 
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  • AlabamaMamma224AlabamaMamma224
    Sounds like my son.  We're in the middle of potty training right now (just turned 3) and he'll hold his poop in for days.  I've even heard him talking to himself, 'no, poop, you stay in'.....lol.  Funny, but not.  We've been giving him Miralax, but he still waits until I put him in a pull up to poop.  I'm trying not to make a big deal about it, and the miralax keeps things soft for now.  We also cut out most dairy, and things like bananas.  He drinks water and eats a few prunes a day too.  He's had poop issues since he was an infant.  GL!
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