Child with severe constipation/impacted bowel

[TexasJoe]

Quote:
Be careful with the psyllium husks, some people HAVE TERRIBLE REACTIONS to it. My father found out the hard way when he took an organic COLON CLEANSER last year.

 

[mom'sfolly]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that worked with us (on a not as severe situation) was giving the kid a warm bath. The heat and relaxation from a bath helped get things going. Also, my son had trouble correctly understanding the sensations of needing to go. This is fairly common in 3-4 year olds. He would end up lying down, alone some place, and then I would find him and direct him to the toilet. He also needed complete privacy to do this thing.

For the behavior issues, diffusing the situation might be the answer. Let her wear the pullup, if there is an accident, down play it and heavily reward ANY bowel movement. When she is going again, then try getting it in the right place.

 

[danamillette]

Oh Boy, Does this sound familiar. My son used to hold it. I mean he would run behind a chair and hide and "hold". He was also about 3. His Pediatricain said his bowels were "too big for his body" and held more. When he finally got around to going, it would hurt. So it started out medical. A year later, he was still having problems, but now, It is learned behavior. We went thru all kinds of things....fleets, fiber, reward. What changed things is when he got so compacted I had to take him to the E.R. and they gave him an enema. At 5, he sure didnt like that, but it cleaned him right out. Never had a problem after that. I guess he new he had to "go" or end up having another unpleasant experience with an enema.
Hang in there!

 

[bdagenais]

I did not read all the posts but I have dealt with this in my two boys about 2 years ago. Their doctor had put them on Lactulose also. Spent about 1-1/2 years on this medicine along with anyother remedy I could find or hear about: castor oil, enemas(weekly and sometimes daily), etc. After a year of back and forth to the doctors I found that straight 100% cranberry juice or 100% cranberry juice mixed with apple or grape juice worked best. It does not happen over night but it does work and continues to work long term. My oldest son was so badly impacted that his stomach began to distend. I was so worried because nothing seemed to work -perscritions or OTC-not even the enemas. Both of my sons have been impaction free for about a year now and going strong. One issue I was running into with my older son was that he was not going during school. I made a point of discussing the issue with his teacher and having her watch him more closely and ensure he would go. (we were blessed with a great teacher). Try giving her 1 glass of 100% cranberry juice or mixed juice at least 2-3 times a day along with fresh fruit and fiber rich foods. You could even mix the metamucil in the juice and she wouldn't taste it. Another option maybe to put her on a yogurt regimen. It is great for the digestive tract and helps with regularity also. I am sorry if this is repetitous of what was said earlier, but this is the only thing that worked for my sons. I hope this helps - best wishes.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Oh have I been here!!

This is a medical issue that ends up with behavioral side effects. Please please follow the advice of those who say get a thorough eval. There are so many things that can cause this and they can get SO sick So fast!

It took us months of working with a pediatrician a gastro enterologist and a nutritionist to settle ours out. She had a partial obstruction of tissue in her bowel probably from birth, but because it was partial no one knew it was there. She was in SO much pain.

Now, three years down the road. She has a diet plan which includes prunes (SHe loves the canned kind) and other things and she is only allowed to have one of the following a day: rice, apples, bananas, or cheese. She still takes Miralax and fiber supplements, but not every day anymore. We kind of monitor that one.

People who view this just as a behavioral issue have never known this kind of pain. Of course they avoid going! You would too!

Learn the joys of pooping in a tub of warm water and using vaseline to help it out. This is a hard road and I am sorry for you both, but the good news is most kids with treatment grow out of the underlying medical conditions as long as you don't let permanent damage be done to their bowels.

 

[plester01]

I went through that when I was about 4 years old. I held it because I did not want to stop playing and go sit on the potty. Mine went on for about 6 months. I do not think my mom even new about it. She may have but I do not remember, what I do remember though is that one day I had to go and as usual I held it, well less that 30 minutes later it came out, but the wrong end. I threw up for at least 20 minutes and it was brownish black just like poop. It scared me so bad that from them on every morning I would sit on the pot until I did something even if it was just a tiny bit. That went on for about a year then life went on and the whole ordeal was forgotten about until today. Good luck with the whole situation.

 

[Wildsky]

I haven't read all the posts.


One thing that worked like a CHARM for our kids was going to the Chiropractor. The adjustments absolutly helped, and the kids felt 100% better afterwards.
It worked SO fast on my little one, we had to change her diaper every time right away - she was around 2 at that time.

It does sound weird, but it does help - it helps with digestion and all those kinds of things when your bones are alligned and the nerves can function correctly.
It helps calm/prevent any cramping and stuff like that as well.

 

[crzychickenlady]

My daughter had the same problems when she was young, she never hold it in tho she would just sit on the toilet and scream and cry trying to get it out. She's 9 now and still has poo so big I can't imagine she gets it out (she never flushes the toilet so I get a surprise after she goes, lol).

We tried a concoction of apple, cranberry and prune juice, it works wonders, and also a bowl of raisin bran in the mornings or as a snack.

I can't believe I am sharing this......lol
I recalled all of this info when I went thru the same issues with myself in the last few weeks. I'm pregnant and it seems my body does not agree with the pregnancy. I just couldn't go...well, I couldn't pass the stool. I tried everything, the docs didn't think it was that big a deal....they didn't see my belly!
I'm 4 months pregnant and my belly was so distended I looked like I was 9 months along and you could feel the impacted stool (solid as a rock) in my abdomen!!

It was when I had to start "removing" the stools myself(NOT pleasant at all!) that I had had enough!

I got the juices, mixed them, ate the cereal and had to result to an enema. After 2 days of that, I was cleared out and my belly shrank back down to it's normal size.

The laxatives for me were no help, it was the natural course that got things back to normal.

Maybe try this method and use the pull ups, maybe if you can get her regular again, she will stop holding it and use the potty again.

There is nothing more scary, painful and stressing than when your body doesn't work things out like it should....especially for a 3 year old that doesn't understand what is going on.

Best of luck to you and I really hope things work themselves out.

 

[SarahBeth9394]

I have to second Miralax. My daughter is autistic and has sensory integration issues. She didn't want to stop to go poop and she could take pain because she didn't feel it like we do. After a couple of weeks of going number 2 just once a week (you would not believe the size of that log) I took her to the pediatrician. She had me give her Miralax which most drug stores carry over the counter here. It worked great. Cleaned her out. Wasn't harsh and it wasn't something she could become reliant on.

I would never do the citrate or castor oil. As a kid I had to take castor oil for a bladder issue. It made me throw up every time. My mom swore it wasn't that bad so she thought she would take a spoonful and show me what a baby I was. She puked all over the place. But she didn't make me swallow that junk again. Miralax has no taste.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Earlier this spring my friend's nephew had the same trouble with the overflow. His parents had tried laxatives, and none worked. My friend was tired of all of it, her brother and his wife didn't think it was serious enough to take him to the doctor, even after he had lost a good 20 pounds...at 9 years old!!
I recommended trying an enema, like the fleet brand. It definitely worked!! That poor little boy was on the toilet for about an hour afterwards!!

And try to get it taken care of quick! cause if it can't get out the normal way, it will find another way out. I worked at a nursing home a few years ago. We had to track everyone's BM's to make sure they were going ok. A few of the aides were lazy, and just wrote down whatever instead of actually putting someone on the potty to go. One of the patients ended up in the hospital. She was vomiting feces!!