Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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So Tired of This! Posted: 04-19-07 22:16pm
I am just so tired of my son's gastro
problems. I feel so bad for the little
man. I am no longer taking him to a
regular pediatrician but will be calling
pediatric gastoenterologists tomorrow! For
over a year, he has been severely
constipated. His poop doesn't come out for
days and when it does, it comes out like
playdo patties. He has needed a few enemas
in the doctors office - not a fun thing to
go through. One pediatrician said it's
because of constipation and because he
also holds it in (she was good but we
moved three days after we saw her!). His
usual pediatrician had given him all sorts
of things that do not work. Actually, one
does work inconsistantly, Myralax, but he
has had diarrhea for over three days now.
His diarrhea seems to be getting better
but now it seems like he is turning
constipated again. He is never just
normal!! Due to this problem, he can not
be in a regular preschool. He will be four
soon and is potty trained to go pee but
will grunt for hours to go poo. It is a
serious problem. He fears the toilet!!
He hasn't gained a pound in over 8
months...if not longer. I actually think
he has lost weight. He is 31 pounds and is
3 years, 8 months. He is starting to
become less picky, which is good. He is
really on the small, short side as well
considering his father is 6'6. I am
worried. Come to think of it, he has had
gastro problems since he was an infant.
I do think I started to feed him solids a
bit to early. I started with rice cereal
for a while. I think he was around three
months. My mother was pushing it. Some
kids may be ready but I don't think he
was. Of course, I am going through the
"it's my fault" stage right now.
I better get into someone soon. His poop
problem seems a lot worse these past few
days!! He seems very healthy but his hands
also feel very cold a lot. He is an
unusually pale child. He did have a lot of
respiratory infections when he was younger
(RSV to start). Poor little man!!!!! I
hope the gastro people can figure this all
out. I have tried adding fiber in the
diet, tried prune juice mixed with a
little apple juice...tried all sorts of
things. Some of those work and he changes
to diarrhea. I long for him to have a
normal "plop" in the toilet!!
That will be a great moment in my life
when he is able to have a normal bowel
movement and without fear. He is a smart
child and when I start work again, I want
him to be able to go to a good preschool!!
He would thrive in a Montessori, but he
can't go right now!! I may have to opt for
an in home daycare until we can get this
worked out. If he has something medically
wrong with him, we can at least enroll him
in a public school kindergarten the
following year with a 504 plan. They would
have to provide for his needs there.
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littlesqueaks
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 296 Location: Caldwell, Idaho
Posted: 04-19-07 22:27pm
Hi Karin, his bowel problems right now
could also have something to do with your
move. A change can cause a child to have
nervous bowels. My youngest had
constipation as well when he was little
and he too was placed on miralax, it did
work for him. Does he like to drink juices
and such? I have heard just really pushing
the fluids specially water and juices
helps. You could also look into maybe a
daily dosage of fiber that you can either
sprinkle on his food or in a drink, I have
heard that there is some that you can't
even taste. But if he is a picky eater
then it is hard to get them to eat the
foods that help with loosening the bowels
so they are not so hard. What kind of
milk and how much does he drink in a day?
Or any kind of dairy?
Have you settled in? Sorry about the cold
weather I promise it is not usually like
this at this time of the year. How has you
husbands job going? Have you been out much
to find your self around? Well I hope
everything is going well I haven't heard
from you yet so I hope all is going well.
Take care and PM me and let me know how
things are going.
Take care
Heather
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ladylee70
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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Posted: 04-20-07 00:19am
He had problems like this since our move
from Ohio to WA. He had some problems
beforehand but it got really bad when we
made our first move. That was 8 months
ago. Gosh, I hope he hasn't had nervous
bowels for 8 months!! I hope we didn't
make it worse by this move!! He does like
juices and is starting to love water! He
actually has been asking for water over
milk lately which is so unusual and
great:)
I haven't tried the daily dosage fiber.
That is a good idea. He is a dairy kid but
we did cut down on the dairy due to his
problem. I will try that daily sprinkle!!
Any brand suggestions?? The biggest
problem for him is that we go from
completely constipated to diarrhea. We
rarely have a normal bowel movement.
This sounds like such a dumb question but
are kids supposed to have poop like ours
meaning actual formed stools? Nathan has
never really had that. We'll at least not
for almost a year. If he did before we
moved from Ohio, I don't remember because
I wasn't busy analyzing his stools. Well,
the few times he had an enema in the past
eight months, he had a HUGE poop - pretty
scary size. Other than that, it only comes
out patty like or it's too loose. I am
actually feeling like an incompetent
mother because I can get my child to have
a normal poop. We get the "treatment" from
family and friends who say that he should
be pooping in the toilet. People try to
give us toileting advice but they don't
see that it takes him about five hours of
pushing or holding "it" back when he is
going through these episodes. They also
don't see how hard it is when he is on the
other extreme, diarrhea, and he can't hold
back anything. He had over 10 poopy
diapers yesterday. He had on regular
underwear for three hours and had three
accidents before we changed him back into
his pull ups People just don't understand
and it's so completely frustrating. My mom
just came here to help us move in and she
has stayed with us for a week. She FINALLY
understands what we go through. She is now
convinced that Nathan needs to see a
specialist. At least one family member is
on our side!!
The cold weather doesn't bother me because
it's usually sunny here!! The past two
days, though, did remind me of Western WA
state. I love it here!! I haven't seen my
child this happy for at least 9 months. He
hated WA state. He will always be an
Arizona child. He loves the sun and warm
weather. At least we currently have one
out of the two. Today and yesterday he
kept telling me, "Mommy, brrr it's soooo
collllddd." He did it all dramatically; my
little drama boy!!
I will PM you!
Last edited by ladylee70 on 04-20-07 00:33am; edited 1 time in total
hopefully it gets fixed you dont want it
to turn into something like encopresis
when hes older, u should read up on that
as well too sounds almost similar but not
quite
i obviously don't have any helpful advice,
but i read that all and it sounds so
frustrating to not be able to help your
kid. I hope you find something that works
soon! i was considering starting rowan on
cereal way earlier than i feel comfortable
because she basically seems chronically
hungry. this has changed my mind on that,
just to be on the safe side. thanks.
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ladylee70
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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Posted: 04-20-07 00:42am
Encopresis: I am just so worried about
that. He does sound like a prime candidate
for possibily developing this problem. He
already doesn't seem to feel bowel
movements coming. I do think that going to
a specialist now is a good idea.
On one website, it stated that "a new
sibling" can make it worse due to
increased stress. Great. We just moved and
we are expecting a child. At least Nathan
is much happier here than our old place!
Tanya, just based on the sites that
Natalia showed us on digestive systems and
my personal experience with my son (albeit
just one example), I do think waiting is a
good idea. I know every child is different
but I am very convinced my child
personally wasn't ready for solids. He
showed some signs of digestive problems
even as an infant. I believe, it's just
not worth the risk. I had digestive
problems as well and was chronically
underweight. I wonder if there is a
connection??
the good thing is he is seeing a
specialist now. because the longer you
wait the harder it is. but that in itself
of getting him back to normal can take
alot of time and effort.
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Kia
Supporter
Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 6594 Location: Planet Tampaxia,
Posted: 04-20-07 02:48am
This will probably offend, but that isn't
my intention, this is an outsider view not
a criticism.
You yourself come across as a fairly tense
person, a slightly nervous disposition.
You don't seem relaxed, confident and
happy and I think this can have an effect
on your son.
If both you and hubby had digestive issues
as kids then that is also likely to be a
factor in this.
You haven't mentioned it, so maybe I am
simply overlooking something you see as a
given, but I don't see you saying that you
have tried to put him on a normal balanced
diet - just that you have tried lots of
things.
could you maybe try him on stuff like
whole wheat bread, brown rice, fruit and
veggies.
it sounds like whatever you give to ease
the constipation is given in too high a
dose and then causes the diarhea instead.
you don't want him to be dependant on
stool softeners and the like anyway.
then because of the diarhea you stop
whatever caused it and he goes back the
other way - this yo-yoing is bad for you
and him.
try giving him a 1/4 dose - just enough to
soften stuff up?
pushing to go is bad and caused ruptured
veins in the anus. and most people don't
"go" everyday, so don't worry if he
doesn't.
the norm is about 3-4 times per week on
average, some people being as little as
once a week, some as much as 2-3 times per
day.
what are some typical breakfasts, lunches,
dinners and snacks?
what does he drink?
have you tried removing dairy (cow dairy
products) completely?
have you tried replacing cow dairy with
goats milk? soy milk?
are you vegetarian/does your son eat
vegetarian?
I think Tanya has some awesome health food
ideas, and maybe it would be worth finding
out from her about rooibos (sp?)
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Mommy35
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Posts: 3165 Location: Vacationland, USA,
Posted: 04-20-07 06:04am
Poor little man!!! I personally don't
know what is worse, constipation or
diarhea. They both are awful, he must be
so miserable.
Have you tried adjusting the doses of
Miralax? It certainly sounds like it's
working, just too well. Maybe lowering
the amount of it you give would help some.
They have those prewrapped prunes, that I
have heard are actually very very good.
Maybe you could try giving them to him to
promote natural .B.M's?
At any rate, I'm glad you like your new
place.
Poor boy! I know the pain i get into when
i'm constipated, i can't even imagine what
he goes through
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mamaTT
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 2039 Location: Illinois, USA
Thanks: 17
Thanked:15
Posted: 04-20-07 08:13am
My stepdaughter used to have this problem
too. She was on the Miralax for a couple
of years, and it gave her really bad
diarrhea too. We tried cutting back the
recommended dosage, but it didn't seem to
stop her diarrhea...no matter how small of
a dose she was given. She seen specialist
after specialist and no one could really
figure out what was going on with her.
There were times that she would strain so
hard trying to go poo, that she would pass
out. Talk about scary!!!!! We never did find
out what was going on with her, the
problem just seemed to have corrected
itself. She is almost 5 years old now and
has no problems. Maybe your sons problem
will correct itself soon too. I wish you
all the best. I know how frustrating it
can be to not know what's going on with
your child and feel totally helpless.
You might try a little bit of prune juice.
That was one thing we were told to try
when she was really constipated.
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ladylee70
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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Posted: 04-20-07 10:56am
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I
will try some ideas.
Kia, that actually did offend some but I
can completely see what you are saying.
What makes you say I don't seem like a
happy person?
I can see why people wouldn't want to
write forum postings now! I write some
forums on my concerns with my son and am
called on the carpet as seeming not
confident and unhappy!!!! I am posting a
lot of things on these forums to
congratulate people, to comment on their
pictures, etc.....I am usually a happy
person, but completely almost in hormonal
pregnant tears right now.
I am "usually" a very happy (not now) and
confident person!! My son is a very happy
young man who is constantly laughing! He
has been known in his daycare to be one of
the happiest children. I am a very
analytical person, which could make you
interpret my messages the way you and/or
others do. Also, when your child has a
serious problem, you do tend to get a
little tense...I try not to show that with
my son. This is a forum and written
language can not replace in person
contact. There are so many
misunderstandings on these forums and I
think a lot of it has to do with not
actually hearing peoples intonations and
the way they are actually saying what they
are writing. In addition, we don't get the
luxury of seeing each others nonverbal
communication. Nonverbal communication is
sometimes much more important than verbal
communication. I bet that if all of us got
together, some of the people who fight on
here may actually get along!!
With that said, for the past week I have
been a little uptight because my mom was
visiting and I just moved. In addition, I
am going through a high risk pregnancy. My
son has been having problems long before
that.
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ladylee70
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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Posted: 04-20-07 11:13am
Wanted to change something...I completely
understood where you where going with what
you stated Kia, but don't understand how
in the heck you interpret my postings the
way you do? I understand you are just
trying to help but your first statement
actually negated the rest of what you had
to say for me. Emotions are an interesting
thing.
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Kia
Supporter
Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 6594 Location: Planet Tampaxia,
Posted: 04-20-07 11:50am
They are an interesting thing.
And it is also true that I don't know you
in person, I know you from your postings
on here.
Posting congrats and stuff doesn't make
anyone come across as happy or unhappy and
no-one is criticising you in anyway.
Yes, you have a high risk pregnancy, etc.
Are you really an outgoing, super
confident, the world's your oyster type
person? If so I have severely misread you
and I can only apologise
I think I only offended because it hit a
raw nerve and if that's the case I am
truly sorry.
The big thing is - your disposition can
have a huge impact on your child.
If you are always worried about him
toileting and such then it will become a
big deal to him too.
I'm trying to look at the bigger picture.
I'm sorry I don't empathise, but often the
empathy point of view doesn't help.
Stepping out of the box and looking at the
bigger picture from the outside can often
reveal stuff we didn't know about
ourselves.
It's also not something you be upset
about.
I do not have the greatest confidence
(heck I'm an agoraphobic, stuck at home,
trapped by my own fears - I know something
about emotions trust me).
At the end of the day the choice is yours
- you can investigate my opinion and see
if it does have any impact on your life
and if it does then you can choose to act
or not, if it doesn't you have lost
nothing and ruled something out.
You can choose to ignore my opinions and
think I'm a cheeky bint - that's ok too.
You can choose to do whatever you want
because in this case - you're the mommy.
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ladylee70
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 1912 Location: Boise, Idaho,
Thanks: 1
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Posted: 04-20-07 12:30pm
Thanks Kia for your last posting.
I do agree with the point of how
disposition can have a huge impact on a
child. I have seen it at my work much too
often and even at home with my son when I
am in a certain mood or very stressed.
I am a happy person, so I don't think that
has anything to do with it. I am a little
bored lately, but generally happy.
The toileting issue has become a big issue
in our household and he may sense my
concern regarding that, which would most
likely even make it worse on him. Poor
guy. I actually wouldn't doubt if he
picked up our concern. He will sit for
ours in various places trying to either
poop or hold it back and we have become
very anxious. During those times, we put
him in a pull up because he sitting on a
toilet for hours doesn't cut it. He grunts
so much that he seems like he is going to
pass out. Yeah...we have become pretty
anxious regarding this and it is probably
obvious to him.
I do suffer from anxiety and I truly hope
that my son doesn't pick up on it!!
I have a doctor's appt with a specialist
on May 2nd. I hope I get more answers at
that time. The nurse that I spoke with has
more concern over his lack of weight gain.
I looked back at some of his notes and he
hasn't gained a pound for year!! Perhaps
we will find out that is normal. I have no
idea.
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Kia
Supporter
Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 6594 Location: Planet Tampaxia,
Posted: 04-20-07 13:00pm
well, good luck.
I hope they either find something and have
a cure for it, or that he does simply out
grow it, like someone else mentioned.
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vanessalouanne
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 May 2005 Posts: 2268 Location: ,
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Posted: 04-20-07 17:23pm
Karin you are a typical worried mom. nate
has obviously had these problems from
infancy and i agree with finding a
specialist and trying some of the diet
tips others have posted. it shows what a
wonderful mother you are by being so
concerned. I have found you nothing but
sweet and supportive. hang in there
girl.. i know what hormones can do to
you..take that along with a high risk
pregnancy and a move and i think your
coping wonderfully
We never did find
out what was going on with her, the
problem just seemed to have corrected
itself. She is almost 5 years old now and
has no problems. Maybe your sons problem
will correct itself soon too. I wish you
all the best. I know how frustrating it
can be to not know what's going on with
your child and feel totally helpless.
