DD is "full of poop"

[mamaalysson]

Those were the official medical words used by our pedi. I've posted about this before, but DD has been complaining, off and on, for like a year of her tummy hurting. We cut out dairy in January, and that seemed to help, but the complaints started back up again in the last week or so. And last Friday she was up at three in the morning just writhing in pain until she finally pooped. So, our doc sent her for an X-ray yesterday, and it appears that she may be "full of poop". That was all his not said, and I'm waiting for a call or message from him this evening describing in more details what that means and what we do. Anyone else deal with this? Any insight? I'm not sure if the fix is going to be a change in diet of if we're at more severe some sort of procedure fix. I also wonder if her kidney infection a year ago could somehow be related.

Also, anyone want to place bets on how many more times I will refresh my email between now and when I hear from the doctor?

[minismama]

I bet 6 million times. In the meantime I'll be praying for good news. Thinking of you guys.

[arnegard]

They said the same thing about DD2 about a year ago and my niece a few years back. It is their first look for in tummy trouble.
Turns out my DD is lactose intolerant. We talked about my observations later, but the doc did not testing herself. She wrote a letter so DD could take lactaid at school though.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I've had several friends with kids who had this...I think in most cases they do an enema or two, followed by a liquid diet with the max. doses of miralax for a few days until they are completely cleaned out, followed by tapering down the miralax until they are going regularly.

My kids are both on a daily dose of miralax, which I hate and wish they weren't on, but at the same time I get freaked if they go more than 2 days without pooping.

[Kcthepouchh8r]

Assuming you haven't tried anything medication wise a procedure isn't going to be the first step. An enema and prescription meds will likely be the first step. When you get over the initial wave you'll want to rule out some medical conditions. Food allergies can cause severe constipation and are increasingly common in kids these days so some testing is something you will want to explore. If that comes back ok you will want to improve intestinal health. A good probiotic is a must and rotating strains every week helps even more. Magnesium, fiber and plenty of water can help avoid constipation in the future. Good luck!!

[Kcthepouchh8r]

Mar 10, 2015 20:00:29 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

I've had several friends with kids who had this...I think in most cases they do an enema or two, followed by a liquid diet with the max. doses of miralax for a few days until they are completely cleaned out, followed by tapering down the miralax until they are going regularly.

My kids are both on a daily dose of miralax, which I hate and wish they weren't on, but at the same time I get freaked if they go more than 2 days without pooping.

Miralax isn't FDA approved for kids or for more than seven days. I would definitely wean off that to something more natural. There are plenty of natural ways to avoid constipation.

[abs]

Mine is on a daily dose of Miralax, too. I also hate it but she is prone to constipation and needs it. She gets a ton of fiber (whole wheat everything, berries daily, fiber one fruit snacks, etc.) and very little dairy. These changes have helped and she is fairly regular now. I do encourage her to sit on the potty after breakfast and dinner and we've really had to work on healthy bathroom habits. It's crazy how common constipation is in young children. I'd definitely recommend seeing a pediatric GI and doing a clean out. Good luck!'

[lexus]

Yikes! I'm sorry that she is in so much pain. Dd has never been that constipated before. I'm sure they will try the least invasive or intense solution possible. Dd's constipation was initially treated with Miralax. We switched from miralax to a kids probiotic. It works better and I don't feel as bad that she takes it daily.

[nicolewi]

Exact same thing happened to us 2 years ago when DS had all sorts of vomiting incidents in a row. He is on Miralax also--just a very low dose a couple times/week or more or less as needed. His pedi insists it's fine but I wish we could totally get him off it.

[nicolewi]

Oh, and PS: all they did was give Miralax. No other procedure needed. And this is TMI, but not very long after starting the Miralax (less time than they said it would take), DS had this huge really nasty weird poop. I swear that was a bunch of the stuff that was stuck in there for a long time!!!

[melew]

Poor little lady! I hope she is doing better soon!

[mamaalysson]

Thanks ladies. In between refreshing my email I was doing some googling, and it's just so baffling. Other than tummy pain, she has zero other symptoms of constipation. And she eats loads of fiber and fruit and veggies and drinks a lot of water. I mean, they took an X-ray and saw poop, so clearly she has an issue, I just don't understand how it happened. I don't know...since it all seemed to start with her kidney infection last year, I just wonder if it isn't related somehow. I'm probably 87 steps ahead of myself and worrying unnecessarily, but I can't help it. It is good to have an explanation for her pain, though.

[Kcthepouchh8r]

Mar 11, 2015 10:23:18 GMT -5 mamaalysson said:

Thanks ladies. In between refreshing my email I was doing some googling, and it's just so baffling. Other than tummy pain, she has zero other symptoms of constipation. And she eats loads of fiber and fruit and veggies and drinks a lot of water. I mean, they took an X-ray and saw poop, so clearly she has an issue, I just don't understand how it happened. I don't know...since it all seemed to start with her kidney infection last year, I just wonder if it isn't related somehow. I'm probably 87 steps ahead of myself and worrying unnecessarily, but I can't help it. It is good to have an explanation for her pain, though.

Sometimes too much fiber can actually backfire. We had to cut back on fruits and vegetables when dd was constipated as counterproductive as it sounds. She's a vegan so it was a struggle for sure. Once we started probiotics we were able to reintroduce as much fruits and veggies as she wanted.

[mamaalysson]

Looks like we're going with Miralax to try and clear her out. I'm going to pick some up at the store today, and giver it to her tomorrow morning. It's going to be a crappy weekend around here (buh dum dum dum).

But talk to me about probiotics. DD has a dairy allergy, but she does have Greek yogurt a few times a week. Any more than that and she gets "itchy". Where else can one encounter probiotics? Is it in other foods? A supplement? And what other things would be good to restore a good gut balance for her? The pedi mentioned the possibility of needing maintenance Miralax if the constipation comes back, but he (and I) would like to avoid that.

Thanks!

[Kcthepouchh8r]

Mar 12, 2015 10:37:14 GMT -5 mamaalysson said:

Looks like we're going with Miralax to try and clear her out. I'm going to pick some up at the store today, and giver it to her tomorrow morning. It's going to be a crappy weekend around here (buh dum dum dum).

But talk to me about probiotics. DD has a dairy allergy, but she does have Greek yogurt a few times a week. Any more than that and she gets "itchy". Where else can one encounter probiotics? Is it in other foods? A supplement? And what other things would be good to restore a good gut balance for her? The pedi mentioned the possibility of needing maintenance Miralax if the constipation comes back, but he (and I) would like to avoid that.

Thanks!

You should definitely go with a supplement. There are probiotic rich foods but they're tough to get kids to eat (think sauerkraut!). Cuterelle is a popular brand you can get at target.

[aggiecyd]

For probiotics, we get Good Belly. It's a juice, comes in different blends and I can find it at the grocery store. If your store doesn't carry it, I know whole foods does.
We also have DD eat 2-3 prunes every day when she's having problems. I hope your DD feels better!

[lexus]

Mar 12, 2015 10:49:55 GMT -5 Kcthepouchh8r said:

Mar 12, 2015 10:37:14 GMT -5 mamaalysson said:

Looks like we're going with Miralax to try and clear her out. I'm going to pick some up at the store today, and giver it to her tomorrow morning. It's going to be a crappy weekend around here (buh dum dum dum).

But talk to me about probiotics. DD has a dairy allergy, but she does have Greek yogurt a few times a week. Any more than that and she gets "itchy". Where else can one encounter probiotics? Is it in other foods? A supplement? And what other things would be good to restore a good gut balance for her? The pedi mentioned the possibility of needing maintenance Miralax if the constipation comes back, but he (and I) would like to avoid that.

Thanks!

You should definitely go with a supplement. There are probiotic rich foods but they're tough to get kids to eat (think sauerkraut!). Cuterelle is a popular brand you can get at target.

That's what we get at target as well. They have chewable and dissolvable.

[knkc]

I had an experience like that with my daughter. Her pedi put her on Miralax. She was on it for a couple months, but I really wasn't comfortable giving her something that isn't approved for kids or long term use. After asking here (well the bump board) I started giving her the Culturelle packet in her water. It didn't alter the taste and it worked! If you check online I usually found a $5 off coupon for it too. 

Good luck! The Miralax worked quick when we flushed her system. Stay close to bathrooms. 

[nicolewi]

Hmmmm. I think I will try a probiotic with DS!

[usm]

Our GI doctors have us use culterelle dissolvable packets that are kept in the fridge. You have to ask the pharmacy for them because they keep it behind the counter. Just make sure you read the box before you give it, apparently you do it a few times a day and I was doing 1x a day for a while.

[usm]

Also, it's common for kids to withhold, even if they are going regularly they may not be emptying their bowels completely.