Foods that make you go POOP

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stephalvarez5
stephalvarez5 Posts: 154 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm serious, I need help. My 4 year old daughter has a really bad habit of holding her poo in for days and days to the point that she becomes less social because of the anxiety, her abdomen get's swollen looking like she's pregnant, and she loses her appetite and gets lethargic. she has gone as far as almost 2 weeks without a bowel movement at times, it was hell when she finally did pass it. i'm not exaggerating it was the size and shape of a large naval orange, it wouldn't flush so i had to (rubber gloved) break it up in order to go down the drain. the texture was so shocking, it was rock hard like a base ball. not to be too graphic but my first response was "can her *kitten* stretch that far?" it was huge.

all of this started as soon as she started pre-school. i'm guessing the anxiety bothered her so much. i thought her being on vacation now would become regular, nope. i sorta have a feeling it's psychological because she get's very anxious and embarrassed when she's got the feeling she has to go, she'll hide and hold it in. it's soooo hard because i can't take her on outtings because everyone's always asking why her abdomen is so large and they all notice of "the constipated face" or when she walks on her tippy toes to try and hold it in. i'm so desperate for help.

I've of course, mentioned this to her dr. many many times and we've tried various methods. prunes DUH!! we've taken dairy out of her diet at a point, i've watched her starch and (white foods) intake, basically altered her diet because of it and nothing works. she eats a lot of fruit, which is good, still apples do nothing. we've even gone to the extreme of giving her laxatives in her water (mara lax and pedia-lax) and if it lasts more then a week we've even given her enema's which is another hell story. still she insists on holding it in. i try to talk to her about it but she just starts crying and doesn't answer why.

WHAT THE HELL DO I DO? anyone ever had this issue?

.stephanie.
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Replies

  • willywonka
    willywonka Posts: 743 Member
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    give her a Fiber One bar, I bet that makes her poop, they have yummy flavors too. I'm sorry, I know how terrible it is, I've had problems with that myself :flowerforyou:
  • daisylou
    daisylou Posts: 118
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    a girl I work with has an 11 year old daughter that has the exact same problem and I know she just took her to a specialist. they put her on a medication(not sure of the name) and I think it is helping. I will try to find out the name of it and let you know.
  • debbie0158
    debbie0158 Posts: 1
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    My granddaughter is 2 and has had the same problem. My daughter gives her the gerber prune juice. She also checked with her pediatrician and he said soy milk. It worked great, but be careful because too much gave her diarreah. I would probably start with one glass a day and if no results, increase it to 2 the next day. Good luck.
    Debbie
  • snoozen29
    snoozen29 Posts: 33
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    I understand her / your pain. I had the same issue growing up...and sadly...as and adult I still do...( I mean I don't hold it in anymore) but still have the issue of larger/harder than normal poops. I would try firbe cereals. Also, fruit give a lot of fibre too, make sure she eats a lot of fruits.
  • margaretthedevil
    margaretthedevil Posts: 215
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    Poor girl! Does she feel embarrassed to go to the bathroom to do #2, especially at school? She does pee doesn't she? It sounds like she's physically willing herself not to go and that it probably isn't a fiber problem, rather something psychological. Take her to see a specialist maybe a psychologist right away. You do not want her to develop any kidney problems!
  • czewwhat
    czewwhat Posts: 8,715
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    popcorn, nuts!
  • astridfeline
    astridfeline Posts: 1,200 Member
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    I don't know how she is with vegies, but beets work wonders:huh:
  • Jennyryan21
    Jennyryan21 Posts: 69 Member
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    My niece is 3 and has done this since she was about 7/8 months old. She takes miralax (I think it's sold over the counter now) which helps a little. Pear juice is supposed to help as well. Broccoli if you can get her to eat it and popcorn is great.

    If worst comes to worst (if it's been a couple of days) we sit her on the toilet and tell her she can come out when she's done.
  • guidosgal
    guidosgal Posts: 581 Member
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    Hi,
    First off you are not alone. I know she might be holding it in because it hurts to go (Therefore she dose not want to go and thinks Poop equals pain) ( My daughter has had similar issues.when she was younger) What we did was used bencol or benefiber ( you can mix it with liquid and it has no taste. You give it to your daughter every day. Talk to her about what you put in her drink and show her what you are doing (Heck let her help you mesure it and mix it in her drink. Let her know that this will make it easy to poop. ( this way it lets her know she has some control) also what can help is sitting in a warm bath or a hot tub ( both help relax those muscles and makes you want to go and the last thing is if you can get her in a pool ( with floties or what ever she need to move around. The pool takes the weight off the body and again relaxs those musles and she will be busys playing in the water and kicking her legs and it willl naturally want to come out. (I would suggest dont doing this in a public pool because Trust me floaters will happen.) I believe that once she has some easy poops that the issues will get better. Also you might want to make sure that she is chewing her food really well because the stomach will dont digest unchewed food well and it makes hard compact poop. I would not give her laxitives to often because they can make the natural system of the body sluggish and then she will have a hard time going without them. (Wow It seems I know a lot about Poop :bigsmile:
  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
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    I also think it something that she is mentally scared to do. If you poop that much at once, it probably hurts like heck and she doesn't want that pain again. Have you tried having her sit on the toilet in the evenings when you are home and having her read a book. No pressure, but she to sit there for X amount of minutes unless she goes and then she can get up. Not too long, but long enough that she might go. Also it might be a power play struggle with you and in her mind when she doesn't go she wins. If you think I am just being crazy, disregard. Best of luck, my 5 year old has horrible constipation problems, but hers has to do with her disability and the way her body works!
  • wannabethinner
    wannabethinner Posts: 9
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    I had the same problem growing up. I could not poop where others were. I still cannot. I would even get my mother to pick me up from school if I had to go. I don't know why this was, but yes it has caused lots of problems as an adult. My sister in law's daughter had the same thing and for years kept her off of dairy and white products. She also gave her the medicine for lactose intolerance, and yet she would still have the bloated stomach, constipation, and diarrah. After years of all this, one doctor diagnosed her as having a virus in her intestine. They gave her an antibiotic and she is wonderful now. Wish my had been something like that. These are just two examples, I sure there are many more. I wish you luck.
  • TCASMEY
    TCASMEY Posts: 1,405 Member
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    My son did the same thing when he was potty training. He did fine doing number one but number 2 he could hold all week. There are 2 great products out there that can help. First one is called Little Tummies Senna drops. I would mix this in dark drinks or sodas to get him to drink it. The other product is Miralax. I like this one better because you can mix it in water and it completely disolves and they do not know they are drinking fiber. Give this every day with water and make sure they get lots of water. It will help make them regular.

    Also talk to your child my son who is going into 2nd grade will hold it during the day because the lower grades have bathrooms in the classroom and he is embarassed to stink up the classroom so he holds it, and they become constipated. Also most schools do not give children adequate water breaks during the day which can also add to constipation.
  • kellygirl5538
    kellygirl5538 Posts: 597 Member
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    My son never used the bathroom at school .........he said it was dirty.............and he was right!!!!!!!! Go to the doctor tho.
  • vennie
    vennie Posts: 12 Member
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    You little girl needs to see a professional, her bowels can burst. She could have had fischers at one time or another...... thus the fear of going.
  • stephalvarez5
    stephalvarez5 Posts: 154 Member
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    a girl I work with has an 11 year old daughter that has the exact same problem and I know she just took her to a specialist. they put her on a medication(not sure of the name) and I think it is helping. I will try to find out the name of it and let you know.

    thank you that would be most helpful. i get so irritated when the dr's brush me off like it's not a big issue (probably cuz i'm a young mother, i'm 24) so they think, oh you worry to much get over it. this problem has been pretty darn consistent for 6 month now.

    .stephanie.
  • ssantiago10
    ssantiago10 Posts: 2
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    Hello

    I have the same problem and what I do is alternate every other week between MiraLax and the new Metamucil Clear and Natural they both are clear and dissolve completely in any drink. I alternate because the body will get used to the product and it will lose the efficiency . I hope she gets better soon. I am a mom of a 4 year old boy and I know how useless I feel when he can't go and he cries so bad... he doesn't want me to move him cause it hurts, rubbing the belly in circular motion helps promote a bowel movement, I hope this helps...:flowerforyou:
  • FireMonkey
    FireMonkey Posts: 500 Member
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    Fruit, veggies, whole grains, lots and lots of water if she likes it. Fruit juices are good too, prune juice, stewed prunes. Just keep in mind the sugar content could give her cavities - have her brush her teeth after she has anything like that. Warm baths help too; you can add some baking soda to the tub. I have no idea why this works, but I've heard that it helps and in any case it can't hurt.

    You may also want her checked out - sometimes kids get a small tear in the anal area called a fissure, which makes it even more painful for her to poop so she holds it in even more, and it becomes a vicious circle. There are also stool softeners you can get over the counter but I would talk to her doctor first.

    Good luck!
  • stephalvarez5
    stephalvarez5 Posts: 154 Member
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    My son did the same thing when he was potty training. He did fine doing number one but number 2 he could hold all week. There are 2 great products out there that can help. First one is called Little Tummies Senna drops. I would mix this in dark drinks or sodas to get him to drink it. The other product is Miralax. I like this one better because you can mix it in water and it completely disolves and they do not know they are drinking fiber. Give this every day with water and make sure they get lots of water. It will help make them regular.

    Also talk to your child my son who is going into 2nd grade will hold it during the day because the lower grades have bathrooms in the classroom and he is embarassed to stink up the classroom so he holds it, and they become constipated. Also most schools do not give children adequate water breaks during the day which can also add to constipation.

    she's been on mira lax for a few days now. she's been off and on it for a few months. i also give her the senna product, but its in a quick dissolve tongue strip. she's actually still potty training. she'll go pee but not poo.

    thank you for your help.

    .stephanie.
  • stephalvarez5
    stephalvarez5 Posts: 154 Member
    Options
    Hello

    I have the same problem and what I do is alternate every other week between MiraLax and the new Metamucil Clear and Natural they both are clear and dissolve completely in any drink. I alternate because the body will get used to the product and it will lose the efficiency . I hope she gets better soon. I am a mom of a 4 year old boy and I know how useless I feel when he can't go and he cries so bad... he doesn't want me to move him cause it hurts, rubbing the belly in circular motion helps promote a bowel movement, I hope this helps...:flowerforyou:

    is metamucil for adults only? she's on mira-lax but not really having sucess.
  • stephalvarez5
    stephalvarez5 Posts: 154 Member
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    Poor girl! Does she feel embarrassed to go to the bathroom to do #2, especially at school? She does pee doesn't she? It sounds like she's physically willing herself not to go and that it probably isn't a fiber problem, rather something psychological. Take her to see a specialist maybe a psychologist right away. You do not want her to develop any kidney problems!

    yes i think she gets embarrassed to go #2 cuz she'll go pee no problem. and she didnt start having these issues until she started pre-school. i don't think it's a fiber problem either because if you knew all the different diets changes i've tried... hahaha got its rediculous. it's just hard to explain psychological issues to a 4 year old to try and work it out.

    .s.

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