Help! DD constipated and screaming...

[snowchickie79]

Sorry if TMI..

My DD has had bowel issues since mid last week when she started producing little balls, like marbles, completely unlike her. On Saturday night she woke at 2am screaming and did so for a good 20-30 minutes which is unlike her as I can normally settled her straight away. I thought it might have been a nightmare so once she was calm she went back to sleep.

The marbles were around still on Sunday but all else seemed fine. On Monday night she did the same, woke screaming, was hard to calm her down and I mentioned to DH that she hadn't done a #2 all day Monday which is unlike her as she is normally 1 or 2 dirty nappies a day. Anyway DD saw a Dr on Tuesday who said that her bowel was very very full and that was likely the issue. She recently had a vomit/gastro bug and he said it was likely her body tried to counter act the vomiting etc and now has gone the complete opposite. He told us to give her Coloxyl drops to try to help.

WELL.. it's done bugger all.. On Tuesday afternoon we got a few little marbles but Tuesday night was the same with us up with her about 5 times and her screaming her heart out. We tried putting her in a warm bath, have tried the belly massage and today I thought we were getting somewhere as she had some marbles this morning but then this afternoon a #2 more like her normal. I was a little confident of a good nights' sleep.

DD has just woken screaming again and took me a good 30 minutes to calm her down. In the end i gave her panadol and a dose of Infants' movicol via syringe. I would have thought her having 2 movements today might have helped but am I wrong and this is going to continue like this for days and days. I cannot bare seeing her crying like that..

Anyway have any suggestions on how I can help her with this and make it less painful for her??? PLEASE....

[black_rose]

Try microlax, it softens the stools so they can come out, use it in combination with the drops. Poor darling hope she improves soon.

[Yeddi]

You could also try giving her some prunes and pears, both whole or juice.

[KimB]

Make sure to that she is drinking enough water as this helps keep the stools loose. They dry out and this is when they become like "marbles" and it hurts to push out. Maybe she is reacting now to the pain associated with pushing them out.

[ShootingStar]

Would she drink a little brown sugar mixed with water? We used it for both of our kids when they were constipated as babies and always worked a treat.

[snowchickie79]

Thanks for the replies ladies. We have the same situation again tonight.
I took DD back to the Dr this morning and he said her bowel felt alot less full than Tuesday which makes me wonder if the crying is caused by something else.

I've had her taking Coloxyl, Infants Movicol, trying to get her to drink as much fluid as possible but all she really wants is milk so i've only been giving her half bottles and watering it down along with a dose of coloxyl or movicol mixed in. I've tried prune juice which she flat out refused, I've been giving her fresh pears but she won't touch anything prune related.

The Dr told me to try a suppository so we did that tonight and got a big one within 20 minutes but tonight again she is upset and crying like she is pain, i just have a bad feeling it's something else but she can't tell me what. I'm really not sure what to do now and it's unsettling me as to what is wrong.

I just settled her again and it's now 12.30am and i've given her some panadol which the Dr said might help to relax her stomach muscles but I just cannot stand seeing her crying like that and it's in spurts, she will cry for 10, 20 or 30 minutes and then relax and go back to sleep so other than the constipation i don't know what else it could be as she is ok during the day. She is upset a little after her nap time so again it doesn't make sense, even the Dr said was unusual she was ok during the day and only getting upset at night.

Dr said if it was something more serious then she'd be getting worse and she'd be bad with it all day long. he said it could take 3 or more days to settle down but i don't think i can stand watching her cry for that much longer. No idea what to do.

[Taurean]

Hon, I've been going through horrible poo issues with my DD (just turned 18 months) for about 4 months My heart goes out to you.

We've only had one bout of marbles/tennis balls but that was the begining of our issues - the pain and size has created fear. We suspect she tore (and ended up with fissures) with the tennis ball poo and has been scared since. I suspect your DD is scared of pooing due to the pain of the runs - that horrible burning feeling she probably experienced with gastro.

If you want to try something that is safe and helps quickly, try Childrens Parachoc. It's a stool softener, not a laxative as such, so it's ideal for long term use. It doesn't effect their bowel muscles (by weakening them), it only softeners things so the poo can't be held in. My DD has been on it for a few months now and despite all my concerns (and a couple more trips to the GP), I've been assured we can continue using it for a year, or more, without any problems.

You don't need a script, it's worth a shot. Good luck. It's so hard watching them strugle so much

[Yeddi]

^Yeah that^

She could also be getting her 2 year old molars...

[snowchickie79]

Thank you for all the replies again. Well this weekend is MUCH better! DD has done about 3 or so more poo's now. I ended up giving her a suppository on Thursday night which sorted her out and yesterday she went all OK and was back to her cheery self. Last night we got a full night's sleep with no interuptions other than a quick trip in to put her blanket back on her so i think the worst is past. I'm going to continue with the coloxyl for another week to make sure and i'll just watch her and if she is continuing with her normal poo patterns then i won't do anything else. She has not had issues before so i'm hoping it was just a week long issue after the gastro and we are ok now.

Was very happy to see her eating last night, even if it was pizza & garlic bread but anything at this stage is good considering how little she has eaten in the last month.

Tauren - i saw the parachoc in the chemist on Wednesday night when i was there but I had been having issues getting her to take things so I opted for Infants Movicol and I had been simply putting it her milk and she didn't notice it.

Yeddi - Not an issue with teeth as she already has her molars and has had since Aug '10, she got them just before she turned 2.

Hopefully no more issues but thanks for the replies..

[~Jayne~]

Hey SnowChickie - My DD spent nearly a week in hospy last year because she was so bound up that she impacted her bowel. She had Movical given to her every single day while she was there & did bugger all to her. The thing I found that worked a treat with her was some drops called Dulcolax (Maybe Dulcolox?). They are clear drops that are so easy to slip into some water/juice/milk & honestly, it was the best thing for her. She was on constant laxatives for over 6 months as it was such a recurring problem & she ended up having a biopsy to check everything was ok & thankfully her bowels are fine. Since moving to China we have NO issues with going to the loo. lol

She sounds like she has settled down now, but maybe grab some of those drops JIC it happens again.

Good luck! xx

[Rivlas]

Keep her on whatever you are giving her for at least a week and she is confidient about doing poo.
We had this problem years ago, had a few trips to emergency, and we were told that after they have been they get scared about going again as they associate doing poo with pain so we had to break the fear cycle.
We have found eating a couple ripe kiwi fruit good for keeping the stools soft.

[Taurean]

Keep her on whatever you are giving her for at least a week and she is confidient about doing poo.
We had this problem years ago, had a few trips to emergency, and we were told that after they have been they get scared about going again as they associate doing poo with pain so we had to break the fear cycle.
We have found eating a couple ripe kiwi fruit good for keeping the stools soft.

Totally agree. Ours started as a simple case of constipation back in Nov and we are still battling with it. It's not constant but usually gives us grief once a week as DD became scared of pooing. Also agree kiwi fruit works a treat

Glad to hear she's had some relief though, that's great news. Just so you know though, you can mix Parachoc into their milk too

[snowchickie79]

All these great tips..

DD didn't do a poo yesterday but today she did late this afternoon with little fuss. I'm just struggling to get her to eat anything at the moment which is annoying and making this whole thing all the more tricky to keep under control. I can see the frustration in DH's eyes when he cooks dinner and DD just refuses to eat anything and will cry to leave the table. It's a battle of wills at the moment and she is winning. I am struggling to even bribe her with fruit now at dinner time so she is leaving the table having eaten nothing if not a few mouthfuls of something and that is all.

I think terrible 2's is showing it's face in this case and she is trying to dictate what she'll eat and when. Whole other thread though!

[Rivlas]

Give her her tea for lunch the next day. Often they eat more at lunch time than tea time at this age. It is a fickle time for eating.
As long as she is offered good food she will not starve.
Today she will eat like a horse tomorrow like a sparrow.
It's hard but keep offering her good food and lots of water.