constipation and not eating in former preemie

[bindw]

hi all i have a problem here that should be easy to fix however i cannot seem to ...

My son taj is 2yr 2 months old. He was born at 33weeks (4.5lbs) gestation and has no health problems. He was in special care for one month with fits, severe jaindice (tripple lights 5 times) and a transfusion and just general feeding/growth. He is now on the 70th percentile for height and just above the 3rd for weight.

My concern is that he is EXTREMELY constipated. In the last 28 days he has pooed 3 times. It is so large, hard and crumbly when it finally does come out. The last bout we had it took him 8 hours till 4.30am to finally pass the movement. He was so tired and exhausted afterwards and i have never heard him cry so much in my life. He is now SOILING himself also.

I have tried everything from grape or prune juice to supositries ( he is so clogged that i cannot even put one up there ) to limiting his dairy and trying to get more fibre into his diet. He however does not eat. And its not just him being picky ... He will not let food pass his lips. I have kept his fluids up and am still allowing him milk 300-400mls a day (although i know this can clog him up more) however some days this is the only thing he will allow to pass his lips and its the only calories he recieves.

Today he has had his milk and has eaten 3 strawberries. Yesterday he had his milk and had 1/4 of a banana and 1 dry savory biscuit (bite size). And of course watered down grape juice and plain water.. The day before he did not eat a thing.
He did have a problem with passing his first poo in hospital (it took 41 hours) and they did order down a specialist however he passed it about half an hour before the specialist made it to his bedside. (i dont know if this info can help ?)

Has anyone been through this situation before ? And if so how did you overcome it ?
I do also have a referal to his pediatrition ( he was discharged about 4 months ago) and to see a nutritionist however i cannot get in for another 3+ weeks.

thank you for any insight or advice xx

*** I do also have a 4.5 year old son so i do cook and supply many varieties of meal and snacks and we all sit at the table together so i am at a loss for the not eating.

[diva det]

hugs hun
i hear you on the constipation
one of my premmies had huge trouble doing poos as well- every 2 to 3 weeks and horribly stagnet and huge. he would scream in pain for days before the explosion!

turns out his bum hole was too small and he had to have it stretched - he was having an op at 12 months so they did it then!
we tried everything over the time as well and massage, and a bout in a jolly jumper seemed to work the best for us!

good luck speaking to the pead and let us know how you go!!

[August]

Get some Duplalac or it might be sold at your local chemist as Lactulose. It's safe and effective, and its cheap. It is not a laxitive, it works by lubricating the bowel so that the stool will pass easier, and it draws moisture into the bowel making the stool itself softer. My son's paed recommended it when he was just 5 weeks old, and he still has it from time to time as needed. I tried everything and this is the only thing that works. I know this is a late reply but I always try and tell as many parents as I can about this if their kids have recurring constipation issues.

[Amity]

My premmie DS1 (6w prem, 1.9 kilos) had huge issues with constipation, particularly because he had what the paed described as far too much milk.

I wouldn't be giving him milk any more. Give him water instead. Eventually he'll get onto food.

With regard to the constipation, there's a child friendly laxative called Parachoc - my son was on this for over a year. It softens the stool so it's more easy to pass. Be aware that once the bowel has been blocked, it can take up to a month to "ease" the congestion and the inflammation which has been caused by the constipation. Your DS may also have anal fissures which cause significant pain on passing stools.

However, before you do anything, I'd take him straight to a paed.

Good luck.

[nickers]

sorry i cant offer any good advise, sounds horrible for you all though.
can you get into your gp this week and beg him to call the paed? I've found they may say no to you but if another doc rings up they get u in straight away!