Chronic Constipation in 4yo

Hoping for advice, dd1 is going to be 5 in July and has just been diagnosed with chronic constipation. We saw a continence nurse in November last year as she was weeing in her knickers all the time and wasn't sure when she needed to poo. She was put on osmolax for 6 months which has just passed. She can now work out when she has to wee but will start a poo in her knickers most days.

Dh was convinced it was all in her head but I finally took her to the gp and an X-ray has shown her poor tummy is full of impacted poo :(

So we are upping the laxatives then back to the dr next week, but I am wondering what to expect? I know part of her problems are hating change in her routine and not liking new toilets so we will have to work on that. Hoping we can avoid using the suppositories as she hates them, any tips on foods we can use to help get it moving? We avoid to many bananas as they make her worse but she has plenty of berries, grapes and other fruit.

Pears and pear juice are great. :hug: for your DD and hope she doesn't have this as an ongoing problem.

Thanks Em, pears are the one fruit she doesn't like, so will try some pear juice.

We used stewed apples wheh DS was really constipated, seemed to help a lot. I hope your DD gets some relief soon :hug:

Hi Black Rose, my son (4) actually suffers from chronic constipation and has done so since he was weaned at 20 months. He actually suffered before then but thats when it really ramped up. I started a thread on here a while ago about our issue and subsequent update and journey.

When they just wont poo.

Originally we were told by our GP that it was all in DS' head. My mummy instinct thought that wasnt right but I didnt act on that until we had proven that the Dr's methods werent working. After 12 months of GP care we referred to a pead, this is when we really started to get results. DS has been on a variety of poo helping medication. The issue is getting past impaction and onto regular bowel motions - a motion a day. It should also be a soft but formed motion - google the bristol stool chart and you will see what you should be aiming for. Unfortunately for kids with chronic constipation what tends to happen is that once the bowels have been impacted for so long the bowel tends to stretch and loose feeling, which is what you are finding with your DD not knowing when she needs to poo. Also you will find that any liquid type skid marks on her underwear are usually overflow... so soft stool that is flowing down around the impaction and coming out (sorry if tmi) and is a classic sign of chronic constipation. It takes time to fix but it can be done. Our original assessment at 3 years old with the paed was that DS would take up to 3 years to be "normal" and not need mediciation to poo and this is within the realm of normal. DS was given a blood test to rule out thyroid conditions and I also asked to have him tested for cealiacs disease.

Our paed was not interested in looking at outside sources, we found improvement with the new medication and a being very firm with a toileting regime (I think I explain that in the other thread). Within a week he was a different kid, but he still needs medicating. With DS none of the usual foods helped with his poo problem. We discovered, after seeing a dietian that wheat was one of our issues and after eliminating that we were able to cut back to half the dose of medication almost immediately. I dont recommend you do elimination diets without supervision though.

DS is now a once a day boy so it can and does improve. It takes time, persistance and the right people to help. I hope some of that helps. :hug: for you and :hug: for DD.

Will read your thread Abigail, what you have said sounds very similar to what we are starting to experience, hoping to get it sorted before she starts school even if she is still on the medication.

Prunes and prune juice, pears, kiwi fruit (skin is great for constipation). Keeping up her fluids is important. A paediatric dietian might be able to help too

Good luck

The medication my son is on actually allows him to lead a more normal life now. He is able to go to day care/preschool without having to worry about being different to the other kids any more which has been a huge relief for me and a confidence boost for him, while I would like him to eventually be unmedicated, in our journey at least - it has its place.

I wish you the very best of luck and hope that you can find a solution that works for you and your DD. :hug:

Hi BlackRose, just popping by to see how you guys are going? I hope things have shown some improvement for you. :)

Got to see her X-ray this week, her tummy is so full of poo our dr has said its like she is 9 months pregnant the poor darling. We have swapped from osomolax to lacdol and we are going to a nutritionist who has treated kids like this before. Hoping to get results soon, she is positive and happy to drink the extra water which is great. Thanks for checking in Abigail :)