Constipation Archives

Constipation and Stool Withholding -- Testimonial!

I stumbled upon this website 2 weeks ago when I was at my wit's end trying to find a solution to my 3-year-old's constipation problem. She has been suffering from this problem for a while and yet in the few months her situation had been getting worse and worse. There were times when she had no bowel movement for 8 days. She always went at least 3/4 days without any BM. Her mood would get very cranky and we'd spend whole days at home when she'd do her 'dance' running around, pulling up her knees to her tummy, holding it in. It was torturous watching her go through this. She'd have to skip school because she was in such misery. Also, she's been doing her pees in the toilet for a year and yet no poops in the potty ever. She's been terrified of pooping from the start. The Doctor was useless. Recommended seeing a psychologist and a pediatric gastro specialist. I was under the impression that this was a very rare case, all my daughter's peers are potty trained and no constipation problems at all. Anyhow, your website was a God-send. Here's what I did and I hope this will prove helpful to those of you who are suffering from a similar problem. Trust me, it works, it does require patience though.
First of all, I kept my daughter from school for a few days and focused on her diet. The Metamucil she just would not take. So I bought something called 'Yummi Bears' Fiber chews (their website is www.yummibears.com). I gave her 4 yummi bear chews a day. This is free of anything artificial, just fiber from chicory root. The first few days I also gave her 'Benefiber'. This is a powder that comletely dissolves in liquid and has no taste or color whatsoever. I fed her a lot of kidney beans which have a very high fiber content as well as vegetable soups with red lentils and olive oil in them. That took care of the fiber part of the diet. It is really essential that you have enough water intake to wash down all that fiber in the body. So I gave her water, water, water, water. When she'd protest, I told her it was either the water or a suppository at the doctor's office and of course she picked the former. As far as the mineral oil is concerned, I was lucky because she did not mind the taste. Until she made a BM, I gave her 2 table spoons of MO at bedtime. However, after a few BMs, I switched to giving a half teaspoon of flax oil a day. I also add a lot of olive oil to her food. I started to keep a potty chart on the bathroom door, giving her a star everytime she sat on the potty for at least 5 minutes. We pick a book and read it. To my amazement, she stopped running away as soon as she felt BM approaching. This happened after 2 weeks of the new regimen and potty training. She actually made a BM for the first time ever a few days ago. I've not felt so happy in a long time. She was amazed herself. I think you have to pick a certain time of the day (for us, just before bedtime) to pick a longing story and take it and have them sit on the potty until BM happens. I just want to thank everybody on this board who shared their insights and tips. Our story is proof that fiber and water and some oil really help solve this problem. Thanks everyone!!!

Re: Constipation and Stool Withholding -- Testimonial!

Re: Constipation and Stool Withholding -- Testimonial!