Walt I'm back again,
Our 2 yr. old developed a pretty significant bout of constipation a few weeks ago. We had to use a glycerin suppository. He was none-to-happy about this. Seems that he is now trying not to have a bowel movement and is rather cranky (I'm being very diplomatic here). Our theory is that the suppositiory experience has caused him to begin witholding.
We manage to get some prune juice and water into him. He eats veggies reasonably well and fruit too. We tried bran muffins too. We've also reduced dairy products. Leafy greens were suggested, but I don't know many 2 yr. olds who are keen on salads. Our's is not one.
Any other suggestions?
I massaged his tummy last night thinking that may help relax him and get his system moving. I really didn't have a clue what I was doing though.
Thanks
Peter
In Reply to: Constipation in 2 yr. old posted by Peter Wray on May 09, 1998 at 07:27:46:
Dear Peter,
This problem is so fresh that it will not be hard to resolve it. I am sure that your assessment of the problem is correct: this is a VERY common way for these to get started.
I would not offer him anything that was not laced with psyllium powder. I WOULD avoid milk & fruit juices.
You have to get him up to enough psyllium seed (Metamucil --or Equate if you have a Walmart) that he has at least 2-3 BMs a day. They will be soft, easy to move and he will not be able to withold them. You might even have some "accidents" at first. Better that than developing the terrible problem that "witholding" can become.
I would not offer him ANYTHING to eat that did not have lots of fiber in it already. That will reduce the amount of psyllium you will need to sneak into his diet to resolve this.
If you are persistant, this will be over in a few weeks. He is NOT old enough to know what is best for him to eat so he will just eat what tastes good. This might be OK if stuff was not refined since the stuff that tastes good would also have the other things his system needs. Refined foods have the fiber removed so he gets the taste (concentrated) but not the "whole" thing. If he refuses to eat, don't worry about it. Just offer him what he needs the next meal & pay no attention to his begging in the meantime. Kids this age are trapped inside a growing body and will eat when they get hungry enough UNLESS you give in. A child this age could go at least a week without ANYTHING but water with no danger whatsoever.
Let me know if you have more questions since NOW is the time to "nip this in the bud".
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Constipation in 2 yr. old posted by Walt Stoll on May 11, 1998 at 10:11:32:
Thanks once again Walt,
We followed your advice and significantly reduced his intake of dairy and fruit juices, while increasing his fibre and whole foods. And whammo! The problem is resolved for now. We'll stick with this to ensure that the problem doesn't recure and create a vicious cycle.
It is good to know that we can offer him products such as Metamucile with no ill effects. He loves humus, so we are able to slip it in in that.
Thanks again.
Peter
In Reply to: Re: esterified vitamin C posted by Kyra on May 14, 1998 at 18:16:52:
Kyra,
You seem really knowledge about LGS and associated problems.
I too have food alergies, CONSTIPATION, [15+ years], candida and everything that could possibly be tied to LGS.
You mentioned ester C helps with constipation
in the right dosage. Would you expand on that please.
Have tried vitamin c [just small dosage]in the past, but it seemed to make my face break out. [pretty bad too] I know I have a long road ahead of me, but feel this is a #1 priority, that being good elimination.
Thanks for your time
George
In Reply to: Re: Constipation in 2 yr. old posted by Peter Wray on May 13, 1998 at 00:48:31:
Dear Peter,
Thanks for the testimonial. Why is it that practitioners of the conventional monopoly find it so hard to deal with this?
I know! Rhetorical Question!
Walt
In Reply to: Re: esterified vitamin C posted by George on May 15, 1998 at 00:41:14:
Dear George,
You asked about the "right dosage" of vitamin C for getting rid of constipation. I've always had to trust my intuition to determine that ideal dose which produces a normal bowel movement but stops short of inducing diarrhea. Sometimes the balance can be tricky. For me it is unarguably easier to determine this ideal dosage using esterified C. "Regular" vitamin C has always felt to me like lousy quality ascorbic acid, which causes severe gut irritation and burning along with sometimes unexpected bouts of diarrhea. I got by on eliminating constipation using "regular" vitamin C for years. Then inexplicably (at least to me), the laxative effect and even any other beneficial effects simply stopped, even when I was taking 20 grams at a single sitting, even on an empty stomach. Then, through Walt, I found out about esterified C, and having found my right dose I'm having up to 2, and somtimes 3 absolutely normal and huge BMs a day. From my own experience I'd suggest increasing your dosage of esterified C relatively slowly, so your gut has a chance to get used to it. For me, "relatively slowly" may be different than what it is for you. For me it's probably "quite rapid." My gut tolerance of esterified C went from 5 grams a day to 20 grams a day within the course of a week, at which point I started having loose stools. Then I cut back to 17 grams, 15 grams, 12 grams, and back up to 14 grams over the course of two weeks. Fourteen grams just feels like the right place to be. I don't have any IBS symptoms that I'm aware of, though. For you it feels like maybe starting at 250 mg, than working up to 500 mg, and continuing upwards in a similar manner until you intuitively determine your own "right dosage" might be the way to go. You may never require the amount of esterified C that my body likes. I also take 4 324 mg tabs of betaine hydrochloride with pepsin (any brand seems to do the trick) with each meal to ensure complete digestion of whatever it is I'm eating, whether it be meat of any kind, tofu, or vegetables. I don't know if this is a good idea for you or not. I apparently produce very little stomach acid at this point in my healing (or maybe that's just my natural state. My dietary requirements cycle monthly between vegetarianism and carnivory. Since I'm gluten intolerant, I don't know if betaine would help in digesting grains. Four tabs of betaine of betaine per meal seems like a high dose to me, and might send you into burning agony. All I know is I do better when I take the stuff at that dosage, and never even experience a twinge of gastric upset.
Hope this helps, and happy healing! Sounds like you've been through hell,
Kyra
P.S. One caution about buying esterified C. Check the label to make soure that there isn't any added niacinamide or whatever. I don't know why manufacturers sometimes add other stuff to what's at first look pure esterified C, but they do. I'd rather know that the effect I'm getting is from the esterified C alone. Along those lines, I'd suggest trying the esterified C alone before experimenting with betaine (if you haven't already tried it or even want to try it.)
For two years now our son cannot, or will not, stool without
help of some kind.
We have been to doctors, children's hospital...
Xray last March showed enlarged area filled with stool.
We did get that shrunk to normal size and the leaking stopped for a while! It's back again!
Senekot and enema's, Ducolax,kondermul, milk of magnesia, mineral oil, and as of late now citrecel have proven useless after all this time. Nothing seems to work. Whole food diet- he has a pretty healthy diet, at least I think he does. Won't eat many different fruits or veggies, but the ones he will he does eat every day! Also give high fiber foods every day. Wonder lite bread, cherrios ...even snacks containing sorbitol!
Iv'e read lots of comments and a great deal of what you have published here, but I am so totally frustrated and tired of it all I write to ask What else can I do????
For the past week, I have given citrecel (approx. 1-2 T daily) and MO at bedtime, with absolutely no results except for Constant and I do mean Constant soiling. It reeks,(the smell) and the stool is impossible for my son to remove from his skin- it's like tar! Can you recommend anything else that will help?
He starts a summer school kindergarten program in three weeks, and I am afraid he will not be able to attend, because he can't stool! He has to go to school in the fall- I am running out of time here!
How can I help him?
Carol
In Reply to: 5yr old boy-chronic constipation posted by Carol Tessmer on May 29, 1998 at 12:23:37:
Hi Carol, I will try to write to you again. I had a note all ready to send, and was disconnected from the server. Grrr!When I read your plea for help, it brought back memories. We had similar problems with our son. They actually started when he was a baby, and became most obvious when he was a toddler. The constant soiling was such a problem, and we tried many of the things you did, to no avail. We saw family practitioners, pediatritian, and traditional allergists. We finally found help with a doctor who found he was allergic to many things, the worst being sugar and wheat. I would lstrongly suspect your sone to have allergies, but you are unlikely to find help in traditional medicine, I'm afraid. Doctors who are into environmental allergies, etc. are more likely to be helpful.
There is a wonderful doctor, Dr. Doris Rapp, who has written some very good books in this area, one is titled, "Is This Your Child?" Your brief description of your son and his eating habits sound very typical of an allergic child. They tend to be picky eaters, and may dislike many of the foods to which they are allergic, and they may actually crave others to which they are sensitive (it can be an addiction, actually.) These kids often have behavior problems, such as hyperactivity or learning disabilities, etc. There is a whole host of symptoms that may be sensitivities to something they are eating, drinking, smelling, touching or breathing, and when you find out what that is and take care of it, you have a different child. I feel so sorry for so many kids and their families who have these problems, because no only does the traditional medical community not recognize these things, they often bash the idea. Do get the book. I strongly suspect it will be a great help to you. By the way, our story with our son has a wonderful ending. He is 23 years old, was an honor student all through school, became an Eagle Scout, graduated from college with highest honors last May, and has just completed his first year of law school. We did decide to wait until he was six to start him in kindergarten, and that proved to be a wonderful decision in our case. You might want to consider that. There are other good books, and if you are interested, I might be able to find names of doctors in your area who could be helpful. I'll remember you in prayer.
In Reply to: 5yr old boy-chronic constipation posted by Carol Tessmer on May 29, 1998 at 12:23:37:
Dear Carol,
You still have plenty of time IF you will do what we have been discussing about this that you have read on this BB.
The first thing I would do is at least double the citrucel & MO. It is true that you will have to go through a period (less thatn 2 weeks) of his not being able to control leakage but you have no choice with this history.
Also, I would only offer him (non-starchy) vegetables & brown rice to eat. If he doesn't eat it, he is not hungry enough. I will stick my neck out here & guess that the vegetables he "likes" are the starchy ones like potatoes, corn, beans & peas.
Once this problem is resolved for 3-6 months, you will no longer have to worry so long as the only things you offer him to eat are high fiber vegies & brown rice. The main reason I would limit him to that is for the transtion to the school environment where he will cheat on his diet. Once that transition has been made, you can start easing up on the diet. You will soon see when the stool problem starts coming back.
The main reason for resolving this before school is not that he will soil himself into ridicule by the kids and be expelled by the teacher--even thouugh these are things it would take him a lifetime to live down. The real problem is that you will no longer have the opportunity to be in complete control of his diet once he goes to school. Even now, he has too much choice. Till this is resolved, he must have NO choice.
If you still have more questions after re-reading everything you can find about this problem on this 'site--in light of these comments--write again.
Done right, this approach cannot fail since it takes into account the physiologic AND psychologic factors always behind this problem.
Walt
In Reply to: 5yr old boy-chronic constipation posted by Carol Tessmer on May 29, 1998 at 12:23:37:
First thing before any medication he must drink prune juice with every meal.
Second let him eat a lot of dried prunes, to see if there is any change.