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5 yr old with bowel issues

My son has had many issues with bowel movements over the last 3 years. We've tried numerous things and even switched from a trusted doctor to a pediatrician because we didn't feel we were getting the info and service we needed.

He began having pooping issues shortly after his second birthday. We noticed he hadn't been pooping and called the doctor. He said to try laxatives or suppositories to see if that helped. It only seemed to make things worse. He would be crying uncontrollably and he developed bloody sores on his butt from small amounts of poop coming out. After almost a week of this, we took him in and the doctor suggested a reduced dose of Miralax. We tried that for almost two days and he finally pooped. ALOT. It was easily as long as his leg but somewhat slender (2in diameter). After that incident, we took him off the Miralax and the problem persisted. Same outcome. The doctor then suggested a high fiber diet. We began loading up on certain fruits, grains, etc. We also tried increasing the amount of fluids he drank in a day. Same issues. The only time he didn't have issues is if we game him Miralax. The doctor suggested keeping him on a reduced dose. So we did. For almost a year and a half.

We began to be concerned about what a year and a half of Miralax could do to a toddler, so we took him off. The doctor never really answered our concern so we decided to switch to a pediatrician. After meeting with the pediatrician, she suggested more Miralax. Since that wasn't acceptable to us, we decided to try another option. He met with a Chiropractor twice a month for some massages and adjusting and it seemed to work. He would become very gassy afterward and within 24 hrs of the meeting, he would have a movement. We continued the chiropractic appointments for 3 months with great success. We then learned of PlumSmart juice and game him a glass of that everyday along with a good diet with no more complications for almost 8 months!!

As of a week ago, everything has come back. He cries when he has the urge to poop and his butt is becoming irritated from some soiling in his underwear.

This just doesn't seem normal by any means. Nobody is giving us answers that make sense to us and its becoming very frustrating, Is there anything we've missed? Should we be trying something else? Should we see some other kind of doctor? Should we just keep giving him Miralax and hope that one day his body will figure out how to balance itself?

Please help!!

a VERY concerned dad
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replied January 4th, 2012
I am going through the same thing with my 4 year old. The doctor said keep him on Miralax but I don't know what the long term side effects are. My child gets so backed up that he can't sleep or eat. It will take him days to actually get all of it out. I wish I had advice but I'm searching just like you.
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replied June 22nd, 2012
Extremely eHealthy (online)
Not sure what Miralax is but it can't be good to be taking it for long whatever age you happen to be...

I am not an expert but I think nature has better things to offer - a balanced diet with sufficient oils and fats to begin with and lots of clear fluids. Reduce refined sugar intake and processed foods to the absolute minimum and avoid caffeine and such like...
Adding some pre-biotic foods would also be good.

A good diet will, after an adjustment period, help the digestive tract process and move the food through the gut quickly to the bowel where it is stored temporarlily until the body recognises this and provides muscle spasms that puts pressure on the anus until evacuation can take place...

If the gut is working correctly and a stool is formed and is reaching the bowel without problems the trouble is clearly with evacuation - either because the muscle spasms aren't occurring or have been disrupted in some way, or the stool is too dry and hard or too large to pass.
A 2 inch diameter stool is quite large enough for a young boy to pass.
Pooping is something of an unpleasant and scary process for a young boy. If he passed a hard stool sometime and it hurt it will be quite frightening and he will resist the urge to go - ignoring the pressure on his anus and the muscle spasms that cause it, sometimes managing to over-ride the natural urge to defecate altogether...

Routine is important to establish a body clock - encouraging him to have a hot drink and some breakfast each morning and then sitting on the lavatory for five minutes each day even if he doesn't need to go will be a beginning and might help dispel any fears he has, especially if you lead by example...

The right diet should mean hard and uncomfortable stools are a thing of the past but just in case you could lubricate his anus with some petroleum jelly to aid the passage and decrease any fear he might have!

Explaining as well as you can how the digestive system works can't do any harm and telling him he is hurting his body if he resists the urge to go too much might also be good.

Including some senna tea in his bedtime drink might also help establish that all-important routine - it is a quite natural aid to good bowel habits and has been used for centuries...
Avoiding anti-spasmodics is also good. Peppermint is one of several common things that has that effect.

I feel the underlying cause is fear of pain and discomfort and/or of lavatories (not unusual) and this has resulted in the disruption or suppression of the natural bowel spasms...

I wish you good luck...
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