Hi all-

I was wondering if anyone could give me ANY tips or facts on helping my 2 1/2 year old son? He is so irregular. He will go for days and days without pooping. Per Dr.'s orders, I have given him all the over-the-counter Pedialyte tabs, stool softener, Fiber Gummies, I can give him. He doesn't eat any dairy, and I feed him veggies, and at home he eats what I eat. But it seems that if he even has a potatoe, or even some whole wheat pasta, it sets it off. Can anyone help? I honestly have given up on Western Medicine, and he's the sweetest little guy you can imagine, and is VERY active (he runs all over, so it is not a lack of exercise).  Should he go on an entire veggie diet, superhero? etc.  I'm at my wits end and I am just hoping someone can point me into the right direction. Below is a pic. (I HAD to..I"m a mom)

Have you tried prunes or prune juice at all?

He's a cutie.  I'd hate to recommend something in the event there is a medical reason for this happening.  The only thing I might ask is if he is getting enough fats.

My son had issues with that when he was little.  The doctor prescribed 1 teaspoon of flax oil mixed into a small bowl of apple sauce, one time a day. He would have it with his breakfast. He was a little older, around 6, so maybe you can ask your doctor how much would be appropriate? It worked wonders for my son.  

Thanks! I'll ask about that! Yes, I've given him tons of prune juice, etc., and we have a Dr.'s appt. on Monday. He seems relatively healthy, and he seems happy, so its not slowing him down at all, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any natural remedies at all.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if he is getting enough fats. I'll ask his dr. that as well.

Thank you!

When he goes is it super hard/constipated?  I know most of us are more regular, but I have a friend who only goes once every week or so!!!! I know, crazy,  I didn't believe her.  She actually has a pretty crummy fast food processed food diet, but she says that's how she's always been!!  Doctors have tried things but nothing works, and she seems ok and isn't straining when she goes, so they say it's just her body.  Is it possible that that's all he needs to go? 

Maybe? The dr. said 3-5 days, but that seems like a lot, especially because he's a non-dairy, veggie kid. Who knows, maybe i'm freaking out, but its just seems like a really long time...and he REALLY likes food...:)

Honestly, if it doesn't seem to be hurting him, and the doc says 3-5 days, maybe that's just him.  Is it a normal bm when he goes?  I wouldn't stress too much if he seems happy and seems to feel well...  I've always had one with the opposite problem!  We've put her through numerous tests that make me angry b/c I feel now they were unneccessary.  It's still a little up in the air if she has celiac's yet, but I'm unwilling to do the invasive test at this point.  I started using culterelle to keep her regular, and it works miracles.  My doc supports it.  I think it works to regulate bm's whichever way it needs to go, it's also vegan.  I just sprinkle it in yogurt, applesauce, or chocolate soymilk. 

Is he potty trained? For the longest time while potty training my son, he would pee in the potty without issue, but absolutely refused to poo there - he had to wear a diaper/Pull-up.  And he would hold it for days and then the poo would be rock-hard. Finally, after much frustration, I just refused to put him in a diaper.  He had a very painful 1.5 days waiting me out (to the point where I felt like caving in), but finally he decided that he had to go worse than whatever fear kept him from using the toilet.  Ever since then, his movements have been nice and soft.

could you just eliminate foods for a few days at a time and see if there is a trigger - like wheat is a super common allergen, comb through every ingredient of everything he eats and for one week go wheat/gluten free and see what happens, if no result, do the same with soy.  cant' hurt, can it?

 When we eat something that does not agree with our system it can take one of two actions. Dumping is when the school is moved very quickly through the bowel and the person as a tendency towards diarrhea right after eating. Constipation may result when the body  is unable to digest something. The bowel just keeps working on the food trying in vain to take it apart.

 I agree with Ann. You may want to consider putting your son on a diet that is free of all gluten. It is kind of a pain but if gluten is the culprit in your son's case, his bowels will move more frequently within 10 days to two weeks. If there is no change within that period of time, gluten is not the culprit and you can move on to try another common food or ingredient. Soy  or corn syrup or some other common ingredient can be the culprit.

 If whole wheat pasta causes the reaction then it is less likely that it would also because by potato. If the elimination plan does not work out or if you do find that you are son's constipation results from many food groups, be cautious with remedies. We prefer the use of foods to balance the system rather than relying on laxatives. Even natural laxatives can reduce the body's ability to move its own bowel on its own.

ok...  He had x-rays yesterday and it turns out he had impacted waste (not to be graphic, but I guess it happens), so I had to give him some Mirelax (which is like Metamucil), and it helped him this morning. But the poor kid shouldn't have to be on this for 2-3 months (which is what my Dr. told me). And she stressed the no-dairy. I will try removing some foods to see if there are any triggers.

Hi Megan,

I'd be interested to see how that works for you. The exact same thing happened to my mother and sister! The doctor just said it just happened, and didnt really come up with any reasons why (after drinking lots of water, increasing fibre, and taking laxatives did nothing to hlep). So if you find a trigger that'd be really helpful! My sister recovered quite quickly, but my mum still has to take medicated laxatives every so often.

My son has the same problem. He's goes on medication for months, I'll take him off and then he ends back on. He eats very healthy, lots of fiber, healthy fats, very rarely processed foods.

He's on the Mirelax now, but I don't want it to be something where he's going to have to be on this forever. Next week I'll start taking some foods away and seeing if anything changes, and I'll keep you all posted. Its just funny, I know kids that eat fast food and horrible - they are ok. My kid, no dairy, veggies, protein - impacted. Who knew?