2/12/13

Drew's tummy troubles

  Our little Drew man has struggled with constipation from a very young age. He's always had trouble and no matter what he eats or drinks nothing seems to help. Around 12 months old we were instructed by our then pediatrician to start him on Miralax and that seemed to help for a while. Now mind you our child loves milk, he would drink a half gallon of milk a day if I let him and would eat a brick of cheese if given the chance. Two things not helping his digestive system. After we started Drew on Miralax we had hoped that his diet would improve and that his issues would subside.  Well, his diet has improved a bit but the issues have not.

    As Drew has gotten older the problems he's having have just gotten worse. He strains to have a bowel movement so much so he screams and cries when having one.  He goes days, sometimes almost a week without having one and is visibly uncomfortable. He will tell us his tummy hurts, and no matter what we try nothing helps. We've tried tummy massage, a warm bath, filling him with fluids, fruit, fiber, lowering his milk and cheese intake, you name it, we've tried it. We even have gotten to the point of giving him glycerin suppositories and those used to work but now, those just come right back out. This past two months have been really awful and my heart just breaks for Drew. Two weeks ago it was so bad we called the pediatricians office two days before our appointment and asked what we could do right then to give him some relief. The nurse called back after speaking with our pediatrician and instructed us to give him an at home enema. I had no clue that they sold enemas to administer yourself, not to mention pediatric ones! Later that week we just happen to have well baby visits for both kids but it just so happened that they both were really sick, and we needed to talk to our doctor about Drew's tummy troubles. He told us that this happens to a lot of kids and that he'd like to up his Miralax to essentially clean him out and then back it off to get him regular. Then we'd do a follow up appointment and possibly refer us to a gastroenterologist. He then felt Drew's belly and saw how backed up he was he then doubled the dosage of Miralax to clean Drew out.

  We've now cleaned Drew out, he's been constipated again, we've had to give him another enema and we have our follow up appointment today. We are hoping for some sort of game plan from here on out. Our little boy is in pain and my heart aches for him. I know the situation could be much worse but you never want to see your child in pain. I would love to hear from any parents that have gone through something similar with their child. I have no idea what our pediatrician is going to tell us today, other than possibly referring us to GI specialist. All I know is that we need something that can help Drew and at this point we are willing to try just about anything. Any good thoughts or prayers you can spare for the little man are much appreciated. We want to get this under control so he can be his happy go lucky self, free of discomfort and pain.





 

5 comments:

Brad & Rachel said...

Our oldest daughter was the exact same way as Drew. Miralax didn't help on a long term basis and every bowel movement was torture for all of us. We started giving her an 8 oz glass of prune juice every day. It sounds so simple but for her, it worked. She has had only the occasional problem since and we have been able to back her down on the juice and only do 4 oz a day now.

Hay Hay said...

I could have written this post myself. We are going through the exact same thing with Lincoln. He will get the urge, and hold it because it hurts him so much. It's the worst. :(

Mrs. W said...

Rea has been the same way- my brother suggested Gerber pear juice- worked amazingly! She gets 4 oz twice a week and no more issues. Good luck I feel your pain!

Mrs. W said...

Rea went through the same thing-my brother suggested Gerber pear juice. It worked amazingly! She gets 4oz twice a week- you may need to give more depending on severity. Good luck!

Heather said...

Hi! I clicked on the "next blog" from my blog and landed here!

My son struggled/still struggles with constipation.

When we were living in Australia the pharmacist explained than when you are constipated, your bowel gets stretched out, and consequently it can clog up more frequently (she said it much more scientifically sounding, though).

She recommended Genlac (lactulose) stool softener. It is not a laxative, the bacteria in the bowel break the lactulose down into acids which pull water into the bowel which help to soften the stools. It doesn't lead to the loss of minerals or nutrients.

In the US, it is prescription-only, but it might be worth considering.

Good luck!

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