I'm sure some people get annoyed when moms talk about their kids' bowel problems, but as much as this blog is to keep people up to date on our lives, I also use it as a sort of virtual baby book. I can go back and read about things I may have otherwise forgot, the date this or that happened, etc.
We've had a rough week around here. Basicly, Isabella has been constipated since she was a newborn, even when she was breastfed (although she was also supplemented with a preemie formula which probably didn't help the situation). It seems to be getting worse and worse. It may not sound like that big of deal, but I cannot tell you how hard it is to watch my child scream and cry in pain. This happens almost every day, with last night being the worst, as it had been several days since she had gone. There are days she literally spends hours out of her day, in agony trying to go. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope, I want to help her so bad. She gets prune juice every day, she eats lots of fresh fruits like pears and peaches every day also. I limit foods like cheese and bananas. She also gets mineral oil every night, and sometime I have to resort to giving her suppositories. But the last two nights, even the suppositories and an enema did not work! Yesterday was so bad because she had an impaction, which caused her to have no appetite and a fever even! We almost brought her to the emergency room last night, but I called a nurse and she said to wait and bring her to the clinic first thing today. Thankfully, everything I have given her finally worked this morning, so we didn't have to go to the dr. today. It is just so hard to watch, she screams, cries, and her whole body shakes because she's in so much pain, and the whole time she looks at me with her big blue eyes and franticly does her "help me" sign. There are times I can't even hold her because her bottom is so sore and bleeding. I've tried every suggestion the pediatrician has given me, I don't know what else to do for her. We are trying a chiropractor next week, as I've heard they can sometimes help the situation.
I think, as a parent, one of the worst things you can experience is watching your child suffer. You would give anything to take all the suffering away, and go through it yourself instead. And it doesn't get easier as they get older, because I watched Monte's parents when he was at his absolute worst with his Crohn's Disease, we couldn't help but think the worst, as a relative of a friend of his parents had just died of Crohn's around that time. His dad always said he would give anything to take his place. And then I think of all the people who have kids with cancer or other diseases, one of my good friends has a first grader with diabetes. These people have been given great strength to endure everything! Also, it really hit me last night as I was laying wide awake in bed. Now that I'm a parent I can put myself in Mary's shoes, not only did she have to endure watching her Son's terrible suffering, but also watching Him die on a cross! Mary, pray for us.
8 comments:
Hi, Angela. I hope you don't mind if I chime in with some thoughts on gut health, encopresis and probiotics. You're certainly doing lots of things right, with the fiber, fruit, mineral oil, and limiting foods that are binding. But does your dd receive any probiotics or magnesium daily? Has she ever been on antibiotics, especially in the NICU after she was born? For ear infections, etc? Antibiotics kill off the good bacteria (gut flora) that are so vital for normal bowel movements. If your dd is lacking the right bacteria in her gut, chronic constipation can follow. Here are a few links for your research:
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=78958-probiotics-constipation-gut-health
http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e0498803-7f62-4563-8d47-5fe33da65dd4&chunkiid=21590
I'm very familiar with unbalanced gut flora issues, because of my 7yo ds, Jack. His problems were the opposite though, chronic diarrhea. We had extensive stool testing done on him, and the results showed no detectable level of a particular "good" bacteria in his gut. We did an aggressive supplementation of that particular flora (and a few others) for about 4 months, and his BMs have improved immensely. They are completely normal now. There are many other cases of the same result with children suffering chronic constipation. It's certainly worth trying out on your daughter, since her symptoms are so acute.
Magnesium is another route to look at for chronic constipation/encopresis. If you would like to email me privately, I can help you with some very inexpensive, practical ways to get magnesium into her (Epsom salt baths are best), and help you choose a good quality probiotic.(there are lots of bad ones, so it's important to get a good one in order to not waste your money)
I've been where you are, and it is frustrating. But I have a lot of hard-won experience that I'm happy to share, if you're interested. Sorry to hog your comments box with so much "poop" talk. :)And sorry if you already know all this, which I think you might since you have a husband with gut issues as well.
Michelle Halpin (Brenda Lamey's sister)
quicksilvergirl75@hotmail.com
Oh, gee Angela. How sad. I know what you mean about watching your own kid's suffering - it is definitely tough. Part of the sacrifice of parenting, I guess. I hope the chiropractor (sp) works for her!!
Michelle,
Thank you so much for your input, and for those links, I look forward to reading them. She's been really healthy, and has never been on antibiotics since we've had her home from the hospital. However, you brought up a good point - she was on IV antibiotics for a week straight while in the NICU (I think a precaution for all preemies, not sure). She does get YoBaby yogurt everyday, but perhaps that's not enough. We have some really good probiotic powder from a natural health dr. for Monte. That might help her as well. And I have not heard of using magnesium, so thank you! I will email you sometime.
I'm glad the links were helpful. The fact that your dd had IV antibiotics for a week after a preemie birth certainly does give me pause, as you say she's had the constipation problems since birth, too. Not a coincidence. IV antibiotics are strong medicine, and will kill off not only the bad bacteria, but all the good bacteria in the gut as well. I would strongly suspect that she has unbalanced gut flora.
I'm not sure what brand of probiotics you already have, but I'd like to recommend that you get a very high-potency probiotic for Isabella, one that has Bifidobacter and Lactobacillus Acidophilus. These two strains of bacteria are the most important for a child's digestive tract. They are the big colonizers in the gut. There are many, many brands out there, some good, some bad. I hope you don't mind if I make some suggestions, since I've tried and researched many of them, and hope I can save you some money. :)
Culturelle is a shelf-stable probiotic that is mostly L. acidophilus; it is a real workhorse in the probiotic market. Excellent product, can usually find it at Walgreens or other drug stores. iherb.com is a great online resource for the lowest prices:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=7797
Culturelle doesn't need to be refrigerated, but it's just about the only good probiotic that DOESN'T. Most others do, and you should buy them refrigerated and keep them refrigerated. Capsules are better than loose powder; just open them, mix it in a liquid or into her yogurt and you're good to go. Get a high potency probiotic; look for numbers in the billions, and while you may start slow with it, be aggressive with the dose after a couple of days/week. It may take a month or two of supplementation before the gut can be sufficiently colonized and you see improvement in her stools.
A good Bifidobacter is Jarrow Bifidus Balance:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=375&at=0
This is a refrigerated product and is shipped with a cold pack by iherb.com. This is the Bifido we used with Jack, whose stool tests indicated a complete lack of this crucial flora. Within a couple of months of aggressive supplementation, his stools were back to normal. So I know it works.
You're correct about the YoBaby; the levels of good bacteria in most commerically available yogurts are nowhere near enough to recolonize the gut. But if you open the probiotic capsules and dump them in the yogurt for her, she'll probably take them no problem. If she won't, email me for sneaky suggestions! :)
Re: magnesium. The best way to get magnesium into a young child is Epsom Salt Baths. Epsom Salts are just Magnesium Sulfate. Just go to the pharmacy section of your local store and buy a bag of Epsom Salts. Add 1/2 cup to your daughter's bath water everynight (and increase as needed to see results...most kids get diarrhea if too much is used, so you can very safely increase it until you see results. We use about a cup per bath.) and let her play. You can also drink the salts dissolved in warm water (per the directions on the bag ONLY, and not regularly), but it tastes pretty bad, so the bath is a painless way to do it. We use these with Jack and Liam every night, and it really works well.
I hope I haven't irritated you by dumping all this information in your comments. I read your blog ocassionally (linked through my sister's) and think you have a lovely family. :) I'm not much for commenting on others' blogs, but if I see someone in a situation I've been in, a situation where I have a lot of research and knowledge to share, then I try to comment. I hate to see others suffer what I've been through. So many other moms of Autistic and Leaky Gut kids have helped me along the way by passing on valuable information, I like to do the same when I can. My apologies if I have burdened you, though I hope something here may help your daughter. Constipation is so awful for a kid; but I think a trial of Magnesium and Probiotics may really help her.
Best to you, and God bless you in your efforts!
Michelle H.
No burdens at all! I am so grateful for all this information, and your willingness to help us! I am very glad I decided to post about this. We have some Epsom Salts on hand, so we'll start that tonight. Thanks again!
Gosh Angela, that is so sad.
But it's funny - before I even clicked on the comment link I was going to tell you to talk to Brenda's sister Michelle!!! (she knows everything :)
I commented earlier but see it didn't work. I was cracking up at the LONG anon comment and thought "that's got to be Michelle" and sure enough. She DOES know everything and is an encyclopedia of helpful information. I use the culturelle myself and it is awesome! It helps with the bathroom business but I also find it is great at staving off yeast infections which I always had when my sugar was out of control.
And I hope it gets better. Inearly cried when I read the part about Isabella signing "help me" when she was in so much pain. I know you feel so helpless and I empathize with you. Iknow these remedies will work for you! Keep us posted.
Glad to be helpful, Angela. :)
Very funny, girls. (wry smile inserted here) No, I don't know everything, but on a few particular topics, I know just about everything there is to know. What can I say? I'm a research freak who happens to have a child with multiple health/learning/behavior issues. I don't have any other choice! :)
M
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