Constipation

January 8, 2008

yes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, broccoli (although that can be gassy) - just watch

out because when they kick in, they REALLY kick in!! ;-)

Sherry and Josh

aigjr@... wrote:

Liz, constipation is a constant issue for our daughter. First, bananas

always constipated my older son when he was younger. So, you might want to

exclude

them. You need to go heavy on the liquids since hasn't gone in five days.

Warm liquids (soup) helps encourage a movement. Also, to help the immediate

problem, I would try mineral oil which will take a couple/few days to work. We

have a prescription for miralax, but to be honest, I prefer not to use it. One

time when my daughter was seriously constipated, the doctor suggested

milk-a-magnesia which did work like a charm and didn't cause discomfort.

For maintenance, I have found lots of liquids (again she loves soups),

mangoes are great (aren't citrus, so may work for you), lots of veggies-find

some

veggie your child likes-my daughter likes salads with the artichoke hearts

that come in a vinaigrette (see costco),cut celery sprinkled with balsamic

vinegar, cut cucumbers with salt, anise,etc.

Also, pumpkin is great for constipation (I believe sweet potatoes too). We

roast pumpkin in the oven with butter, but I heard canned pumpkin is a great

laxative too.

Good luck, Carolyn

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January 8, 2008

April,

The constipation issue was in my NT kid. Bowel issues in LD kids are

common but not addressed well. Allergen and genetic issues need to be

looked into. Did the bowel develop in a way that makes it

malfunction, is it part of a syndrome? Is it related to unaddressed

autoimmune disease or allergin? These are the things I looked at in

my son with delays.

In my son we think it was fluoride, cerebral milk allergy and gluten

sensitivity. There may be more so we are still looking.

If you need a basic GI workup and the testing talked about on this

board Dr. Baldridge in Philly is your guy. He is good for that, does

not know supplements and actually told me we could take all the CLO

we wanted...Hello! His nurse wanted me to go elsewhere as he is in

her opinion, just learning.

A bigger workup, especially if celiac, can be gotten by Dr. Verma at

CHOP. She is intrigued by fish oil and E, would read Dr. 's

study, but does not know much about DQ1 and what it can do.

If you want to see a metabolic Neuro, I have heard good things about

Dr. Marks at St. Chris's in Philly. He won't recognize apraxia per

say but will look at your child's collective learning delays and

investigate them for a metabolic cause.

Miralax is antifreeze. I don't know about the other stuff.

Is he getting and absorbing B vitamins? Any methylation interruption?

Sorry for all the Philly references...it is home to me so I go there

when in trouble. Plus, I just could not find anyone around here and

when I did I did not hear any good things about them.

Please consider this. Even if it all comes back normal there has to

be some help for this.

Liz

>

> We have a constipation issue and I have read that many kids have

> issues with bowel retention and sensory issues but many kids that

> have some LD have major bowel issues in general. Our issues have

> been the frequency of bowel is actually related to our son's fear

of

> the poop being yucky and gross (his words) and he freaks out even

> seeing our dog poop. So once we had off pull ups at 3.5 he

> would only run outside and poop in the playhouse and when it got

> called and he turned four yrs old he began poopin in his underwear

> and will not sit to poop. He tells us he will need to pee and acts

> upset and scared when he sees he has messes. It's a major issue.

We

> had him to a Pediatric GI specialist who has never worked with

> Autistic kids per say but did see a few. He has had success with

> Miralax (which we did not have any luck) and now a prescribed ped

> laxative called constulose. The goal is for our son to pass normal

> stool 3X a week but so far we have not managed the correct dose and

> have only done 1X week. I have eliminated rice milk, bananas, lots

> of bread or breaded foods with limited success. We pray that this

> problem is one of many temporary phases that he will learn from and

> we grow from but from where we currently stand it's frustrating and

> upsetting. Having to restrain your kid to give an enema is enough

to

> make you want to run out for a beer or a good therapist!

>

> April in NJ

>

January 8, 2008

I know what you mean with regards to the alternative issue. I am a pretty

straight shooter and not a tree hugger but this world has changed me! I am now

hugging the trees!

If your child has chronic constipation then she is sick.... her body is telling

you the truth and you must do what you need to do to get rid of the

constipation. First, you want to try to get her flowing and then you need to

find out why she is getting constipation. Usually this is a reaction to foods

but it could be something else..... take a look around at when it occurs and

play detective.

To learn a little more about the DAN approach, I watched the webcasts at

www.autism.com. You need to look for them inside the site do a search since

they are kind of hidden but they are extremely informative and enlightening. I

have been a therapy girl for a long time now (years & years) but since changing

diet & adding key supplements, my son is doing much, much better. Of course,

the therapy works with this and I still believe that we have made most of our

progress with therapy.

The issue is.... when our children are sick and they feel lousy all of the time,

it is difficult for them to learn and it is difficult for the therapy & new

skills to stick. We need to be working with healthy children and many of our

children have hidden health issues.

Constipation is really quite dangerous for a child. Amonia builds up in the

system and releases toxins throughout the body. Quite often we think that a

child has diarrhea but in actuality, the child has an impaction in the bowel and

the small diarrhea looking stringy BMs slide past the impaction.

So.... whatever our diet, we really need to get the poop out! Its sooooo

important! Those tummies are really quite sick when they are experiencing

chronic diarhea and constipation.

It is such a difference now that we have Marks BMs under control. Not only is

he feel better about going, he has better colour in his face, he is happier, a

lighter and brighter step and he just generally feels good. Now.... do we get

bouts of it still.... yes, when we have cheated one time too many, Mark will go

through a bad spell. But as his stomach permeability is healing, these episodes

are fewer and fewer.

Quite frankly, Huston Neutraceutical enzymes have been a godsend for our family.

Mark will not eat a morsel of food without taking one. They work for him and he

can absolutely save his day from becoming a living hell with regards to having

to sit all night on the toilet in agony. If there are trace elements of casien,

the enzymes help him to digest it.... they really work for him!

Constipation really can hurt if you have it badly. I can remember some nights

of him really writhing in pain, up until one or two in the morning unable to

make it better.... a nightmare for us..... (not when he was younger and his food

intake smaller) but just last June it got really bad. These episodes forced me

to get serious about resolving it and ferriting out the issues. The child was

in real pain and it was so hard to watch.

Anyway, I am babbling now in my memories of this summer past.

Good night all....

Janice

Mother of Mark, 13

[sPAM][ ] Re: Constipation

OK not to beat a dead horse BUT..... my NT daughter has basically

been constipated since about 3mo old. I finally ditched *most* milk

and milk products in her diet in october and made a concentrated

effort to increase her fruit/veggie intake and she is now pooping

everyother day. Her stools are still " hard " and " large " but we are

all much happier now. After learning so much from you all I made an

appt with with a " wellness consultant " at the holistic store and met

her today.

I have decided to start her on a probiotic, calcium supp, and cod

liver oil. I am tempted to use the suggested enzymes for icecream or

pizza " cheats " but am reluctant to.....I'm not sure why other then to

say she is not " allergic " to milk in my mind just sensitive so the

probiotic should help heal the antibotic damage, the cod liver oil

should help move the bowls along, and the calcium suppliment speaks

for itself. I just am feeling like this is all a little

to " alternative " for me.....time will tell.