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Recommendations for Constipation Related to Bed Wetting


Chelli
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Okay, so my oldest is finally ready to really work on her bed wetting issues. I have read on these boards multiple times where there seems to be a correlation between constipation and bed wetting. I am going here.

 

I need some Dr. HIve recommendations for something to use for a nine-year old, 80 pound girl for constipation.

 

Just some background, we eat whole grain breads, cereals, and oatmeal as much as possible. My oldest Is not a huge vegetable eater, but LOVES fruit. I discovered yesterday that she is not drinking much at all. The first time she had anything to drink was at dinner last night! :scared: We only have water, milk, tea, and cocoa in the house to drink.

 

Despite barely drinking anything all day yesterday, she still wet through her pull-up last night. :confused1:

 

I'm looking for all useful, helpful tips and/or OTC meds to help with constipation in children.

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We had to use Miralax daily for my oldest until we finally got things under control. I think it lasted about 2 months or so. The best things I've found to help are:

 

  • being careful with milk--more than 8-12oz/day seems to constipate my kids
  • allowing one cup of undiluted juice per day when things were at their worst
  • adding Benefiber (we use the generic walmart kind) to all their drinks and cereal--it really does dissolve completely! My ds is extremely sensitive to textures, and he won't go anywhere near water with Miralax in it, but he doesn't mind the Benefiber at all, even when he's seen me add it.
  • Sometimes I require them to drink a small glass of water BEFORE they get a snack. Occasionally, it turns out that they were just thirsty, not hungry, but even when they eat afterwards, I know they've at least had 4oz or so of water towards their daily intake.

 

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Miralax actually made things worse for one of mine. It took a long time to realize the extent of the problem because the Miralax was making some pass, but not all, KWIM? I think it caused a partial impaction. Because of information shared by jessica here, we switch over to a fizzy magnesium supplement (store brand version of Natural Calm) and I think things are finally normal.

 

Beware, some kids actually can become constipated by a high fiber diet, particularly when they do not drink a lot. Like the OP, we had water, milk, tea, cocoa, and occasionally OJ to drink. I've recently added cranberry juice because it's something my non-drinker will drink. Yes, it's added sugar to our diet and upped our food budget, but it does seem to help.

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My DD has always had a very slow bowel/system. We've used miralax on and off, but I'm trying to get her off of it. Now, I keep Kelloggs Cracklin' Oat Bran, Sunsweet orange essence prunes, raisins, lima beans, kidney beans,dates, dried apricots, fiigs, Fig Newton & Berry Newton cookies, cauliflower, squash, zucchini, peaches,pears/Asian pears.blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, tangerines, broccoli, etc. in my house at all times. She only really likes the berries and cookies! I'm continually pushing water on her and she is allowed only so much milk daily. I've had to totally become a warden about it, taking away the Kindle, Smart Phone, laptop and the Wii if she refuses to comply. She MUST stay away from chocolate,ice cream, cheese, and bananas. DH bought her a small container of chocolate milk from Subway a week ago and it has caused NOTHING but problems.

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sometimes there can be a food sensitivity issue . . . are there some days worse than others? you could keep a food diary. but for constipation, you'll see symptoms several days after the food - the opposite is so much easier to see the connection!

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Magnesium citrate. I buy it in the powder form and mix a half tsp with a half to a whole tsp sugar in a small amount of water, nightly, for ds9. I much prefer this to trying to correctly dose miralax. (FWIW, my ds's issues were caused by a tethered spinal cord, so fyi if there happens to be a sacral dimple or other marker, that would be an angle to explore further)

 

Magnesium citrate may also help nighttime wetting for nutritional reasons.

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I would not give something like miralax without confirmation she is actually constipated. Bedwetting can occur for many reasons, constipation is just one of them. Miralax can be very hard on a kid. I have kids that bedwet and kids with constipation but in only 1 case does it overlap. It is all dietary as we are learning for the constipation. We have an appt in March to see a urologist for the bed wetter

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We do the Natural Calm magnesium drink. Definitely get the flavored kind for a kid. It's way cheaper on Amazon than at stores (at least around me). Also flax oil seems to help quite a bit and is otherwise healthy anyway, so it really can't hurt. My kids all LOVE prunes. Have you ever offered them to her for a snack?

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I would not give something like miralax without confirmation she is actually constipated. Bedwetting can occur for many reasons, constipation is just one of them. Miralax can be very hard on a kid. I have kids that bedwet and kids with constipation but in only 1 case does it overlap. It is all dietary as we are learning for the constipation. We have an appt in March to see a urologist for the bed wetter

 

I chose constipation as my first nemesis to deal with because she does have a hard time going. She is also a very, very deep sleeper, but she is tired of wearing pullups, and she usually urinates so much at night that she leaks out of them at least four times a week.

 

Some kids get more constipated with all the grains, wheat, etc. Maybe try taking them out for a week or two?

 

I do call her my carbivore! She's never met a bread, potato, or sugar that she doesn't like. I will definitely try it if some other things don't work.

 

I've read that there's a very high corrolation of milk allergy and intolerances with bed wetting. Have you tried going dairy free?

 

No, I've never thought of it. She really doesn't drink or eat that much dairy. She LOVES instant cocoa though, so I'm not sure how much milk would be in that.

 

We do the Natural Calm magnesium drink. Definitely get the flavored kind for a kid. It's way cheaper on Amazon than at stores (at least around me). Also flax oil seems to help quite a bit and is otherwise healthy anyway, so it really can't hurt. My kids all LOVE prunes. Have you ever offered them to her for a snack?

 

I've tried, but it was a huge NO.

 

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions! I'll try to pick up some magnesium the next time I'm at the store. We'll start with that.

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I highly highly recommend this book if you are going to solve the constipation. The author fully explains options and give dosages of miralax based on weight. He basically says that just a daily dose of miralax may not work, that you have to do a complete clean out and then start the miralax. He says that constipation is often missed in children because many of them still go regularly while having a completely flattened bladder due to the hidden constipation.

 

The book makes so much sense and I was shocked at how well it described my dd.

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Accident-Breakthrough-Solutions-Constipation/dp/076277360X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360160681&sr=1-1&keywords=It%27s+no+accident

 

ETA: Here is the article that originally led me to the book. It covers the main idea

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2012/03/bed_wetting_the_simple_cause_your_doctor_probably_missed_.html

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I cook amaranth as a hot cereal for breakfast (we put milk and honey on it)--works wonders for constipation.

Definitely find ways to get her to drink more--she needs to be drinking first thing in the morning and throughout the day. Maybe diluted fruit juice would tempt her? Or get a large water bottle and fill it at the beginning of the day then encourage her to drink it all in the course of the day?

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