anything to help five year old's frequent soft stools

[raindrops]

Does anyone have experience with successfully treating frequent soft stools?  My son has had this problem since birth.  He's tested negative for celiac & other allergies.  I was wondering if probiotics or digestive enzymes might help him become more regular?  He has a GI specialist appt. tomorrow, but I don't know how helpful they will be.  It has affected his potty training success (which is really really frustrating).  He has a history of a mild developmental delay, including PT and speech therapy.  He no longer needs either service now, though.  Thanks for any advice!

[applethyme]

Marshmallows.  They are very constipating.  Give him a few with each meal and it should firm up his stool.  I know it sounds crazy but its what we give our patients when all the prescription meds don't work.

[TeacherZee]

Blueberries are also constipating

[raindrops]

He likes marshmallows!  Should I give him three of the big ones?

[applethyme]

For some reason the mini ones work a little better.  I would give him 4 or 5  3x a day and see what happens.  He may need a little more or a little less. 

[Arcadia]

Blueberries and marshmallows didn't work for my 8 year old. He can eat a pack at that age and still do frequent toilet trips. Potty training was difficult which was part of the reason we didn't send him for kindergarten even though it was a lot of fun for my older boy. He has reflux and he probably has too much stomach acid like me. Banana is a strong laxative for me, no effect on anyone else.

[carriede]

My BFF's DD had similar issues and nothing was ever diagnosed. BFF had her DD avoid gluten and dairy on a whim and things improved dramatically.

[Lolly]

My dd ended up taking a really strong antibiotic to kill off pretty much all the bacteria in her body in an attempt to treat chronic diarrhea when she was a toddler. After being on the antibiotic for about two weeks, her gut was reseeded with good bacteria (a nasty yeasty consistency sprinkled on top of applesauce). It worked. She has been normal since.

[raindrops]

Is kefir okay to give to children?

[raindrops]

Even though he tested negative for celiac, I've heard there is a possibility that there could still be a gluten sensitivity present.  It's something to think about... I mean, me taking him off gluten.

[Alte Veste Academy]

My BFF's DD had similar issues and nothing was ever diagnosed. BFF had her DD avoid gluten and dairy on a whim and things improved dramatically.

Even though he tested negative for celiac, I've heard there is a possibility that there could still be a gluten sensitivity present.  It's something to think about... I mean, me taking him off gluten.

 

This was the case here for my youngest. Bummer, but it's clear wheat and dairy do not agree with him. 

[DesertBlossom]

My DS had chronic diarrhea from the time he was in diapers until we figured out his problem at age 5. After running all sorts of tests on his stool and doing an endoscopy to check for celiac, we figured out he has a fructose intolerance (or fructose malabsorbtion). Fructose is found naturally in most fruits, but HFCS is a sweetener in almost everything. Once we figured it out and eliminated it from his diet, he was instantly cured!  He had even quit gaining weight, but put on a few pounds as soon as we figured out his problem. The test was done at the hospital and it was similar to the test for lactose intolerance. He drank a cup of straight fructose and then they measured something in his breath every 15 minutes. They said it could take a couple hours to see results. He failed the test in 15 minutes!

 

 

[eternalsummer]

Blueberries?  I don't get blueberries.  Marshmallows I can see.  I have a DS (1) like this as well.  We don't do HFCS, though, and he's never had antibiotics (nor have I while pregnant or nursing).

 

I find white bread/crackers/etc. and bananas help some.

[Melissa in Australia]

I don't get the blueberries suggestion either. Here they work like a laxative.

[raindrops]

DesertBlossom,

 

So can your child eat any fruits?  Or did you primarily eliminate processed foods with HFCS?

[Momof3littles]

TMI but is it just some leakage? Sometimes constipation can present like that. The soft stuff goes around what is blocked up. Just thought I would mention it, because it can be deceiving.

[catz]

I would definitely add probiotics and possibly some ground flax (starting with a 1 tsp per day, and maybe working up to 1-2 TBSP).  I have IBS, never dxed with anything else and those 2 things make a big difference for me and can be good for constipation or diarrehea.  Something like marshmallows may help short term, but will not make the gut overall healthier.  I notice a HUGE difference for the worse if I consume too much processed sugar over time.  Fruits are fine, but I try to combine with something like nuts or protein so they don't race through my system.

[laundrycrisis]

Do not eliminate allergies yet.  There are types of allergic reactions that there is no test for.  The best way to be sure a food group is not an allergen is empirically, by removing the food completely for a period of time, and then putting it back in small amounts and watching for a reaction.

 

Our son had an undiagnosed dairy allergy.  He'd had terribly unformed stools his entire life.  He also had severe reflux, asthma, and repeated respiratory infections.   He also had very difficult sensory-seeking behavior.  The dairy had to be completely out of his diet for three entire months before the symptoms started to lessen - his digestion was improved, and the reflux, asthma, infections and sensory issues literally disappeared, but it took the entire three months to get the dairy out of his system so we could see that.  It took another year to finish getting his gut working right - his gut flora was not right and he had an overgrowth of intestinal yeast.  We treated that with Candex enzyme and probiotics.  He finally had the first formed stool of his life at age 4.  

 

We had to dig into alternative medicine to get help with these very medical problems - that is, his digestive reaction to dairy, missing beneficial gut flora and yeast overgrowth - not because they are not "real" medical problems, but because most doctors do not have knowledge of them...but alternative medicine folks do.  We found an MD who practices complementary medicine to help, and I did a lot of reading on my own, because by that point - 2.5 years with a very unhealthy child - I was done relying on "normal" doctors who had nothing to offer except diarrhea medicine.  

[DesertBlossom]

DesertBlossom,

 

So can your child eat any fruits?  Or did you primarily eliminate processed foods with HFCS?

At the beginning, we cut out as much as we could. Certain fruits are much higher in fructose, like apples, pears and mangos. He tolerated berries and oranges and low-fructose fruits much better. I found a list online with the fructose content of foods and eliminated the worst ones. I do feel like he is more sensitive to HFCS than natural fructose though. I was careful about what foods we had at home, but if he had the choice to eat something high in fructose he'd tell me, "mom, it's JUST diarrhea." Lol!  Sometimes he'd decide the belly-ache was worth whatever it was. I still have to remind him that certain things have a lot of fructose in them, but then leave it up to him.  I feel like he's outgrowing it a little bit though.  He doesn't complain about a stomach ache if he's eating a lot of fruit at home.  But if he gets his hand on a soft drink, he'll be running to the bathroom shortly!

 

ETA: When he initially passed all their tests, our pediatric GI told me, "Well, most kids I see with chronic diarrhea just eat too much fruit." I knew that wasn't the case, so I set out to prove her wrong and eliminated fruit from his diet for a week. I think I was lucky that week that he also didn't get HFCS anywhere, because he didn't have any loose stools and I was shocked! So at the end of the week I gave him a few slices of apple and he was soon running to the bathroom. I knew that a few slices of apple was not "too much fruit" so I turned to google and stumbled across some stuff about fructose intolerance and then asked for the test to be done.  

[Jasperstone]

Is kefir okay to give to children?

It sure is!

 

It's the cheapest and best probotic, imho. :-D

[raindrops]

The G.I. specialist says it's constipation.  This surprises me, and discourages me a little, because the treatment is to make the stools SOFTER--when I really want a well formed stool.   They say it will take time for this to happen... Anyway, I'm writing up a diet for him, mindful of your suggestions, and the doc says I have to clear him out with miralax & have him eat high fiber foods. 

 

 

[ondreeuh]

The G.I. specialist says it's constipation.  This surprises me, and discourages me a little, because the treatment is to make the stools SOFTER--when I really want a well formed stool.   They say it will take time for this to happen... Anyway, I'm writing up a diet for him, mindful of your suggestions, and the doc says I have to clear him out with miralax & have him eat high fiber foods. 

 

Then you're dealing with encopresis. My kid who had that was pooping every day & still having leaking, so I thought it couldn't be constipation. However, he was always very backed up when they did an xray for unrelated issues. Constipation can also cause urinary leaking. My kid was dx with bladder neck dysfunction after having a VCUG test but once we straightened out the constipation he had no further problems.

 

Some docs prefer to use suppositories and/or enemas to clean out "from the bottom up" and then Miralax to keep the kid regular from the top down. Otherwise you could be creating a bunch of soft stool that just gets stuck behind a blockage. Maybe that depends on how blocked up the kid is.

 

Miralax can take some time to dose correctly. My kid used a half-capful each day (a capful is 17g, IIRC). A friend's kid could only handle like 3/4 teaspoon. I just made a batch and kept it in the fridge, and measured out the right amount of liquid each day. After a year or so on Miralax we switched to Mag. Citrate capsules. That might be an option for you too.

[Momof3littles]

Yep, my first thought was that it could be encoperesis from constipation. It really involves a long retraining process, and it takes time to get there. They lose tone in their GI tract, and it takes time to get things back to normal size vs distended. Btdt with a younger child who had pretty severe constipation issues despite going nearly daily. He had softer stuff leaking around what was blocked up. Just prepare for the whole thing to resolve, and don't try to move away from the miralax too soon.

[raindrops]

Thank you.  I hope the Miralax clears him out.  I hope he drinks the stuff, since he doesn't like juice.  He usually only drinks milk and water, but he may drink fruit punch, so I'll try mixing it with that.  Thanks, too, for the tip not to give up on the Miralax too soon.   I was thinking I'd just use it to clear him out and then stop using it, but it sounds like you use it long term.  I'm guessing you lower the dosage some after he's cleared out? 

[Momof3littles]

Thank you.  I hope the Miralax clears him out.  I hope he drinks the stuff, since he doesn't like juice.  He usually only drinks milk and water, but he may drink fruit punch, so I'll try mixing it with that.  Thanks, too, for the tip not to give up on the Miralax too soon.   I was thinking I'd just use it to clear him out and then stop using it, but it sounds like you use it long term.  I'm guessing you lower the dosage some after he's cleared out? 

 

With a kid experiencing encoperesis, I'd ask the GI doc for a protocol.  IME, they generally recommend a "clean out" period, and then a regular dose once the cleanout is finished.  Even then, I would expect to be on it for quite a while.  it isn't just getting the blocked up stuff out, but their bowels actually lose muscle tone from being overstretched, some kids have sphincter problems, etc. As a result, getting rid of the blocked up stuff is just the first step.  There really needs to be a long effort to get muscle tone back, have everything shrink back to normal size, and so forth.  Many GI docs will recommend a pottying schedule to make sure they are continuing to go regularly.  Some kids need things like a foot stool in the bathroom, as that foot support can be helpful when trying to have a BM.  I would ask the GI doc for further clarification and guidance, as it really is a longish term thing for many kids to get back to a true normal.  The problem is that you might think things are good after the initial cleanout, but it takes so long to restore normal size, tone, and so on.  And as you now know, constipation can be very deceptive.  Some kids go daily or almost daily and still are dealing with major constipation, since the softer stuff can often just detour around what is blocked up.  As a result, it is very easy to think you have resolved things when there may still be a lot of work ahead.  Best of luck, but I'd put the onus on your GI doc to give you more specific guidance on a cleanout vs. maintenance dose, how long they want you to do the cleanout, when is the cleanout period complete, and when/how should you transition to a maintenance dose.