Stepdaughter And Constipation Issues

[brandyburl]

I'm currently in the process of revamping our diets. I'm doing it slowly so that we can adjust without too much rebuttle from the four kids in our house, one of whom is autistic and eats constantly. 

 

Anyway, this post is about my step daughter. My husband and I got married in December and they moved in with me. SD has always had constipation issues. Complaining of stomach aches and not being able to have a bm.  My husband (single dad with full custody) solution and that of his grandparents was just to pump her full of apple juice. If she still had problems, they'd just give her more juice. Mind you her diet consisted of those damn kid cuisine fried chicken meals. I hate kid cuisine with a passion. I think it's total crap. That's beside the point. She was never made to eat the meal that was cooked and the grandparents who babysat her most of the time didn't make her eat vegetables. She would occasionally eat bananas and maybe some apples here and there. DH would feed her spaghettios most of the time he was responsible for her evening meal. 

 

So when they moved in I took it upon myself to determine the cause and eliminate this constipation issue she is having. I'm cooking wholesome meals with at least one vegetable. Limiting juice to once a day if that. Eliminating processed and prepackaged foods from our home. Providing fresh fruits and veggies for snacks and yogurt. We are not a gluten free home yet as I am getting ready for testing and I would like to have my biological children tested. I do cook gluten free. I eat it about once a day just so there is still some in my systerm. The kids still ingest gluten at school and at their visits to their other parents'. 

 

I've resorted to giving her a fiber supplement twice a day (generic of benefiber) to keep her pooping. It's working but if she misses it for a weekend while she's visiting she's constipated again. I really think we're just treating the symptom and not the cause. Someone suggested we try totally eliminating dairy from her diet. I do remember personally giving up dairy for a time period and instead of one bm a day I'd have 2 consistently. I'm wondering if this could be the culprit. 

 

Advice or suggestions? Are the fiber supplements a bad idea? 

[Juliebove]

For my daughter, eliminating caffeine helped.  The caffeine was causing a problem of urinary irritation.  Then she wouldn't drink because it burned when she peed.  She was just short of dehydration and that caused constipation.  She stopped the caffeine and drank more water.  I have never allowed her more than one serving of juice per day and she didn't always have that.

 

My MIL can not eat dairy or bananas because they cause her to be constipated.  In my case, dairy gives me the big D.

 

We had a neighbor girl who had it and her Dr. said to give her a small amount of Kern's Aprictot Nectar.

[Bella001]

I had horrible issues with it until I got rid of dairy.  As soon as the gluten and dairy went away, so did the constipation.  Orange juice actually helps with it.  It draws water into the matter and helps it pass.  I have a big glass of OJ every morning when I get up!

[mommida]

Has SD had a physical recently?  It would be nice to know that thyroid or anemia isn't an underlying cause.