'chronic Constipation' In Children, Or Other Sugestions

[Mum in Norway]

My daughter has had belly-troulbe ever since she was a year old, she is now turling four. At first she was gluten- and diary free for a while and got better. We reintrodused diary, and that went well exept some reactions to lactose, so she is now getting lactase supplements. We tried reintrodusing gluten severeal times, and it did not work at all. Then, when she was about three, we desided, along with her doctor, to try gluten one last time, if she had reactions to it still we would just let her be glutenfree till she was 6-7 years old, and then try again. And this time it worked! She was perfectly fine with gluten, no reactions at all!

Then this spring she started complaining about stomace ache and joint pain in her legs. I talked to the doc, we agreed do try glutenfree again. Did not do any difference. It got worse and worse. She had her third celiac test done. All clare. Then she finaly got an appointment at the hospital, and we were looking very much foreward to it. This week we showed up for the appointment, and it turns out to be with a specialised nurse. Who within two minutes state that she has chronic constipation. I try to argue that she passes stool almost evey day (I'd say like 6 out of 7 days), and normal amounts, but the nurse says it's constipation becaus her stool is very hard.

This nurse says several things that i know to be wrong, about how the bowels moove, about the absorption of different nutrients, how different things effect the digestion and so on, and I do not feel like I can trust her to be competent. She was not at all interested in finding out the reason for this alledged constipation, but prescribed a laxative that my daughter is first suposed to have large amounts of for a week, to 'clear her bowels', and then she is suposed to keep using it, maybe for years.  This clensing thing is not an option now, as I have a big exame in less the two weeks (it will give her dihorrea for several days and she will need to stay home from kindergarden), shortly after my exame is her birthday and then christmass. So I just started her on a regular dose on of the laxative, and now two days later her stools are soft and mor frequent, but she still has the same pain. The nurse did not at all listen to the fact that her legs/knees hurt, guess that is generally dismissed as growing pain.

 

I feel at a loss her. The defenitions of chronic constipation does not fit at all. Softening her stools do not seem to help, and she has had changes in her stools far more quickly and with alot less of the laxative then expected (by the nurse).  Anyone har any thouhts about this? Should I just trust this nurse and assume my little girl has constipation? If so, why does she have it? If not, what else could it be? She has been tested for all kinds of allergies and for celiac several times, but it all seems fine. She is a happy child, and healthy apart from the tummy- and joint ache, and she tends to have ALOT of gas. Can't seem to worke out the reason for that, but im sure it is related, as bloatedness will often be painfull...

 

[emsimms]

I am so sorry to hear about your daughter's trouble and pain!

Have you thought about the chiropractor? Friends of ours had similar ongoing problems with bowels etc. (even after removing guten, dairy etc.) and it turned out to be a spine alignment issue that slumped the intestines one way. Things have already been improving greatly after a few treatment sessions.

It may be worth a try?

 

Best of luck!

[Mum in Norway]

thank you, i will look into that!