Child With Constipation With Celiac

[Nic]

My 5 year old son was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago. He was severely constipated to the point that he could never have a bowel movement without the help of laxatives. At his worst, an emergency room doctor gave him 4 enimas in one visit. None of which made him go to the bathroom. After many tests, his blood showed very high levels of the antibodies that show gluten sensitvity. His biopsy though originally came back negative. We then had it sent to Columbia University and they concluded positive for Celiac. My father also has it. He is now on a strict gluten-free diet but if I take him off the stool softeners and the laxatives, he still struggles to pass stool even if it is soft. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this with Celiac? My gastro. specialist said that some kids are just constipated and it may not be related to the celiac or it may be irritable bowel syndrome. Any input would be welcomed.

[lovemyboy]

My 5 year old son was diagnosed with Celiac a year ago. He was severely constipated to the point that he could never have a bowel movement without the help of laxatives. At his worst, an emergency room doctor gave him 4 enimas in one visit. None of which made him go to the bathroom. After many tests, his blood showed very high levels of the antibodies that show gluten sensitvity. His biopsy though originally came back negative. We then had it sent to Columbia University and they concluded positive for Celiac. My father also has it. He is now on a strict gluten-free diet but if I take him off the stool softeners and the laxatives, he still struggles to pass stool even if it is soft. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this with Celiac? My gastro. specialist said that some kids are just constipated and it may not be related to the celiac or it may be irritable bowel syndrome. Any input would be welcomed.

My understanding is that once into the cycle of constipation it can be hard to get out of especially for children as they fear the pain. Do you just take him off the stool softners laxitives all at once or have you been gradually weaning him? Another thought does he drink milk that also causes consipation. With constipation the bowel usually has stretched quite a bit so his movements could still be quite large or he could have build up that the stuff is going around. Not sure my son is only two and off gluten for short time so he still takes mineral oil, we going to try reducing the dosage slowly and hopefully he can become regulated. Hopefully he gets regulated soon.

[key]

Yeah, I think taking him off of dairy products would be your best bet. See how he does. Dairy is very constipating for some people.

Monica

[mommida]

Yes, my son has constiption when he ingests gluten. He also gets a rash so I do know that gluten is the main problem. Keep trying to retrain his b.m. habits. Have him sit and try after meals. It also helps to tell him to use the same muscles for voiding urine.

Laura

[Guest Zmom]

After a year+ on a gluten-free diet my four y.o. had a 1+ week bout of constipation.tried everything except the gluten his former ped. doc recommended. Tried 4 Yummy Bear Brand Fiber Bears-whole foods market. They worked great w/ no distress. They are made as a daily suppliment. But he only needed them for a couple of days. after the initial "clearing" of the bowels 2 worked well. They are gluten-free,sf,df. would like to know if it works for him. I know how stressful it is.

[Nic]

After a year+ on a gluten-free diet my four y.o. had a 1+ week bout of constipation.tried everything except the gluten his former ped. doc recommended. Tried 4 Yummy Bear Brand Fiber Bears-whole foods market. They worked great w/ no distress. They are made as a daily suppliment. But he only needed them for a couple of days. after the initial "clearing" of the bowels 2 worked well. They are gluten-free,sf,df. would like to know if it works for him. I know how stressful it is.

Thanks for the tip. I will try anything. It is very stressful and we have been dealing with the constipation for over a year. He wil be starting kindergarten in Sept. and I would like to get him regulated so he doesn't need to worry in school about either not being about to go, or it being so loose due to t he meds that he has trouble cleaming himself. I'll let you know how it works.

[Guest nini]

before my daughter was dx'ed, she would have diarrhea alternating with constipation... proably why the Dr. said that "oh she's just got IBS"... anyway, I found that giving her apple juice and applesauce seemed to help with the constipation as well as limiting her dairy consumption. Cheese especially can be very constipating.

[tiredofdoctors]

I know that this is going to sound crazy, but bear with me . . . I'm a physical therapist. Prior to being disabled by this disease, I owned my own clinic. I treated women's health issues, including urinary and fecal incontinence, but I also worked with a sex therapist and treated women with pelvic pain. They all reported these unbelievably painful bowel movements. I didn't find ONE of those patients that didn't have a significant problem with their sacroiliac joint(s). I was telling a pediatrician about one particular patient who had to hold onto her husband's arms, put a towel in her mouth and scream in order to have a bowel movement. The pediatrician just looked at me and said, "would you consider working on a teenager?" I said yes -- the girl had fallen off a horse -- lo and behold, the same problem with her sacroiliac joint. The pediatrician kept asking me to see kids younger and younger -- the youngest I saw was a 6 month old that was a twin, and was the one who was pretty much smashed by the other one.

What happens is that the sacrum goes into a torsion -- it's usually from some kind of fall that was a little traumatic -- maybe they cried a little more with this fall than others, or even from stepping off the curb wrong. The nerve root which exits the sacrum (S2) innervates the rectum -- if it is irritated, it can cause the rectum to go into kind of a "non-stop spasm". Usually these kids squirm on the toilet, trying to find a good position to poop -- they're trying to get the muscles of the rectum relaxed.

I swear to you that it works. I used a very gentle electrical stimulation to relax the nerves, with a warm pack on their back (they were lying on their tummies) -- usually, they started passing gas A LOT during the 20 minutes that it was one -- the parents would apologize all the time -- I just laughed! Then, I would do VERY GENTLE manual therapy to get the sacrum back where it needed to be, then gave them a "sports band" which was a band of special material to which I attached a sacral block that I made to fit them. Within 2 hours, usually, they had a bowel movement which wasn't painful. With regard to the electrical stimulation -- it is very safe for children, and I didn't have one who didn't love it. One 3 year-old said "Can I just have 5 more minutes?" It feels like a massage.

I know this sounds like voo-doo therapy, but it's all about the biomechanics of the nerve roots which innervate the rectum. (Maybe this is bragging, I haven't figured that part out yet -- but my "mentor" and the instructor with whom I took all my courses regarding these issues in adults said that I was the first person in the US to do this with kids. She wanted me to publish articles so that I could get credit, but it wasn't about the credit -- it was about getting the kids better.) From what I have read, there are several manual physical therapists who are treating kids with this problem throughout the US. I would look into it -- I'm not kidding -- it works.

[lamood]

My daughter battles constipation too. We did mineral oil and it help everything come out easily for a while. Now I give her prunes daily, she actually loves them and it helps keep her regular and soft. She does not get dairy and has always had this issue since birth. I also struggle with it, but have found taking benefiber chewables daily keeps me regulated that and lots of water.

[Electra375]

I'll chime in here. My oldest has constipation issues, since birth, pooped maybe 1X a week. He was a soy formula baby. So, no dairy.

As for school, he was late many, many, many mornings for sitting on the toilet in excess of a hour. My mother walked in and found him sleeping one day on the toilet (back when he was 3 and she was visiting after the birth of his brother).

I did not know Yummi Bears made a Fiber Bear -- I am going to get some of these. I've been using KidLax and breaking the capsules into applesauce when I think of it.

We've actually spent 7 hours in the ER w stomach pain that our FP thought was appendix, so we were in there on a holiday weekend night -- horrible experience. My ds1 was begging for another glicerin suppository, but the 2nd one didn't help and I wasn't going to give him more. This kid simply does not drink enough fluid to live and we can't force him.

Since his brother was recently dx'd w/ celiac disease, we will be having this one checked via blood work the end of this month and while their at it our dd too.

[Nic]

I'll chime in here. My oldest has constipation issues, since birth, pooped maybe 1X a week. He was a soy formula baby. So, no dairy.

As for school, he was late many, many, many mornings for sitting on the toilet in excess of a hour. My mother walked in and found him sleeping one day on the toilet (back when he was 3 and she was visiting after the birth of his brother).

I did not know Yummi Bears made a Fiber Bear -- I am going to get some of these. I've been using KidLax and breaking the capsules into applesauce when I think of it.

We've actually spent 7 hours in the ER w stomach pain that our FP thought was appendix, so we were in there on a holiday weekend night -- horrible experience. My ds1 was begging for another glicerin suppository, but the 2nd one didn't help and I wasn't going to give him more. This kid simply does not drink enough fluid to live and we can't force him.

Since his brother was recently dx'd w/ celiac disease, we will be having this one checked via blood work the end of this month and while their at it our dd too.

This is very interesting. We first noticed the constipation when he was a baby. He was on Nutramigen formular which is the one without milk protein. But that was because he was constantly throwing up. Once he was 1, he was put on milk. That is when it started. We have been through the emergency room too. They once gave my son 4 enimas in one day and nothing happened. He also had to have a barrium enima because his doc thought he may have hirshsprungs disease. Even when he had his colonoscopy and he had to drink the phosphosoda, he did not poop. Now that he is gluten free, I have him on Miralax (RX) stool softener and "Little Tummys" lavitive. Most days he poops but I want him to be able to on his own. He missed alot of school last year for this problem. He too would be sitting on the toilet shaking and crying. It was terrible. Getting your son tested seems smart. Good luck.

[fritzicurls]

A lot of constipation can be caused by magnesium deficiency. I was gluten-free for a long time and no relief for the constipation although I was getting relief for so many other symptoms, so I know I was not getting glutened. Then I found out about the magnesium and combined with daily fiber I have very regualr bowel movements. It can take a lot of mag. I worked with a yeast infection guy who said that the yeast can penetrate the lining of the bowel and really create problems. He told me to take 200mg of mag every hour until I reached diarrhea. Then to back down on the doseage just below that and that would be my daily dosage. It works like vitamin C. The body just sloughs off what it doesn't need. I went to 4000mg before I hit diarrhea!!!!! Once my bowels got working I was able to back down to 2000 - 2400 daily. I am suspecting as my body begins to absorb more and more (I have been gluten-free for 10 months) that I will back down even more. The normal daily adult recommended dose is about 600mg. I did tons of research on the internet and took the recommendations from the yeast infection guy that these elevated amounts would not hurt me. To the contrary I feel a lot better in so many ways. I do not know what the amounts for kids would be but I hope this helps. It just makes sense that we don't absorb magnesium along with everything else!!

Good Luck,

fritzicurls

[Jeff and Lisa]

When our daughter was two (now four), she suddenly became very constipated and her belly was extremely distended. After several suppositories and trips to the pediatrician, she was diagnosed with celiac. She has been on a gluten-free diet since (except McDonalds fries) as well as Benefiber and prescription Glycolax. Even after two years, if we try to slow down on the fiber and Glycolax, she still has constipation problems. The pediatrician said that since she was so backed up before, it will take a long time for her colon to regain its normal condition allowing normal movements. Hang in there. There are others in the same boat.

Jeff

[Nic]

When our daughter was two (now four), she suddenly became very constipated and her belly was extremely distended. After several suppositories and trips to the pediatrician, she was diagnosed with celiac. She has been on a gluten-free diet since (except McDonalds fries) as well as Benefiber and prescription Glycolax. Even after two years, if we try to slow down on the fiber and Glycolax, she still has constipation problems. The pediatrician said that since she was so backed up before, it will take a long time for her colon to regain its normal condition allowing normal movements. Hang in there. There are others in the same boat.

Jeff

Thank you for writing. I sounds like your daughter has the same problem as my son.

NIcole