Constipation In 3.5 Year Old - How Long To Treat?

[GFLife]

Our daughter was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in August 2010 after a severe case of constipation. Since that time, we have made our home completely gluten-free and she has been thriving!

Two weeks ago, we believe that she accidentally ate something at preschool that she shouldn't have eaten as she started experiencing the same constipation issues that she had in August. Because we are now aware of the symptoms, we gave her the kid's version of Miralax which helped her pass the blockage. Although this blockage passed, she is still dealing with constipation issues. Here's my question - once the blockage passes, is constiptation likely to continue for the next couple weeks because there's gluten in her system or once the blockage passes, it's done and we can stop giving her Miralax? I ask this because we stopped giving her the Miralax after the blockage passed and went back to her regular gluten-free diet. We're starting to see the same constipation symptoms again so have once again started the Miralax as a preventative.

I guess I'm just not sure how this whole constipation/blockage thing works ...

Thanks for your help!

[Dixiebell]

Is she still having dairy?

We had to cut it from my sons diet because he would still have constpation and them sometimes it would give him diarrhea. When he doesn't have dairy he is good.

People have different reaction times so it is hard to say how long it will last.

The miralax is a stool softener, so it is drawing water back to your colon so you can easily have a bowel movement. Is she getting enough fluids during the day? Is she eating more of something than she did before?

[norahsmommy]

I am glad you posted this. My 13 month old has been having lots of episodes of severe constipation, I hope you can figure out a solution!

[GFLife]

Is she still having dairy?

We had to cut it from my sons diet because he would still have constpation and them sometimes it would give him diarrhea. When he doesn't have dairy he is good.

People have different reaction times so it is hard to say how long it will last.

The miralax is a stool softener, so it is drawing water back to your colon so you can easily have a bowel movement. Is she getting enough fluids during the day? Is she eating more of something than she did before?

She is still having some forms of dairy. For example, shredded cheese on her gluten-free pizza, yogurt, icecream, etc. We give her lactose-free milk at home but I believe daycare gives her 1% regular milk.

And yes, I believe she's getting plenty of fluids during the day but again, I'm not able to monitor this each day because of preschool. As far as eating more of something than she did before, she has maintained the same diet at home and we've been giving her the same lunches at preschool. I honestly believe that the cause of the constipation reaction may be from eating some of her friend's treats at preschool or the use of playdoh at preschool.