Constipation....

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My 4 yr old has some serious problems with going to the bathroom regularly.
It started off with him throwing up from the smell of his own BM. Then he started holding it in. Combine that with little or no dietary fibre and it has now reached to the point now where when he needs to poop, he ends up throwing up several times before he's successful. (Whenever he pushes, he throws up.)

I can't for the life of me get him to tolerate any sorts of fruit or veg. I offer him fruits and veggies and high fibre foods everyday but he has texture issues with them.

We did try giving him Lansoyl (as recommended by his doctor) but that led to many more problems... ie. it increased his anxiety about meds & led to meltdowns and still did not result in a BM.

I don't want him to rely on suppositories to get him to have a BM. We do some exercises to help his digestion... bicycle kicks and some leg exercies. (We do it in the form of a game so that he just thinks it's fun and games so that he doesn't get more worked up about pooping.) But is there anything else I can do to help him?

How do we get over the initial smell thing?
How do we get more fibre into his diet when it is so restricted in the first place? He generally likes crunchy food with strong flavours (eg BBQ, nacho) but those are typically pretty low on the fibre content.

Yeegads! I had the very same problem as a small kid...
it followed me through my life as a person with very difficult bowl issues, which seem to be common among folk on the spectrum.....

My Suggestion....try making him a very nice smoothie in the morning that happens to contain psyllium husk....that is what I do for myself these days....

Lately my smoothies will contain....frozen cherries, 1/2 acai/berry blend smoothie pack...this um...green foods mixed berry flavor thingy powdered drink additive from the Whole Foods....Hemp milk...which is VERY nutritive and dense in EFA's (and contains no THC)...psyllyum husk....emergen-c...which has all kinds of nutirents and electolytes and adds to the sweetness....maybe add some aloe juice....and some othe kind of juice...to make it blendable and drinkable...I use this super green drink..but you can use anything you like..the trick is getting it to be something nutritious...fiberous...drinkable and enjoyable....I use my very picky boyfriend as guini pig for my smoothies...which often don't look so great but generally are very tasty...

I inherited this from my mom, who would always make these smoothies for me when I was a kid..

also...being very inclined towards liking crunchy nacho-like foods....you can always make healthy versions of these sorts of dishes...and make sure they contain lots of roughage...

I loooove my nachos....but I have gotten used to eating them with black beans...no meat...there are healthy cheeses out there and lots of lttuce and pico de gallo..for flavor and nutrition......

you might have to just sorta ease more roughage into his food gradually...but it is worth it...and he will likely gradually start enjoying it more that way as he gets older....

silly question, but- his doc knows aobut this, right?

I make sure my son eats oatmeal with wheat germ every morning. Currently he likes refried beans too. Lots of fiber. Otherwise, he will get backed up too. Luckily he doesn't have sensory issues with BM and he tells me when "it hurts" so I know he's missing something in his diet. Things that constipate him are the things that actually cause diarrhea in me; marshmallows and dairy.
I assume you encourage water?
At 4, you should still be able to hide some pureed veggies in his food so he can be properly nourished. Will he drink a supplement like Ovaltine or Pediasure?

Thanks so much for the recommendations poopylungstuffing & KimJ!
I will be going shopping this evening to see if I can get some of the stuff for a smoothie poopylungstuffing.

KimJ, I wish i could get baby J to eat oatmeal... that's what I use to keep 'regular' myself.

Whoa! I used to be exactly like that. As a kid, I had chronic constipation, and had to take laxatives at least a few times a month. Even drinking prune juice had a minimal effect, barely noticeable for me, and I didn't like the taste of it to begin with. Prunes from a box were more effective, although by the time I discovered them, I stopped trusting anything natural to help me. The problem persisted until I was in my teens.

My suggestion is to give your son commercial fiber products that you mix in water. Yeah, they're intended mainly for the elderly, but who says you have to be elderly to use them. Some of them taste pretty good, almost like kids' juice products. A few brands have no taste at all, so you can mix them into oatmeal or other foods you give your son. Mix it into prune juice if you have to. The last thing you want is for your son to associate going #2 with pain. If #2 is painful, your son will hold it in, which leads to more pain, which leads to more holding in, which leads to... a vicious cycle that will require medical intervention.

Sorry to use such an alarming scenario. As a parent, you know best how to avoid it.

I get my son eating All Bran cereal.

Regarding his difficulty with coping with BMs without throwing up . . . excuse me being specific, but is it the smell, the look or the sensation that upsets him? If it is the smell, I would try giving him a mask to wear for awhile. If it is he look, then work out some way of him not having to look at it. Later wean him off any intervention with a reward chart or something. Just a thought.

lots of "Fruit" especially pears that are high in fiber will get the bowel movement going and also
I use Cracklin oat bran by Kelloggs and almond milk located in the organic section of the store
and in a shelf container, and this is good sweet cearl.

Have you tried nose plugs when he has to go the bathroom? I'm talking about the kind that swimmers use.

My son used to have a lot of constipation problems, but his diet became higher in fiber as he got older. It was a real problem at times in the past.

Miralax is the only thing I recommend. I give him much less than the recommended dose (about 1/4 actually) and mix it in well with fruit punch or gatorade. That works well. The doctor said it's safe enough to use everyday...but, he only needs it every now and then.

My son takes Miralax, too.

We're also experimenting with diet changes to see how what he eats affects his system. If the things coming out are too stinky, perhaps they aren't appropriate for the child's system.

have you tried blending the vegies and hiding them that way. Really easy to make pasta sauces, stews, burgers, pies, etc. He will never know. we have a really fussy 13 yr old who reckons he hates the flavour of all kinds of vegies, in reality its the texture he does not like, we just blend them up and put them into the sauce, works a treat.

Really try to stear clear of commercial fibre products

I AGREE to stay away from commercial drugs/laxatives. MOST are GARBAGE! My doctor had me take docolax at one point, and it nearly killed me. He didn't even tell me what it was for. I started recovering the day I went off of it, and 3 days later was back to normal. You should do two things:

1. Increase fiber through things like oatmeal, bran, etc... MAYBE psyllium ALSO, Omega 3s could help in several ways.
2. #1 will eventually probably help the smell, but a good part of that may be because of what he is eating. MOST of the crunchy foods, and spices are probably fine. As I recall, brussell sprouts are HORRIBLE culprits.

As for something that could help BOTH, be tasty, AND give him vitamins, etc... Have you considered a nice plain green salad? Cucumber, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, perhaps cheese, and his favorite dressing. Personally, I like french! Don't go too far with vegetables, etc... Beans, for example, aren't always digested right, so THEY can cause problems.

Carrot sticks and cheese and nuts can make nice snacks also. AND, keep in mind that peanuts are NOT nuts! They are STILL great BUT, if your son is alergic to peanuts, there is a GREAT chance he ISN'T alergic to REAL nuts like walnuts, almonds, etc...

Smoothies ARE good also. But be careful about some vegetables that can make the smell worse.

omega 3 oils, you could empty the capsules into the smoothies. Whole grain bread, porridge, pumpernikel bread toasted.

The best remedy is eating plenty of leafy vegetables especially spinach.
Light oils such as olive oil instead of saturated fats and bad oils will relieve the liver which improves digestion and bowel movements.
Feeling loved, wanted, free of stress and having active interests also helps.

Eating lots of whole grains and roughage will just irritate the bowels and is not an effective solution.
The main thing is to restore the strenght of the liver and increase the amounts of leafy vegetables (soupy meals).

If meals are always taken at the same time, the liver will digest foods much better (it has a built in clock).

My AS son is 11 now and we've just recently become regulated. He's my first child and I made a lot of mistakes potty training him. He was not diagnosed with AS until 7. Looking back, I realize he had sensory issues balancing on the potty, smell issues & wiping issues (afraid of soiling his hands). I'm not sure if his digestion was poor or if he was holding it due to unpleasant memories. I give him each night in capsule form KidZYME that has enzymes and probiotics to help his body breakdown his food and get maximum nutrition from it. I also give him Chlorella capsules. The health food store recommended these in place of chelation therapy which is expensive. This is a freshwater plant that is full of chlorophyl and many other nutrients. I give it to filter any toxins from his body but the side effect has been him going to the bathroom very regularly. The recommended dose is 6 per day for adults, I only give him 2 at bedtime. The other product that may help is one I bought for a close relative that has had intestinal surgery and embararrasing bathroom odor. It is an oily fragrance that you spray onto the top of the potty water before they poop and it envelopes the poop in the fragrance. My relative said it works great. It is called "Poo-pourri". I hope this helps.