1 year old son with chronic constipation

[mjohnson33]

My DS has has constipation since 4 months old and its been progressively been getting worse over time....

He almost had to be hospitalized he was so backed up.  This has been going on since he was 4 months old but its getting worse and I finally decided to see a specialist 6 weeks ago.  MY DS just turned one 2 weeks ago. 

So far he has been blood tested for Anemia, Lead, Celiac, Hypothyroidism, and a bunch of other tests to look for any inflammatory diseases or markers.....
He is currently on a ton of stool softeners and a laxative and a very fiberous diet lacking wheat and gluten b/c I know that makes things worse.....

Any idea on where to go from here???  I feel like its some type of intollerance that he may have.....

[Buntybear]

Hi, constipation is often a sign of a milk intolerance. Have you tried taking dairy out for a while and seeing what the difference is?

[mjohnson33]

The only dairy he gets is in his formula....I was going to discuss it w his pedi today.

[Buntybear]

It may very well be worth trying a hypo allergenic formula for a while. They do taste bad though so it may be hard to get your LO to take it. Does he still have formula from a bottle?

[EloysH]

Milk protein intolerance would be the first port of call and mostly likely culprit,  and the only way to test it is elimination from the diet for 2-3 weeks. 

Note that hypoallergenic formula still contains dairy, but the proteins are more broken down. Depending on the degree of intolerance, this type of formula may not be enough so a true test would need to involve a completely dairy free amino acid based formula. If LO does not improve on hypoallergenic, there is still the step to take to completely dairy free.

[mjohnson33]

Thanks ELoysH,
My pedi suspects its simply a lactose intolerance.....so we have started on soy milk yesterday because I have been unable to get him to take any formula bottles for the last 3 days and I was really concerned about the lack of nutrition.  Believe it or not his poop has already changed to a better consistency!!!  Today was the first day he has taken a full bottle so we will see if it continues...if he continues to go good, then I know that is the problem.  If he gets bad again then I know its something more.  The last few days he has only had about 5-9 oz of milk total and at his age he should have 12-18oz. 

[Buntybear]

Well that has to be a good sign! Good luck x

[mjohnson33]

Yes, he has been going really good ever since the decrease in formula.  Last night he had 5 oz of soy and another 5 oz this morning and things are moving very good!!! I hope it continues!!!  We have been dealing with this since 4 months old and he is a little over one now.    So sad that it took this long to figure out if thats what it is.

[EloysH]

excellent. Are you getting the tests done for lactose intolerance?  I say this because a switch to soy formula as the only "test" isn't exlcuding the milk protein as the possible cause.  I'm sure your pedi knows what they are talking about   

[mjohnson33]

EloysH,
What tests will show lactose intolerance?? Sorry I am new to all of this.    I didnt actually switch to soy formula, just the plain old soy milk since he is over a year.  I even gave him soy yogert last night and he gave me a big juicy poop this morning.  LOL 

I am excluding all other milk proteins as well for now.  I am reading labels and being very careful what he eats. 

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I know that in Canada, even though you can go to whole milk after 1, if a child can't have milk they recommend being on soy formula instead of soy milk until 2 yrs, as soy milk just does not have the fat content that whole milk does.  We switched at 18 months to soy milk as I was able to add extra fats in her diet, but then around 2.5 we started adding formula into her morning milk because she was really limiting her diet. 

We are def. MPI and not lactose here...every so often I feed her a (dairy)yogurt just to test, last one left her constipated for 3 days!

[mjohnson33]

I have a call into my pedi to ask them about all this.  I know almond milk is very good for them too, maybe I can try that.  I will definately be staying away from dairy for a long time for my little guy since this has been a constant battle for him since he was 4 months old. 

[tigerlilly905]

Just chiming in. I'm so glad you seem to have figured it out with the dairy. That would have been my first thought too.

I think the almond milk is a great idea - of course check with your pedi esp if there's any nut allergies in the family. Coconut Milk is another excellent dairy-free option.

A word of caution regarding soy however. Soy can mimic estrogen in the body and is a source of controversy, especially for boys.  Also, soy is the highest Genetically Modified crop in the world.  GMO soy is another huge source of controversy as it can be considered quite dangerous due to it's toxicity factors, hormone/endocrine disruption, as well as very high levels of pesticides/herbicides which are used on GMO crops.  Of course, do your research and figure out what's best for your situation, but I felt it important to make note of. Here's a very informative video that's about 12 minutes if you would like to learn more on this topic: Soy Myths Exposed: The Dangers of Soy   

My other thought, do you have him on a high quality hypoallergenic probiotic?  Probiotics are crutial in balancing the gut flora, aiding in proper digestion, absorbtion of nutrients ect.  We use Klaire Labs Infant probiotics, you can get them from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Klaire-Labs-Ther-Biotic-Infant-Formula/dp/B001PYXMV4  Both my boys are on these.

Good luck hun

[mjohnson33]

tigerlilly,
thanks for the info.  Are your boys lactose intolerant?? If so what are they on?? Would it hurt my son to switch to almond milk after being on soy for about a week?  I dont want to make him worse.  He is just now starting to do better.  Also, yes, I do have him on a probiotic.  Per his GI suggestion we are on Florastor kids....not sure if it helps or not.  LOL

[tigerlilly905]

Are your boys lactose intolerant?? If so what are they on??

Both my boys are MPI (probably soy intolerant as well, but I'm sure you can tell, we don't do soy in our household..lol ) I'm currently  tandem nursing, so that kinda takes up the "milk" needs.  I'm on a specific ED to avoid any intolerance triggers they might get from my BM. 

Ds1 does get coconut milk though that I make from home. It's quite easy to make actually: Bring to boil (but do not boil) 1 cup of unsweetened shredded dried coconut and 1 cup of water. Cool down and blend well in your food processor. Strain through cheesecloth or a fine strainer.

Of course, if you were doing this option you might want to look into upping his greens for calcium (broccoli is a great non-dairy source of calcium)

I don't see why switching to a different source of milk would be a problem. Again, just be careful with Almonds. Has he had any nuts before? Any reaction to them?  I would search for an Almond Milk that does not have any added sugars and the least amount of "extras" in the ingredients, kwim?

Also, I know you didn't mention it, but I would stay away from rice milk, personally.  I know in North America anyways, most rice milks contain arsenic

I'm sure the probiotics are helping! They do wonders for the whole body!! That's great he's already on them