Has anyone potty trained a constipated toddler?
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Did you manage to get the bowel movements to be regular? If so, how? I feel like we’ve tried every option and every wives tale going over the last two years and nothing makes it any easier for him.
It is so tough, I fully sympathise with you. We're currently on the maximum dose of Movicol, Unlimited fruit and veg, a prune pouch every other day and around 800mls or more of fluids. We've also been allergy tested and I'm doing a trial of dairy free. We're now at a point where he will go every day or every other day and the consistency is so much better and he's pain free. Still a long way to go but slowly he's learning not to be scared. Still incredibly tough though as we have also tried everything, laxatives are working so we're sticking with them for the foreseeable!
@Sophie thanks for replying, I’ve been avoiding movicol because I’ve been scared of putting something like that in to him on a long term basis but, it’s got to be better than this. My boy is an absolute dairy monster - I have to try limit him else he’d exist on milk and yoghurt. Will ring the gp tomorrow. It’s exhausting isn’t it x
No worries! Honestly long term uncontrolled constipation is worse than long term medication. Because the colon can stretch and weaken because they just get incredibly backed up with all the waste they're meant to be getting out. The bowel becomes lazy and it's a vicious cycle. So to start off with you'll need to have laxatives for a while but can reduce once your littles ones more comfortable and if you manage to pinpoint an issue. Don't come off them as soon as they poo once or twice, as you'll be back to sqaure one. In my experience GPs are useless but from my research, they should be going comfortably for a good 3-6 months before you even consider coming off of them. Ask your doctor to check for fecal impaction, because there's a separate plan for that which includes alot of laxatives to flush the bowel out and that helps the colon heal. Also, join Movicol Mummies on Facebook! There's pages and pages of information from mums on there about laxatives, potty training ect.
Check the poo guide online too, you're aiming for type 4 poo! Be open in conversation with your little one, get a potty and just leave it out, practice putting teddies on it and talking very positively about poo. Definitely check the ERIC website as its alot more in depth. They also have a free helpline you can ring for advice! Also you can ask for the chocolate flavoured Movicol, I make it up then mix with milk and my little one really likes it
Oh thank you! I’m literally in the doctor phone queue now so I’m glad I saw your comment about chocolate movicol lol. Will look for that Facebook group too. Thank you
Agree with everything @Sophie has said. Really great advice. My daughter is on Movicol for similar reasons - has struggled with bowel movements as a newborn. We’ve found potty training has actually helped as she is sitting at an angle on her potty/toilet, so it’s able to come out a lot easier. We’ve had poos pretty much everyday since she’s been potty trained which is helpful. I used to suffer from constipation as a child too and was also on Movicol. I haven’t felt any side effects or needed reliance on laxatives now if that’s any ease of mind 😊
@Shana thank you for this, the doctors prescribed us cosmocol today, I’ve no idea if that’s the same as movicol, I did ask for movicol, but if I have to jump through certain hoops and show ive tried things then I will. Thanks again both, it was really supportive to hear your experiences! x
Yes! Well we're getting there. You need to fully treat the constipation before beginning. You need to make sure that bowels movements are regular and pain free. If not, you run the risk of them withholding and then becoming impacted which is incredibly hard to manage (they might already be impacted it constipated for a long time). If diet and fluid increase doesn't work then definitely need some laxatives from GP to get it under control. ERIC Charity website has loads of reading material for constipation. Traditional potty training often doesn't work because pooing is stressful enough for them, it's really tough but read lots about it before you start!