Hi everyone, just wondering if you have suggestions for me please. anything appreciated!
Okay, so my wee girl, nearly 7 has constipation which she's had since shortly after starting school at 5 years. so it's been here a while. long story short - Under the pediatric ward at hospital we've tried lactulose, movicol, enema's, kiwifruit etc, etc.
Now we have truly had enough and I'm working on changing her diet, which has always been full of fruit and veges, but just recently I'm taking out red meat of her diet, including white flour, bread has been substituted for high grainy bread, there has been some investigation on taking dairy out of her diet too. I'm trying to keep her iron levels at a good levels.
It's been a long road and now I'm finding that I'm having to cook one meal for her and another for her dad who is lean and needs plenty of carbs and protein, he works a physically hard job. anyway I need help for school lunches and dinners - I'm trying to get creative . any ideas please!
babytears,
Sep 22, 9:55pm
Oh. so she can eat, eggs, fish, chicken - I'm guessing pork is a no-no. I haven't ben able to find any of information on this
jubre,
Sep 22, 9:56pm
2 kiwi fruit a day and drink lots of water. Have you considered going gluten free.
babytears,
Sep 22, 9:58pm
Yip. we do the kiwifruit everyday. and as for water. I'm working on making sure she's getting enough
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:01pm
First a disclaimer. Any ideas I may impart do not take into account that your daughter may have an underlying medical issue that I am completely unable to resolve and which what I suggest may aggravate.
1. Onions. Honestly a small (tiny even) onion a day certainly keeps a person regular. Onions can be snuck into everything. Here is a recipe I got from River Cottage for an un-authentic onion pickle which makes them taste really nice, especially if you use the sweeter red onions:
River Cottage Onion Pickle Slice onions (rings are best but whichever way spins your crank) Salt Vinegar
Sprinkle a reasonable amount of salt over the sliced onions and leave it for a while. Drain off the liquid that comes out (the salt will drain off as well). Add some nice vinegar. I used apple cider.
Put into sandwiches.
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:06pm
Chia Seeds. I make this recipe a lot for my pregnant daughter as it is very high in omega 3.
This is a raw food site and has many recipes that would probably help your daughter and while I'm not into raw foods myself I do use recipes from this site because they are delicious and very good for internal health.
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:08pm
Nuts. Nuts do not require a recipe. But if you are trying to be extra healthy then consider soaking the nuts till they just begin to sprout (about 18hrs, maybe longer) then drying them in a dehydrator. This neutralises the phytins, lectins and enzyme inhibitors in the nuts and makes them into a healthy superfood. But if you don;t want to do that then nuts are OK, just not in large quantities.
babytears,
Sep 22, 10:09pm
Thanks. fab ideas. I got her Vogels Bread with Chia Seeds in them and am always giving her LSA on her breakfast everyday.
And, she's taking LBA capsules daily as well as Pysllium
babytears,
Sep 22, 10:10pm
great, Yes. I bought nuts yesterday - thanks and I have a dehydrator, so that will come in handy!
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:12pm
Omega 3 from fish oil. This always helps keep people regular, especially those on ketogenic diets.
I cannot go past this suggestion, but I would use caution here - magnesium supplements. Do not consider this without the advice of a doctor who deals with supplements or conversely go to a place like Huckleberry Farms or Wild Harvest which has qualified naturopaths on site. Sadly not too many doctors know about supplements.
babytears,
Sep 22, 10:14pm
Hmmm yeah I did wonder about Omega. magnesium! what do they do! And yes I hear you about Doctors and supplements!
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:15pm
If your daughter had no underlying health issues, I would question why you have decided to give up red meat. It has no health disadvantages and lots of advantages, especially in NZ where it is still mostly grass fed and therefore full of good fats, iron, folic acid (for iron assimilation), B12 and lots of other rare, but important trace minerals.
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:21pm
Omega 3 is one of the two essential fatty acids that the human body requires. Modern day diets, with its emphasis on chemically extracted plant based oils, is very low in omega 3 and high in omega 6. The omega 6 is the inflammatory oil, sent by the body to sites to irritate and inflame (not dangerous but necessary for healing and repair). Omega 3 collects the omega 6 and impurities and deposit it where it can be excreted. We do not get enough omega 3, leaving no controlling mechanisim to stop omega 6 from getting out of control.
Just google omega 3 and 6 and you will learn everything you need to know.
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:32pm
I know many people will have strong ideas on the subject of LSA. I do to. While I have no problem with the sesames and almonds I do have very strong opinions on the linseed. It is my opinion, and my opinion only (so all those who want to pick holes in what I say next can just stay away because I'm admitting it is only my opinion), which I acquired from reading Barry Sears and, before that, intuitively, that linseed is not at all healthy.
I am well aware that this opinion flies in the face of all the health food pundits (especially the vegetarian brigade). To balance the argument, it is supposed to provide a good plant based source of omega 3. Warning unbalanced comment coming up - you'd be lucky to assimilate 1.5% of the available omega 3 from linseed as it is not readily bio-available to the human digestive system (and it was my mainstream doctor who volunteered that information).
buzzy110,
Sep 22, 10:38pm
For some reason, ofwhich I have no single clue at all about, but I have seen it confirmed by another poster in Health and Beauty, magnesium has the fortunate, or unfortunate (depending on your point of view), ability to send you running for the loo on a very, very regular basis, if you get my drift. The results are soft (not runny) and really want to leave the body without any prompting on the part of the person involved. But there are other factors involved and balance, especially involving potassium, is very important. I wouldn't risk anything without qualified advice.
vmax2,
Sep 22, 10:40pm
I would consider going gluten free.Also increase lots of fats, butter, coconut oil, olive oil.Eat lots of yoghurt, but not the sugary sweet stuff.You can buy an enema through naturefoods.co.nz in which you can put yoghurt and a probiotic.I know from experience that this moves things.Consider what she might be allergic to.Get rid of all the processed food in her diet.
vmax2,
Sep 22, 10:41pm
Hey buzzy I so agree about the linseed, I've never felt right about it either.Usually comes to us rancid anyway.
donnabeth,
Sep 22, 10:49pm
Babytears my daughter was the same, in fact there is a comment in her plunket book about being fully breast fed yet constipated(a sign of times to come) A diet too high in roughage can cause of all things, malnutrition, because their tummies are filled easily. A reliance on lactulose can make the bowel slugggish.Some little systems do block up for no reason at all. I hope it all goes well for her.
My daughter required medical observation and when it got really bad, enemas, until she was nearly 10. She was also small for her age.(there was no underlying illness) She sat on the toilet 20 minutes after each meal whether she needed to go or not. That was to try and keep regular rather than try to force anything out. Exercise probably helped the most. We tried to go swimming twice a week after school or on a Saturday morning and mostly on those days she would have a good cleanout before bed. In summer we went on family walks after tea and often in the morning there would be a result. When she was older gymnastics either helped or her system righted itself. Because of the embarrassing occasional leakage and the need to go NOW! she avoided team sports with fixed matches. One thing people always underestimate is the amount of pain and discomfort constipation brings. it is very real and very sore. I hope it all works out well for your daughter.
babytears,
Sep 23, 3:04am
I guess we decided on this in the meantime due to the digestion rate of red meat. it can take days for red meat to pass through the tract. thanks for all your advice - I really appreciate it :)
babytears,
Sep 23, 3:08am
Thank you - yes exercise is very important and I do think her pain by various people has been underestimated. we have encountered problems of lethargy and when playing sports ended up with no energy to play - just because she was tired and also because it hurt - running around made her feel uncomfortable - but yes to swimming. she's a water rat, so will do that more.
From what we have been told - her bowel is distorted due to the constipated build up and this will take time to correct itself and for the muscles to become strong again
eljayv,
Sep 23, 4:29am
Start slowly with fish oil.I was taking 3 salmon oil capsules a day and wondered why I was so very very loose till I googled and discovered that can be the cause of very loose bowel motions and floaters.Will try again soon but just one dailythis time.
hawki1,
Sep 23, 4:30am
I have read this thread with interest. the 1 thing that helps keep me regular is the addition of 1 orange a day, everyday. now I am older I am using flax seed oil and grain bread - I find white just bloats me now.obviously the normal amount of veges etc and i seem to be on top of my issue with this emabarrassing and yes, sometimes very sore and uncomfortable thing.try the orange.it won't do any harm.
bedazzledjewels,
Sep 23, 4:41am
Dr Rodney Ford is in Chch. You may find some answers there -
Thanks elliehen. I forgot about that thread! Some good reading.
babytears,
Sep 23, 9:11pm
Yey. thanks for that, that sounds quiet hopeful! :)
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