11 yr Old been in Constipation for weeks HELP !!

Hi I had the same problem with 10 year old daughter. I also was prescribed movicol and actualize which had no effect. It got to the point where she hadn't moved her bowels for 3 weeks. Her tummy was very bloated though she was still eating and wasn't complaining about feeling poorly. I ended up going to A&E and luckily was seen by a gastroenterologist. When she was examined he could feel a really big build up in her tummy. Previous to this she had been soiling her pants daily I later found out this was overflow passing around the blockage. He prescribed picolax bowel or and dulcolax for 2 day and said if this didn't work she may need an enema. The medicine was dynamite and she went on second day though this was a very messy two days! Now my daughter is going great with a maintenance dose of movicol twice a day. Plus having plenty of fruit, water and exercise. Also sitting on the toilet 20 mins after meals seems to help. I hope this helps because I went through this for months going back and forth to doctors. You will get better results from hospital. Good luck. Let me know how you get on.

Hi Janice33981

   Your daughter sounds like ours we was up and down to Doc's and hospital...1st told apendic's, 2nd its just tummy ache take Buscapan, 3rd a UTI infection, 4th no after xray -completly blocked up -movicol....but still pain and no toilet since Sunday and not even tonite!!  Wife called doc's , now been given Docusate -2-3 times a day to take as well as Movicol.   Have you or anyone heard of Docusate ??   Hope she goe's tommorrow.. sounds arful . And yes like your daughter she has fruit , weetabix , plays netball , dance school , like's playing outside.... fingers crossed for Friday ??

Hi have you tried massage with olive oil on tummy circular movement to encourage bowel, also warmth from a bath/hot water bottle. Plus there are parts on the base of your foot you can rub to naturally help digestive system. I am thinking back to my Baby massage classes for my son as he had issues when born and we had to give enema for it. Tummy troubles are such awful things at any age. I hope everyone gets some relief soon. 

Hi. My daughter had the medicine you mentioned  and that did help a little but never quite cleared her bowel, so that's why she was prescribed bowel prep and dulcolax which I guarantee will work trust me!  I really hope this helps because this problem affects the whole family and it is miserable for the child. Hope as its Friday you have had some results fingers crossed. Let me know how you are getting on, if you need any advice I'm willing to give my support.

It is horrible being constipated.  I suffered for years and the doctors were useless and unsympathetic.  So I did my own research and no longer have a problem.  The following worked for me:

Lots of water, including warm water - boil up like making coffee, but don't put the coffee in, you can add a slice of lemon or lime if you like.  Or try a Rooibos tea bag.

Avoid smoothies.  Avoid sugar - one of the main causes of constipation.  Avoid fruit juice - full of sugar.

Exercise will help - so the more the better.

Visit the health shop for psylleum husks and brown linseeds.  The linseeds are tasteless but have a lovely crunchy texture and can be added to sandwiches, soups, stews, etc. or eaten by the handful.

Cut out refined foods - like white rice, supermarket bread (even wholemeal), white pasta, etc.  Give her lots and lots of vegetables, especially raw ones.  Find a good bakery for bread.  Buy wholemeal pasta.  Make your own pasta sauce - any ready made sauces, meals, etc will be full of sugar.  Try making proper porridge for breakfast, or buy Jumbo oats from the health shop, put into bowl uncooked with some fresh fruit cut up and some plain, full fat yoghurt (I like the Greek type).  You can also buy a good quality dark chocolate (like Green and Blacks) and grate over the breakfast to make it extra appealing).

Have plastic containers full of celery and carrot sticks in the fridge to snack on, as well as sunflower seeds and plain nuts (not the salted variety).  My kids all loved snacking on strips of raw green pepper.

It won't happen overnight, and it will take real effort to cut out sugars - no biscuits, cake, fizzy drinks, dilute, fruit juice, white pasta, pizza, instant foods, etc.  Don't forget any food labelled "low fat" is probably full of sugar.  Weetabix is terribly refined - so will make constipation worse.  Good luck!  Have patience - and your daughter will get over this.  But do help her to make the dietary changes now - before her problem really gets out of hand!  It is a horrible thing to go through and I really feel for her.