I know it's gross but...
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I know it's gross but...
| Thu, 11-10-2005 - 2:45pm |
Do your kids have loose bowel movements? This has been a problem for jake on and off since he had a spat of ear infections over a year ago. At that time the ped tested him for clostradium(not sure if spelled correctly)and he was positive. Basically the anti-biotics used to help his ear infections took out good bacteria as well as bad. We treated this but his bowel movements are still a problem sometimes. I don't know what to do about it because it's making potty training even more difficult.Have dietary changes helped your kids? He still drinks about 1-2 cups of milk and 1-2 cups of watered down apple juice everyday. The other problem I have with regards to potty training is Jake really dosen't seemed bothered to sit in a wet or dirty diaper.I have sat him on his potty for up to an hour at times which he dosen't seem to mind but he has never once gone on it.Help, I'm about to lose my mind and we've only been doing this consistantly for a week now!
Teresa
Teresa

Have you given him probiotics? Or lots of yogurt even which have probiotics in them. They are the good bacteria in the guy and often with ASD kids and any kids/people it is a good idea to do that. We get rid of our good bacteria often by eating junk and of course, antibiotics. That would be the first thing I would do. You can get some gentle chewable ones for kids. Start by giving him 1/2 tab.
ALso, you may want to look into replacing his milk with a non-dairy one or cutting back on that. He may have some issues with lactose problems.
There is alot of info on autism and bowel issues. Often this is why some parents try the GFCF diet though I would likely start with probiotics and cutting back on milk based on what you have said.
Renee
I agree with Renee about the probiotics and yogurt. They'll help bring his gut back into balance.
I disagree about replacing the cow's milk with non-dairy subs though. Soy, nut and rice milks are all very hard to digest actually and will not really help his gut heal. But if you're concerned about dairy you could cut out or back on lactose for awhile and see what happens. That means he can still have cheddar cheese, butter and yogurt (though commercial yogurt usually has dry milk added to it so it's not really lactose free but it has the probiotics to balance it out.) If you're worried about calcium, lots of juices have added calcium now as do cereals.....etc. Plus dark green veggies are actually high in calcium too, but my kid is the only one I know who likes broccoli and kale ;) If you're really worried about it, cut back on raw fruits and veggies for a week or so. They're harder to digest too.
As far as potty training goes......if he's not ready, he's not ready. I know that's the worst advice in the world and I hated getting it when we were potty training Sam too! He was a toughie and still isn't completely trained as far as BMs go at 6.5. Sam's on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have to watch his lactose intake or he gets wicked constipated. So I don't buy regular American cheese anymore (it's not really chese) and I shred my own cheddar so we don't get all that extra cellulose and starch in it. And I watch how much mozzerella he eats. One week we had an english muffin pizza kick and boy did he pay for that!!!
Good luck
Chrys
My two year old son Jake, has always had loose bowel movements. I didn't think anything of it, until noticing that my 8 month old doesn't have those, they're more regular. Jake also doesn't care if his diaper is wet or poopy, so we haven't even started really potty training yet. They definately get worse with the more fruit he eats, but for the most part they are still loose even if he doesn't eat any fruit for a few days. I didn't realize that lactose could be an issue though. When he was a baby, he had feeding problems and was put on Isomil formula rather than Similac. So I guess I should look into limiting his dairy. He does love yogurt though. I don't have any suggestions. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.
Jen
Hi Teresa,
First, I guess you should talk to your pediatrician again if you think the problem with too much antibiotic did not really work as treated. Second, lots of ASD kids have problems with bm's, poor little things. You are not alone.
I can't remember how old your son is, but Eric is 3.5 and it was not until we started potty training did we put 2 and 2 together and realize that his diarrhea and constipation as an older baby/toddler were not "toddler tummy" or teething, as our ped had said. Eric used to have really bad bm's as an older baby (once we started solid foods, about 10-12 mos.) They were loose and apparently acidic, it seemed like they "burned" him, really terrible diaper rash. You could tell he was really in pain. So, when little dude started potty training, it is not too surprising that while the whole process has been slow (but he's doing well, a work in progress!) the urine training was relatively easy (on an ASD scale!), but bm's take more effort and now that he is verbal, he says he is afraid they will hurt. I sometimes wonder if it is due to a memory of those baby acidic diapers?
Anyway, as everyone has said, probiotics really helped with the diarrhea. Almost instantly. A really expensive, but good over the counter one is called Culturelle (it's about $25 for a package at the the drugstore, I think). My ped recommended we use it when Eric takes antibiotics. Another one we use on a daily basis called "Florabears" that is also over the counter. We get it from Whole Foods. The Culturelle really works (even on adults!). Yogurt is good too, maybe something like Danactive (if milk is ok) or O'Soy (Stoneyfield Farms) if Soy is ok. But you probabably should talk to your doc first. For us, the probiotic and yogurt really helped.
Now, b/c gastro probs. have plagued our "baby" for a long time, we opted for the gluten free, casein free diet and that has done the trick for gasto problems. But I would try yogurt and probiotics first. Guess I'm just repeating what everyone else said.
As for potty training, hard as it is to accept, it just takes longer for our kids.
Hang in there! As another online ASD parent friend of mine said, the daily "poop report" is kind of like the weather report at our house! (Just trying to add a little humor, when he wrote that, I laughed so hard!)
Katherine
Christie
Hi Teresa,
Nope, you are not alone on this one.
Hi there! Although Josh did have loose stools seemingly all the time, it was definately because of his dairy intolerance, not a bacerial inbalance so I don't have much input there....but I do have a potty training idea...
First,I totally agree with what everyone has said. You aren't alone, and our kids take longer. Eventually it will happen, and like most of the other kids, it was like a lightswitch. Josh didn't seem to care either whether he was sitting in dirty or wet diapers, it was like pulling teeth to get him to go pee in the potty much less poo. I even tried the "go diaper and pantless" and he would pee wherever he was and hold the poo until we gave in and put a diaper on. He is now 5 and fully potty trained...since it is about the same time of year that we finally got it to start clicking for Josh I'll let you know what we did (and everyone else reading, please understand, we weren't trying to "push" him, it was just an idea at the time to try and happend to work). He was almost 4, and people out and about were making comments like "it is the parents fault when kids aren't potty trained by his age" and I think we as parents felt like we were failing him (although I know that isn't true...he's different" so what we did is explain to him during the whole month of December that on Christmas morning, Santa would take all of his diapers and leave a special toy along with others for him (I think he wanted the V-smile the most that year), because he was a big boy now and all of the baby elves needed diapers and that's how Santa gets them for the elves. We said that once Santa left him toys, there wouldn't be any diapers left, and he would have to wear big boy underwear and go in the potty. We made a big ritual, putting the diapers out for Santa with a bow along with the milk and cookies. When I got up bleary-eyed that morning, not thinking I said "come on Josh, lets go change your diaper" to my surprise he said "but mom, Santa took all the diapers remember?" He hasn't worn a diaper since! He even refuses nighttime pull-ups because he now "loves" his underwear (he still wets the bed regularly), but I don't mind washing the bedclothes everyday. I won't say there weren't a few accidents along the way, but we didn't have any major hang ups from that day on. We are going to try the same tactic with the binky and our younger NT son this year.
Just an idea that worked for us. HTH and Good Luck!
Heather
That is the sweetest idea - the baby elves need diapers - too cute! And yes, I got treated the same way - especially by my sis-in-laws - everytime we got together I heard stories about how their kids were trained by 18-24 mos. They use to try to blame it on the fact that at the time I was working fulltime (I was a single mom dating their brother), they use to say that he wasn't trained because he was at daycare - they implied it was easier for my daycare provider to keep him in diapers - which was totally untrue - she was just as excited when he was trained as I was. Anyway - great idea!
Christie
Thanks
Teresa