Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Poop

Ever since Georgia has lived with us, she's had problems with constipation. I guess it's constipation. Even if the poo is soft, she'll cry and strain when it comes out. It's soooo pathetic to watch her cry and grunt. Her little face turns red sometimes. Sometimes she gets so upset she pulls at her own hair.

I've talked to her doctor again and again about it. Eventually he put her on some kind of oil to help grease up her insides. I thought it helped, but in retrospect she was on antibiotics at the same time and I think that it was the fact that antibiotics can cause diarrhea that might have been helping her and not the oil itself. I told the doctor that the only time she's ever not cried during bowel movements is while she's on antibiotics. He only half listened to me. He insisted the oil was helping.

This morning before she left for school, Georgia had a poo and when I changed her diaper there was blood. I know it was from the straining, so I didn't freak out. But I did call her doctor's office. I guess you have to tell this doctor that there is blood involved in order to be taken seriously. Telling him that she scream-cries for minutes on end EVERY TIME she poops isn't enough. Apparently it's the blood that did it.

I took her to see her doctor this evening. First he asks, "Does she eat many vegetables?" I wanted to laugh and say that I'm a vegetarian, so yes, she eats plenty of vegetables. But I just assured him that she gets a very balanced diet (she eats meat at school) and hardly any junk food at all.

The doctor FINALLY agreed to try a new medication. He also said that I need to bring in a poo sample so that they can check for parasites. He said that he doubts that they'll find any, though. I said, "Well, it won't hurt to rule that out." And he said, "Yes. It doesn't hurt to check." No kidding. We should have done this MONTHS ago in my opinion. I asked at more than one visit, "Is there anything we can check for? Some kind of next step?" Well, better late than never, I suppose.

I hope that her new medicine helps. I can't even imagine how potty training will go if every bowel movement is a traumatic experience.

4 comments:

  1. It sounds like it could be hemorrhoids or a tear if it causes pain when she poops and bleeds a little. They can be internal and not see from the outside. Poor baby. I hope that this is resolved soon!

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  2. this is the first time she's had bleeding, but as much as she strains, i wouldnt be surprised if she has them. i didnt even think of hemorrhoids!

    if the laxative medicine helps her this time and she does less straining will the hemorrhoids go away on their own? or do i need to mention this possibility to her doctor and have her checked out again?

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  3. I would mention it, but the treatment is stool softeners to make them eventually heal on their own. That plus anything she needs to be applied for pain until they get better. I would make sure she is drinking lots of water too, because it is so hot outside and not drinking a lot makes this much worse.

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  4. thanks! i'll see what happens over the next few weeks. maybe the new medicine will help her. her last poo (after she started the new medicine) made her scream, but the screaming only lasted for about 5 seconds... a big improvement for her. so i'm very hopeful.

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