Off topic, rambling, and too much information. Don't say you haven't been warned.
School is about to start up again, and I feel like I have spent the entire summer dealing with my son's fructose intolerance issues, if that is even what is wrong?
Doctors, tests, elimination diets, oh my.
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| Really? Mom must you take a blog picture now? |
It has been non stop and even though we pretty much eliminated fructose from his diet (high fructose corn syrup, melons, apples, juices, pretty much mot commercial snack products with the exception of goldfish) the guy does not stop pooping. It is a poop party. I can't potty train him because let's face it he can't control the fact that oops he has diarrhea (I told you too much information).
It sucks. I feel like a failure as a parent because my son is 3 1/2 and walks around in a diaper. The kicker, he could care less. This is probably a good thing and I am lucky it happened with my boy because by nature boys are much grosser than girls.
Luckily his preschool is still taking him (it's a medical thing and they are just the sweetest), but I dread those whopping 4 hours a week when he is at school. What if he poops? What if they call me, and honestly the thing that scares me the most is what if he starts to get embarrassed about his condition?
There is hope, we will get this worked out, but I don't want my children to ever feel bad about something they can't control.
So here I am six months after I started with a vigor and enthusiasm not seen by many (points if you know where that line came from) and my little guy is not potty trained.
On the plus side we have learned that he does not have celiac's, is normal wait, is most likely fructose intolerance, but we can not test for that until he is five, and is otherwise healthy.
So in the end we are lucky, very lucky. There is nothing seriously wrong with Holden, just some fructose intolerance.
Having a diet without fructose is not the easiest thing in the world, it's not producing the results I was hoping to see (solid poops, so we can finally get our potty training on), but it is a step in the right direction.
Comments
I stumbled upon your blog googling around, I feel your pain. I myself have had what the doctors called "IBS" since I was 14 (I'm now 24).
Recently I found out the reason I was pooping 7-9 times a day was fructose intolerance ( and very intolerant at that ) so I have removed fructose, and fructose related things from my diet.
It is not much better, but i get relief from the gas and cramps that your son may also be experiencing. The thing that has helped me the most is to have a small serving of psyllium husk (Metamucil here in Australia) before every time I eat.
This works in both ways - if you are constipated, it will soften up your stools. If you have loose stools like me and your son, it works to absorb excess mucous and water in your digestive tract and slow down the transit of your stools.
I don't know if it is recommended for young children, I would get in contact with your doctor or dietician first. It takes a few days for your body to get used to the increased fibre, but I really think it may help your son.
Other things that have helped on my journey is eating more regularly, 4-5 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones, and spacing them out so that my bowels and stomach always have something to 'work' on.
My condition has left me with social anxiety problems from being bullied in school - it is very important that your son knows that is not his fault, and is out of his control. The quicker he can come to peace with this fact the better.
I don't want to scare you with this statement, but it is a possibility. When you need to use the bathroom a LOT and to poop too - it isn't well understood and can be very stressful over long periods of time.
I really hope the best for your son, I let "IBS" destroy my life for such a long time. I don't wish that upon anyone.
For me there are a few foods that i MUST stay away from, else I get the symptoms worse than ever before. These foods are deceptively high in fructose:
Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Peas
Of course being in america HFCS would be your main concern, but besides that you should try to stay away from these sugars too:
Aspartame, Xylitol, Sorbitol... pretty much anything named with a number, or man made.
Hopefully some of this can be of help to you, good luck in your quest!
Zack
I just wanted to give you some hope for potty training! I didn't know how my son would EVER get potty trained with diarrhea! I managed to get his bowels under control on a strict diet and then potty trained him. He was older (3 1/2) and so it took no time at all! And now, he sneaks gluten foods ALL the time and gets diarrhea regularly from it but has NEVER had an accident. So, there's so much hope! No one would know he has diarrhea or issues and he has no embarrassment over it all :)
Good luck. You are in the very hardest part! It was awful dealing with those issues when every other mother around me had NO idea what I was going through and the issues I faced. But it gets so much better! One day soon you won't have to change diarrhea diapers and he'll be able to go to school without a worry.