constipation/UTI

During the second week of school, Brooke missed 4 days due to a fever.  That Monday, she was out of sorts due to bathroom issues.  We had gone to the pool after school, but I could tell that she needed to go poop. I was giving her Miralax periodically, but we were mostly managing everything with diet.   She had a few days when it hurt her to poop, and things quickly went downhill from there. She started withholding again, which meant that she was miserable and uncomfortable until she finally couldn't hold it in anymore.  That evening she finally pooped, but she had blood all over her stools, and when I checked her bottom, it looked like she either a hemorrhoid or a broken blood vessel or something.  I put ointment on it, and tried to talk things out with her.  

That night, she woke up with a fever and I figured we had started our vicious cycle of UTI/constipation issues.  Sure enough, I took her to the doctor and she had a UTI.  They sent me to the Cook's Urgent Care for an x-ray of her intestines to gauge the level of constipation.  

She was nervous, but did so good laying very still for the x-ray.

The x-ray showed moderate constipation, so we went home with a plan to do daily miralax until everything was soft and she was no longer scared about getting her stools out.

The next few days were so weird as the fever would come and go.  She would feel okay, would eat a small snack, but would want to lay in her bed or on the couch and was quickly asleep.  She hasn't napped since she was two and a half, so I knew she just didn't feel good.  She was also sad to miss school those 4 days, but she really wasn't up for much. Being in school may have also played a role in all of this since she wasn't drinking as much as she did at home, and I don't know how comfortable she was about going to the bathroom at school.  We had practiced having her wipe herself, but its different when you're completely on your own. I visited with her teacher about it, and left wet wipes in her classroom bathroom for when she has to go at school.

I am happy to report that the Miralax did the trick, and she is doing so good!  I hope she won't have to be on Miralax for life, but at least for now, I feel comfortable with it. It was awful seeing her in pain, and seeing the fear she had about going to the bathroom. Seeing your child struggle really is the worst part of being a parent!