Chronic diarrhea in 2yr old

[dnyc]

My daughter has had diarrhea since she was 4 months old, usually 3-4 super runny and often mucusy and acidic, but always blood free. She's had every test out there it seems and the only one to come back off was her IgA levels were 7. She has no food allergies, delayed or immediate. She does have reflux that is getting worse the older she gets. She takes prevacid 15mg twice daily (only been on it since she was 15 months) and Miralax 1/8 of a teaspoon every other day. Her pediatric GI says she has a slight anal shelf which is why he is having us try the miralax. She had an endoscope dec. 11, 2009. She does have occasional (and I mean once a year occasional for about 2 weeks) constipation. She gains okay, but then usually drops about 5lbs, the first drop at 8 months. Her height has slowed significantly since the first weight loss.

She often refuses to eat. usually she eats a string cheese and some cottage cheese all day. She drinks about 24oz milk and gets 1 Kid Boost a day. She has low to NO appetite. Her pediatric GI says there is nothing else he can do except a colonscopy and he wants to avoid that. Fruit and veggies seem to make it worse.

What could be going on with her? What can I do to help her?

[dnyc]

Thanks. Her GI is pretty sure its not that because it shouldn't cause weight loss. When he first started seeing us he thought it was typical toddlers diarrhea or Chronic Nonspecified infantile diarrhea, but it should not include weightloss or weightloss to the extreme she gets it. She's lost as much as 5lbs 12oz in a week and on a 22lbs child that is pretty extreme.

Thank You for the imput

[phlashman]

Not my advice below but something I found, worthwhile reading I think...

It is important that you continue to pursue this problem with a GI specialist and your pediatrician and allergist. I am not able to diagnose clinical problems such as this, but I can share with you some information that you may want to take into consideration. There is such a condition, and it is common in the U.S. and getting more and more so, called Chronic, Nonspecific Infantile Diarrhea. It is also referred to as the irritable colon syndrome, toddler diarrhea, or the sloppy stool syndrome. It occurs without protein-calorie malabsorption, which seems to describe your son i.e. you mention he is growing fast and furiously. Studies are suggesting that it is caused, at least in part, by variations in diet.

Those children who improve with dietary manipulations generally started the problem with some acute enteritis, probably infectious in origin, but maybe of an allergic nature, and the diarrhea has persisted beyond the expected recovery. The characteristics of this situation are:

   1. stools are sometimes normal,
   2. weight exceeds height percentile,
   3. watery stools are more frequent in the afternoon and evening,
   4. calorie intake seems higher than needs,
   5. fluid intake is either excessive or consists of large amounts of juices or hypertonic drinks.

Sometimes just limiting the intake of clear fluids shows good improvement.

The child who does not show improvement when his diet is altered is generally one who was colicky as an infant, has 3 to 6 mucous- containing stools a day, equally day and night, and parents may have irritable bowel syndrome. Malabsorption should be checked for in this case.

Often, children with chronic, nonspecific diarrhea simply outgrow it. it is usually outgrown by four years of age, so perhaps your son is on the cusp of recovery. Even if this may be the case, you will want to continue and pursue any possible medical explanation.

From your description, your son seems to fit the first category if nonspecific diarrhea is, in fact, his problem.

[dnyc]

Oh and its NOT toddlers diarrhea