what could the problem be ? my 17 year old daughter only has a bowel movement about once a month.?

Question

I am just wondering what could cause this? She said usualy it is when she is on her period.

Answer 1

I was alot like this at this age. I dont want to worry you but she may not be eating, or maybe bullimic.

I was going through alot of stress at that age and wasnt eating and i very rarely had bowel movements.

Just sit her down and talk about it, if she denies SHE is doing anything to affect it then i suggest a doctors appointment.

I really hope it all works out. If you find it is an eating disorder and she needs someone to talk to about it that has experienced it i would be more than happy to help

Answer 2

that makes sense, since her bowels are contracting with her uterus....
that's why many women will have a case of the poops right before labor hits....that uterus is contracting and therefore contracting the bowels.
that's also why some women will take castor oil or even drink caffeine beverages to get things going down there when they are close to labor.

as for your daughter in particular.....
many women have problems pooping. it's a fact of life, however, once per month is a bit longer than many women will go.
iw ould recommend getting her diet on track.
increase her intake of fiber, first.
this can be done relatively easily.....for breakfast, get her some Kashi cereal. that's the brand. it's "healthy", but is sweetened with honey and cinnamon and the "go lean crunch" actually tastes pretty good.
so, start there.
see if adding a bit more fiber helps.
also, she can add more fiber by going to the store and buying some flaxseed powder. this can be added to anything as you cook....sprinkle some into spaghetti sauce, pour some into a milkshake...whatever! you can't taste it and it adds some fiber to her diet to help get the plumbing working.

another option would be stool softeners. get some stool softeners from walmart....get the kind without stimulants....they are gentler.
take one or 2 per day and see if that helps her.
i took these when i was pregnant b/c as you probably know, pregnant women can get a bit constipated.

so,
-more fiber
-stool softeners
--another thought is to increase her water intake.
water keeps things flowing....

if those don't work then see a doctor. there could be something wrong with her bowels...maybe even an obstruction....

take care.

Answer 3

You didn't specify her weight and you will get a lot of responses from people that care...next time please include more details. Thanks.

This is bad. She could have intestinal cancer (diverticulitis) if this continue. And this is not minor stuff. This will hurt a lot if she reached the worse case.

Give her metamucil for fiber. There are other brands but she is very very constipated. Get her to walk a lot - if she is just starting walk with her in easier pace but do it everyday. If she can job it's even better. She needs to eat lots of food that's high in fiber.

Also try giving her this tea it's called 3 Ballerina - it is made especially for this problem. you can buy this at any asian store. Be careful because this tea is very strong - the effect is overnight but for some people only hours. What it will do is after drinking this tea ( 1 mug) she will feel the urge to go to the bathroom and move her vowel.

If she is taking any pills for vowel movement - you have to stop it. those pills are only for one time because it will clog her up after so many use. and she will be in great pain.

When my father had bypass surgery - he went through the same thing and he suffered a lot - I gave him tea just once and the problem went away and he felt way way better after.

Check with your doctor if you feel uncomfortable with this.
Good luck.

Answer 4

ok not meaning to be rude... theres an old saying
.you dont eat , you don't poop!
you don't poop...you die!
if this is true she is in need of medical care NOW!
if you are hospitalised for any reason and you don't use bowels in around 3 days they start the laxatives, followed by enemas to remove compacted faeces, if that doesn't move things.
any food should pass through a healthy system in no more than 24hours, less is actually better.
unless she is not eating any solid food at all? i find this rather unbelievable in truth, even milk alone, will produce some end products, so shes fibbing? or anorexic?
if neither of those...well she could have some bowel disorder and it should be sorted out fast.

Answer 5

Once a month is not in any way healthy. Normally a person should have a bowel movement at least every other day. Makes me wonder if she is eating enough, is she extraordinarily thin? Is she possibly anorexic, or bulemic? I think a trip to the doctor is warranted, at the very least she needs to be taking a fiber product and lots of water.

Answer 6

Wow thats not normal at all. You should at least have a bowel movement once a day. My son had the same problem. His doc put him on a medicine and done other tests to get him regular again. she could seriously have a medical condition or something more serious get her to a doc ASAP. It could possibly kill her.

Answer 7

Well, the old adage is that "normal" can range from eight times a day to every eight days. Once a month would concern me---if I knew it to be true.

However, as the mother of a teen, I'd be more inclined to think she just wasn't comfortable discussing her bowel habits with me.

If you are fairly convinced that she really is only having one bowel movement a month, it's something to be concerned about---it's something to explore with her doctor. I'd be concerned that she was purging by another route.

Answer 8

Does it hurt her when it finally comes out? Or does she complain of stomach pains? She should at least move her bowels every 3 days. You should get her to the doctor.

Answer 9

Depends what her diet is. I crap about 2 or 3 times a day, Go to GNC and by her fiber pill, Fiber is very important to the body. If she doesnt want to take fiber pills i would suggest to feed her whole grain foods/cerals, a lots of fruits and vegges (raw) as they are loaded with fiber.

Answer 10

Wow. All I can guess is that she's eating little to no fiber, and thus has very little bulk to pass (or is bulimic and throwing it up after she eats). This really doesn't sound healthy -- lack of fiber, OR bulimia. I'd suggest mentioning this to her doctor at her next checkup (and scheduling one soon).