Constipation-need help.
My son is very constipated and I have tried giving him high fiberfruits,veggies,bread ,cereals,prunes but nothing seems to work.he ishaving very hard little bm’s and getting cramps and is veryuncomfortable.The dr. prescribed miralax but i am not very sure ofthat .Anyone has any suggestions..
Otis Uyehara said,
Wrote on November 20, 2006 @ 6:27 pm
My experience, NO MIRALAX. My 2 year old got nasty rash, and as Ilearned here from others, it does not work on impacted stool. My sonhad a horrible experience with it as he had impacted stool already sothe new stool was trying to pass by the blockage. Horrible pain hewas in. I had to use Fleet Baby Lax suppositories to “clean himout.” He has not had a constipation problem since that episode,but never again will I give him Miralax.
Arcelia Smithen said,
Wrote on November 22, 2006 @ 7:39 am
This is based on limited knowledge, but I think Miralax isappropriate only for short periods of time. Many of the kids withreal bowel issues wind up nearly dependent on the stuff… usingit/needing it daily for months or YEARS. I would avoid it for ourASD kids, as I think it sets a dangerous pattern in motion. Thereshould be some underlying issues we can attack to correct theproblem rather than moving along the guts with sythetic material.Even the website for Miralax says impactions or metabolic disordersshould be ruled out prior to starting Miralax, as it is notappropriate for theses cases.
I used Miralax on my NT daughter when she was nearly 4 years old.She was fighting the transition to pooping in the potty and startedholding her poops. She became constipated as a result and got evenmore scared of sitting on the pot to poop. I used Miralax for 3doses and got her ‘moving’ again. She lost her fear of pooping onthe toilet (because it came out so fast now!) and that was it.
I think how I used it for my NT daughter is fine and dandy. She hadno underlying gut issues. There are others who will say I shouldn’thave used it even for her.
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE;I use up to 4 drops a day)and extramagnesium citrate (200 mgs) seems to work for my son. He does nothave the little pebbles, but instead very bulky, ‘man sized’ stoolsthat are difficult to pass. We still seem to struggle to achievedaily stools, but at least I’ve stopped the every 4-5 day schedulefor now.
Most docs won’t be of much help here. Even our pretty conservativefamily practice doc said her daughter has been on Miralax for over ayear; and in the same breath saying we could try it for my son!Didn’t give me much confidence. Medicine has gotten in to the habitof quick fixes instead of real cures. Partly the fault ofconsumers, but that is another story entirely!
I see we are on the GFCF site so I don’t have to tell you toeliminate dairy. I think this diet can get some kids in trouble dueto the reliance on simple carbs for the picky ones. Doesn’t looklike that is your case, either.
I say try the GSE if he tolerates citrus and you haven’t tried italready. It is good at killing yeast, bacteria and apparentlyparasites; all potential causes of constipation and all quite commonin the ASD population. I use NutriBiotic drops. You can find thatat GNC as far as I remember… or your local health food store orVitamin Shop. Start SLOOOOOOOWLY, or you’ll get blow-out diarrhea!Trust me on that one. THey also make GSE capsules if you son hasmastered pill swallowing (the drops are bitter tasting).