Can’t get her to school

If movicol caused behavioural problems that tells you that what is underpinning the constipation is control, and she did not cope with the loss of control being on movicol brought.

Movicol basically stops children holding stool by making it liquid/runny so they can't exercise that control they gain by withholding stool.

Ittakes2 post at 18.29 is everything you need to know

I think you are being very optimistic saying that when she’s better she will want to go back

DD suffered from constipation when she was younger which I still believe started with the treatment for her reflux at 6 months old. We spent 8 years trying everything but got stuck in a cycle of impaction, constipation then diarrhoea. It was awful for her and frustrating for us.
We were under a specialist but ultimately what helped was a combination of: yakult drinks every morning, making sure she drank 2 bottles of water everyday, eliminating certain food eg banana, processed white cards and making sure she had 3 portions of fruit every day.
She also started to "grow out of it" and now at 12 she only gets brief periods of constipation.
Honestly you and your DD have my sympathy because it is incredibly stressful for everyone.

Could she go in for the graduation with you there to watch? Maybe it would help her to finish the year on a high note and go back in September?

I also don't agree with keeping her out of school. It turns school into something optional, which unless home educated, isn't an option.

I'd be doing an hour a day, increasing over the course of the next 2 weeks. She might throw a tizz, but assuming she isn't actively vomiting etc there is no reason not to push to get her to go in.

My son gets constipated, and can be horrifically painful, but stomach problems run in my family.

Make sure her diet is good, my son gets constipated if he eats too many bread items (he adores bread so is a tough battle).

Movical is amazing stuff for getting rid of the impaction, and maintaining. I tried all sorts of non medicated remedies but nothing worked as well as movicol.

I do echo a PP, it sounds like your DD may have behavioural issues given the levels of her anxiety.

Unless you plan to home school I think you should be trying to get her in even if it’s only for an hour or two a day and I’m very surprised that the school haven’t suggested this . I don’t think a 5 yo is best placed to decide if they want to go to school or not , that is a parents decision .

Ok so a bit left field if it caused issues with behaviour are there any other issues - the only cases I've seen with behavioural issues has been with children with asd and it's exacerbated how they behave. Constipation and bowel issues can also be common with children with asd.

Prebiotics have helped my little one. Biokult infantis every day.

I don't understand when you say she's slightly impacted if you haven't had a scan. With constipation her bowel is probably stretched and will need retraining to be pooing normally again. She really needs to be seen by a gastro paed or encoporesis nurse- here the school nurse can refer.

Movicol can't really be stopped and started as it needs to be continuous. I don't think juice and magnesium will fix an impaction. Pooing everyday doesn't mean that it's sorted as if she's still doing soft poo and hard poo it's sounds like a mix of overflow and some poo passing through.

She really needs a proper clear out and the maintenance to keep everything moving.

If she's nauseous with constipation it needs more active treatment than she's getting. It doesn't sound like you're getting to the nub of the problem.

Maybe keep her off Thur - Sun and really go to town - whatever your equivalent of a disimpaction is - so she is feeling much more comfortable by Monday. Pooing every day doesn't mean she is better or that you're resolving an underlying impaction.

I would also recommend you talk to the school nurse (probably via phone, number available from school reception) if you're not taking her to the GP.

I am sorry but I am feeling angry on your daughter's behalf - if "She’s had tummy aches and nausea on and off for 3 weeks."...then you are not keeping on top of it. It's not been 'managed' at all - she's feeling sick, is in pain and is refusing school. She needs to go to the GP and you need to work with the GP to find a solution to her pain and suffering.

Both my children and myself had constipation - one of my children had severe issues until she as 8.

I appreciate you think you are trying but it is clearly not working and you need to go back to the GP for your child's sake.

When my daughter was young she has severe constipation. I was not keen to have her on the movicol regularly so would stop and start with other stuff.

Her consultant explained to me that her bowel is meant to be a passage - like a hall in a house. Because of my stopping and starting it had stretched into a waiting room - her bowel muscles were stretched and no longer had the strength to push stool out. He said I needed to give her movicol every day to keep her bowel moving with the hope that it shrunk back and became a hallway rather than a waiting room.

It did shrink back and eventually she was able to come off the movicol.

I suspect the same has happened to your daughter - going everyday is not enough - she has constipation and you also refer to impaction. This has become such an issue she is feeling nauseous, refusing school and its affecting her education.

I would be curious to know what side effects you had with movicol - was she getting leakage? ie likely there were hard stools and she was getting the liquid go around the sides?

Movicol is a stool softener - there are other options. Products like senkot stimulate the bowels muscles.

If your daughter is up and down with her constipation - she is not OK with it. If a child's bowel is working properly - they are not up and down.

As an aside, do you have IBS / hypermobility in your family? Constipation is slow gut motility and can be linked to these things. It's also a little known that some people have constipation as part of coeliac symptoms rather than diarrhea which most coeliacs tend to have.

Diary is also a trigger for constipation but I am guessing you know that.

My daughter has been like this since she was 4. She’s 9 now, still soils constantly and has intermittent stomach aches. We’ve just deregistered - I don’t have to worry about her attendance, she doesn’t have to worry about soiling at school and it’s already made such a difference to her.