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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Trapped gas-can’t do this anymore

218 replies

Itneverends77 · 30/06/2022 09:55

Dd is almost 4, she’s had stomach pains since January. We’ve been to the doctors and hospital numerous times, she’s had various blood and urine tests-all negative.
Two eco scans have showed gas and one x ray has shown she’s impacted with poo and air.
We've been disimpacting with 8 sachets a day of Movicol for almost 9 weeks and started pico drops last week. Nothing has changed. Her behaviour has completely changed, she’s currently running around, shouting, tormenting the dog, she jumps around, throws things, sometimes hits me.
She has tummy ache from when she wakes, and on and off all day.
I feel like I’ve lost my little girl, so frustrating and upset to see her in pain everyday and not be able to help her, feeling so exhausted dealing with her behaviour, we can barely attend friends parties or play dates anymore, it’s impacted our life.
She’s due to start school in September, but I don’t see how she can, she’ll disrupt the class and teachers with her behaviour, when it’s not her fault, others would see her a just a *Naughty girl, but she really isn’t.
We’ve tried stomach massages, hot water bottles, gas drops, paracetamol medicine…nothing works.
I feel like the doctor has just sort of come to the end with it and really can’t offer me any more advice now…feeling quite desperate.
Has anyone been through similar, at my wits end

OP posts:
nokidshere · 02/07/2022 10:20

We've been disimpacting with 8 sachets a day of Movicol for almost 9 weeks and started pico drops last week. Nothing has changed. Her behaviour has completely changed, she’s currently running around, shouting, tormenting the dog, she jumps around, throws things, sometimes hits me.

I totally sympathise with the poo situation, my son had terrible problems for years and was always on movicol, it was a nightmare and extremely stressful. Thankfully for us, he just seemed to grow out of it eventually.

However, the behaviour issues are a different thing, almost certainly caused by a combination of her gaining attention, and you being less firm with her because of the medical problems. We are far more likely to let our children get away with things because we are already aware that they are suffering medically.

You can still sympathise and comfort whilst maintaining some boundaries, otherwise you might end up in the position of having her medical problems resolved but struggling to modify her behaviour because by then it will have become allowed and tolerated.

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 10:28

@LunaAndHerMoonDragonsLuckily she seems to sleep ok at night in general.
I'm really not comfortable with the amount of sachets she’s having but the doctor says to continue as does the Eric website etc, I’ve no idea what to do, I’m basically just trying to control behaviour most of the day until she goes to sleep, it’s horrendous.

OP posts:
salsmum · 02/07/2022 10:29

OP my daughter has cerebral palsy and gets constipated tried everything then I found sainsburys own glycerin suppositories and in the time it takes to shower my daughter after shower we have amazing results! They are really better than anything else the drs have prescribed. They come in a green pack.

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 10:30

@nokidshere Totally disagree.
I know my Dd and see the complete change her in a while after eating and before a poo/with trapped gas. She’s out of control and isn’t doing it for attention etc

OP posts:
endofagain · 02/07/2022 10:59

You mentioned, I think. dark, runny, smelly poo. If you see that, you know the impaction hasn't cleared. Watery poo with some solid (really solid) bits in it also means the impaction hasn't cleared.
PP mentioned that you need to give lots of fluids as well as the drinks with the movicol in them. Jelly, ice cream, soup, smoothies and ice lollies all count as fluids.
I wonder if there is still an impacted stool somewhere that hasn't yet broken down/shifted?
9 weeks isn't really that long if you are dealing with a severe impaction and a stretched bowel.

Notanotherwindow · 02/07/2022 11:13

Poor little girl. I would be looking at suppositories and then potentially enema at this stage. Yes it's not nice but neither is the way she is living atm. Short term upset would be worth it to give her some relief of symptoms.

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 11:22

@endofagain Yes I think she’s still definitely impacted, I said this to the Dr and she said to just continue with the sachets

OP posts:
Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 11:23

@Notanotherwindow That’s what I feel, I said this to the Dr and she said it’s not nice for someone so little etc etc. I hate the thought of it, but like you say, what kind of life is this for her everyday

OP posts:
endofagain · 02/07/2022 11:30

With my DD I remember she would run round madly to distract from actually doing the poo/override that sensation that was associated with so much pain.
It took 2 years to get through it all, the psychological side of it took the longest.
To my shame I stopped the treatment too early, after a few weeks, and we went right back to the beginning.
My GP was great, thank goodness, many GPs don't understand this problem at all.
Keep going.
Flowers

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 11:42

@endofagain I think it could be this sometimes but I’m not sure. I’ve spoke to her gently about going to the toilet when she needs to, not holding it in as that will give her the tummy ache etc. I’ve asked her if it hurts to go, she says no 🤷🏻‍♀️
I’m so worried about the effect of all this, having to have all these drinks all day, having pain and focus on pooing etc, just want her to be a free child.

Do you think an osteopath will help at all?Does there seem any point in her referring us to a hospital 2.5 hrs away got possibly more invasive procedures?

ive no idea what to do

OP posts:
Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 11:45

@endofagain You think I should continue with the 8 sachets & pico?
Did you consider doing a procedure just to get it all out?

OP posts:
endofagain · 02/07/2022 11:52

It is so difficult. I am just wondering if the impaction is higher up, it might not be painful to "actually go" IYSWIM. But the pain and gas is still due to the impaction.
Having said that, I don't think movicol is the be all and end all. It doesn't suit everyone. In my day the treatment was lactulose, docusate and senna. Given in 5ml quantities several times a day. The only one that tasted foul was the docusate and that was followed by something delicious and sweet as a reward. My DD was only 2, but she was able to grasp why she needed the medicine and she did co-operate bless her.
Maybe you could explore different meds with the doctor?

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 12:30

@endofagain This was her x ray,

Did you ever try liquid paraffin?

Trapped gas-can’t do this anymore
OP posts:
youcantparktheresir · 02/07/2022 13:25

OP i haven't read the full thing but I just wanted to hopefully give you some pointers.

The symptoms your daughter has are scarily like me. I was poorly, always sick and constipated and had diarrhoea from ages 3+. Had problems all the way until teenhood. Had X-rays, enemas, laxatives, and would just poop water but it would be the overflow of what was impacted. I've had several manual impacts on removals at hospital I couldn't even tell you.

I had a CT scan at 23 years old over something completely different. They found by total mistake that I had a maltorated bowel and intestine. My organs are all the wrong way round and I was born with it. But for some bloody reason it was never picked up on X-ray.
I had a prosecute called the LADDS procedure at 23 (was having cancer surgery and treatment at the same time, not on my bowel, but they combined the two issues and did it after the surgery)
They moved my organs to the 'normal' place where they should be. Trouble is, they lost ALL muscle memory and literally shut down. Then I started having all the problems mimicking my childhood.

I'm not saying this is what your DD has, but I completely understand your frustration. You know that feeling when someone says to you 'have a ginger biscuit' when you've got morning sickness? I got that when people would say 'try a probiotic, try prunes'
These things will not help a chronic digestive problem.

Things that have helped me long the way:
Phosphate enemas. Can get them on prescription or OTC. They're not the nicest but the relief after is so worth it.
Have a small footstool by the toilet. Your natural position to birth and poo is squatting. Having a stool to help you in that position on the loo works WONDERS and it's so simple.

If things get really bad, I take picolax. It's the strongest laxative that's available and normally used to do a total clear out, quickly, for surgery or something like that. Picolax will work. But it's aggressive and dehydrates you. But it will move the inpaction.

I don't have any other real pointers and I don't know if that can relate to your child but I totally understand your frustration.

I'm now 28, my digestive system has sort of moved back to the wrong place and is working okay.. not perfect but okay.

Get a stool for the bathroom and some phosphate enemas.

*one thing to point out with enemas, suppositories, the likes, these will ONLY work if the poo is low enough in the bottom of the bowel and colon. If the blockage is higher up and in the intestine or top of the bowel, they won't help. That's when you will need picolax / movicol (movicol is much less aggressive) to hit it from both ends. But be careful if you do this and make sure she drinks a shit tonne of water as it can dehydrate her easily.

Hope your daughter feels better and keep pressing with the doctor. Get a second opinion and try and get them to CT scan her. They can see a lot more on a CT.

endofagain · 02/07/2022 13:59

I am by no means an expert OP. I can see pockets of gas. You should have got a radiologist's report with the Xray. What does it say?

Itneverends77 · 02/07/2022 14:53

@endofagain This is the thing, she never sent it/told me what the report actually said. She only said it showed air and feaces and it needed to come out

OP posts:
Notanotherwindow · 02/07/2022 18:54

If it were me I'd try the liquid paraffin as I'm pretty sure it can't do her any real harm and if that doesn't work, start pushing for a procedure to get rid of it, whether that be enema or manual disimpaction and don't be put off by them saying its a traumatic procedure.

Yes it is but what do they think this is doing to her? She is already being traumatised by living in pain and being too scared to eat because of the pain it will cause. It's a recipe for an eating disorder as she is already beginning to associate eating a full meal with being in more pain.

She would probably benefit from some counselling tbh but not until the source of her anxiety is dealt with.

VimFuego101 · 04/07/2022 22:42

I would agree that liquid paraffin can't hurt and might help. Are you in this Facebook group? I've found it helpful. There are people from a few different countries so the medication names mentioned may vary.

Trapped gas-can’t do this anymore
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