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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Senna tablets + BF = diaorrhoea in 14mo??

6 replies

vwcampervanfan · 09/06/2012 20:52

Hi all,

I've been on senna tablets (2 per day- normal strength) since DS was born and am still BF him. He was diagnosed at 6 months for egg and dairy allergy, negative for wheat. We have both been off egg and dairy for a long while now but his nappies are still pretty awful - not escaping down the leg but never a proper "stool" and he hardly strains at all when pooing. I was pondering if he has a wheat intolerance but it has just occured to me that it might be the senna tablets (despite being told they are ok by several doctors and allergy paed). I am going to switch to lactulose for a while to see how it goes.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? He is getting to the point where I want to reintroduce dairy and I want to get back to normal nappies before we do that.

TIA

OP posts:
vwcampervanfan · 16/06/2012 06:24

Bump

OP posts:
littleweed10 · 16/06/2012 08:09

I'd give it a go to remove senna. Aside from any wheat in it, I'd consider it a potent natural herb, I think it's a likely conclusion it's getting into milk. Yes obviously I am highly qualified to speak about this- not! - but base this on personal experience. Just think of how your breast milk can smell of garlic or spices if you been eating them, or that in my case, DS always had gripes tummy when I ate too many tomatoes... It might not affect every child, but if your child's,symptoms match the affect of you taking too much senna- very runny poos, gripes tummy, I thinks it's logical to try a removal of it from your diet....

I have had long term IBS issues manifesting in bad constipation so senna, movicol, lactulose and others have been regular 'friends'Hmm
Lactulose has always been billed to me as a 'benign' type of medicine which will support your digestion in flow through the intestinal tract, but if your body doesn't need so much it is absorbed just pooed out.
Whereas senna is an acute, 'get you going' type of tablet - for example i had a bought where I literally hadn't gone for a few weeks, the doctor suggested a course of 7 days on 1 or 2 tablets depending on the speed of affect. After the build up of constipation was cleared, I was back on maintenance measures - diet, lots of fluid, fibrogel and lactulose. Then if that was going well for a couple of weeks, I generally drop the fibrogel and stay on the lactulose, combined with watching my diet, intake of fluids.

So, sorry my point is, if you feel the need to take it every day, you might need some difference guidance and support on maintenance of your condition, how to deal,with acute bits of constipation, so your reliance on the senna is lessened. I am pretty sure fibrogel as lactulose is in preg/ bf ing...

littleweed10 · 16/06/2012 08:10

Gripey not gripes - flippin iPad !

EauRouge · 16/06/2012 08:25

Here is the BFN sheet on laxatives and BF. It says that it can cause loose stools in babies so you might want to try something different and see how you get on.

In Hale's senna is listed as L3 (on a scale of 1-5, 1 being fine and 5 being not fine at all) and it says that it is only recommended for short use, such as 10 days.

I would probably give the BFN drugs in breastmilk helpline a call and chat with them about possible alternatives, they'll be able to help.

vwcampervanfan · 16/06/2012 19:15

Thanks both. I've been off the senna a week now and he still has nasty poos (whereas I'm not having any!!!!). I'm going to give it a week and see how it goes but given that it's obviously out of my system I'd imagine it was out of his ...

OP posts:
littleweed10 · 16/06/2012 20:16

Maybe it's something else but you never know his gut might be a bit sensitive from it, over the time anything going in his system ? Good luck!

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