is it wise to start movicol during school?

[busygirl]

Or should I wait till the end of school?poor DD came home from school,soiled her pants,got changed,then soiled again,apparently tried to tell a teacher but wasn't listened to,was stinky when she came home,had traces of poo on her hands which she tried to clean off but didn't properly.Gp keeps refusing further tests other then pressing on her tummy,anyway gave her movicol some time ago even if in his opinion she's not constipated just witholding?anyway I'm worried that starting movicol will cause a lot of mess at the start and don't want her to be embarassed at school :-(

Movicol with soften and bulk the stool so should stop the over flow and soiling.

It helps children to gain control of their bowel movements.

I started DS' laxido when he was at school.

IME no, but it sounds like she is already getting herself in a mess in which case you probably have nothing to lose.

Sympathies, we have had a lot of problems with DS1 who is not quite 5 and in reception year. Fingers crossed he seems to have improved a lot and we haven't had an accident in some time, and he is doing a poo at home 9 days out of 10.

I want to cry,can't understand where all this is coming from,and I get so upset when it goes on her hands,she said she scrathes because its itchy but I think its the feeling of being dirty ukwim?I worry she's going to be sick if she doesn't wash her hands really properly(as all 5 years old do).she had small accidents at school before,just changed herself and that's it but today OMG there was a big patch on her trousers,poor baby put them back on inside out.should I mention it?should the teacher have noticed?really hope other kids didn't notice.

The teacher and TA have always noticed when DS has had an accident and have cleaned him up. Can you go and speak to them about it?

Your DC definitely won't be the only child that has gone through this, definitely.

They have noticed before,don't know what happened today.I took her to gp many times thinking it was constipation,even tho she's going a bit at the time a few times a day,but they are sure(from pressing her tummy) that there's not impaction(sp?).tried to get xray or something but they wouldn't refer her.tried lactulose before,not much difference,but will start again just in case.usually has a change of clothes but forgot to return PE bag after half term :-(

I would speak to school. They may be able to do a referral for you through the school nurse.

Alternatively go back to your GP and insist on a referral to a community paed. They see this all the time and will have more clue than your GP who sounds frankly shite.

Ask for a second opinion. Demand a referal to see a paed. Don't start self medicating movical. From what I understand of it, this is something that has to be properly monitered, especially in young people.

Constipation in children and bowel problems, from what I understand isn't as simple as push on belly. The children that I see who use movicale and other similar meds are not prescribed by gp's but from paeds, dieticians or other professionals.

gp is crap yes,but saw a few at the practice as they all say the same thing.shall i give a try to movical before going back to ask for a referral?

No. Ask for a referal first. You don't know for sure if it is constipation. It could be anything and giving laxatives that are not needed could cause more problems.

Oh I do sympathise, we have just been through the same upsetting episode.

I picked ds (4) up from school one day and the smell was instant, I was so worried that his friends may have noticed. When I got him home, I had to wash him down and his hands were also fifthy. He explained that he had had an accident and had not told his teacher but hobbled to his PE bag, covertly taken out his spare pants, and changed himself in the loo himself. My heart bled for him.

He had had difficulty going to the loo for a while, and I think that the constipation had caused a tear in his bottom, which was bleeding and making him fearful to go to the loo, so he was holding in until the last possible moment, hence the accident when he left it too late.

I went to GP,Lactose did not make a jot of different but Movocol (2 times a day) sorted the problem immediately. I was worried that it would cause diarrhea but it did not, it just softened the stools and made him easier to go, no more accidents, and so wld recommend you start it immediately.

Also told teacher, but in a class of 30, not sure that they have the time to look out for these issues, as sad as this is for us.

Ps. We later discovered ds had threadworms which may have caused the cut to his bottom, through scratching.

ihear,im not self medicating,its been prescribed by the GP.they said they 're fairly sure its not constipation,that she's whitholding poo(why??its not painful when she goes)and to give her a routine.i do make sit on the toilet before bed,but the problem is she does go!but just a bit,then after a while i let her down,its not like i can keep her on the loo for an hour

Ps. I would try movicol first, before further examinations, which may be unnecessary, it worked immediately for ds, and solved the problem, he is no longer scared to go to the loo. We also stopped him eating white bread and upped his liquid intake (he is rubbish at drinking at school so gave him drinks before school etc) to further stop the constipation.

Has she said why she doesn't want to go? Have you checked her bum, is it sore? Are the poos solid and hard or normal? With movicol, I found ds had to go to the loo, he couldn't hold it in. Then he started to relax about it.

I've no idea about the movicol, but as an idea for helping her clean herself properly in school could you give her some wet wipes to put in her PE bag or drawer? It may help her feel a bit more secure in terms of wiping - especially if she does have an accident and doesn't feel confident in asking for help.

School and GP don't sound at all helpful though. Can you have a chat with the school nurse and ask to ensure that there is something in writing that the school must follow to help her?

shes not in pain,only thing i can think of is that she's too busy to go to the toilet.at home im forever reminding her,but the soiling still happens.she doesnt seem to notice when it happens.i would like to know at least if its a phisical or behavioural problem.its been 1 year now

there's not a school nurse i dont think.what could i tell the teacher?DD said she tried telling her today but she was i think telling off the class so didnt listen,as DD quite a chatter box so maybe they dont have so much time listening to her talking to them lol

Ds is on movicol, and he started it during term time. I think it partly depends on the dose the GP has suggested. DS is on a low dose so he didn't suddenly have explosive poos but it did help make him do bigger poos rather than lots of little ones.

DS is six and has more complicated issues than your DD (he still wets himself daily, I have started a couple of distressed threads about it! And we've been seeing consultants at the hospital) but one of the things which is helping with poos is that he has to sit on the toilet about twenty minutes after each meal (as that is when you're more likely to poo) and to do about ten 'squeezes' as though he is trying to push a poo out and then stopping. He doesn't always do a poo while he's doing the exercises but it had supposed to get the muscles, and him, used to controlling when a poo comes out. This, as well as movicol seems to have improved his soiling himself.

Definitely speak to the school about it, DS is better a cleaning himself up now, but when he was younger the teacher or TA would always keep an eye on him and clean him up. He keeps wipes and spare clothes at school.

Sorry for long post! Ira something we've been going through for a long time so we have tried lots of things! Hope your DD gets sorted soon.

I think all schools have a nurse, even if they aren't based there, the office should be able to give you details. Although ours was a bit rubbish to be honest. Definitely talk to the teacher, just explain that your DD might poo in her pants and she worryingly need help cleaning up. The TA takes DS to the toilet after lunch to try for a poo, otherwise he'd just forget to go or try to hold onto it. Maybe you could suggest something like that too?

Not worryingly need help, I meant will need help!

yes thats a good idea,to ask her to try after lunch,thanks