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Original poster

Faecal impaction but won't drink meds

15 replies

calli335 · 30/10/2017 04:26

Worried sick. It's been two weeks now and dd8 hasn't pooed. This has been going on for a long time but I thought we were getting somewhere. However, she's had enough of taking the movicol and it's a huge battle to get her to drink it. She should be having several sachets a day but it's not happening. Any suggestions / alternative meds please?

OP posts:
PotteringAlong · 30/10/2017 04:31

Honestly? At 8 I'd sit her down and explain the consequences of not drinking it. Mix it into anything you can to make it paletable, bribery if needed but she's old enough to understand that, pleasant or not, she needs to take it.

FormerlyFrikadela01 · 30/10/2017 04:37

Your poor dd. I've lost count of how many adult patients I've had who won't drink movicol so I really am not surprised a child is struggling with it.

All I can suggest is mix it with cordial and hope for the best. It's not so much the flavour but the texture that people struggling with. I know it just looks like water but it has a strange feel on the mouth I think.

lacebell10 · 30/10/2017 20:44

Ask for the chocolate version. Little known but worth it. Looks weird as is clear but my very picky dd1 says it tastes like chocolate. Just need to get then to close their eyes.

nocoolnamesleft · 30/10/2017 21:18

Agree that texture is the issue...so cordial is a bit crap for disguising it. Okay, so your taste buds work best at room temperature, so you want it to either be fridge cold or hot (not boiling!!!). Something that naturally has bits in it has a less weird mouthfeel. So fruit juice with bits in it, or milkshake, or hot chocolate. For cold versions, use a straw, to skip as many taste buds a possible.

For an 8 year old...I've had reasonable success with telling them it's a scientific experiment to work out what the best taste/texture/temperature is.

Original poster
calli335 · 30/10/2017 21:19

Thank you very much for your replies. She is old enough to realise but we have behavioural problems with this one so things like this become a huge battle. It finally worked tonight though and she had a several visits resulting in me having to unblock the toilet but huge relief.
We've had the chocolate one for a while but I'm going to switch back to the flavourless and mix some with juice each day - see if we can keep on top of it!

OP posts:
Adarajames · 30/10/2017 21:20

Some people may think it's all a bit too woo, but reflex points / reflexology can be very effective treatment for constipation, worth a try if not done so already?

PerfectlyDone · 30/10/2017 21:22

Consider glycerin suppositories - you can get small children's sized ones (2g).

Allow/encourage her to poo in a warm bath in order to pass the first really hard stool.

If she is on the toilet make sure her feet are well supported with her knees higher than her hips (use a stool or something).

Use blackcurrant flavoured juice or squash to put her Movicol in to - it hides that flavour best.
Or mix it in to yoghurt or even cereal.

I'm glad she had a result tonight Smile
and please don't ask how I know so much about the subject

MrsJayy · 30/10/2017 21:25

It is rotten stuff to take even flavoured it is a pain you can flavour it with squash , see if she will drink it . I take it sometimes i mix it up put it in the fridge and drink it during the day I put it blackcurrant in it.

MrsJayy · 30/10/2017 21:27

Ah result that is good .

Crashbangwhatausername · 30/10/2017 21:30

We've resorted to desperate measures in this house and have previously mixed with the dreaded coke before, far from ideal but sometimes you'll do anything. Not from concentrate cloudy apple juice is a brilliant disguise too. DD was a toddler when we had difficulties so couldn't be talked round which makes the coke situation even worse but the time the pharmacy messed up and gave us chocolate was a revelation, she would drink it straight

Original poster
calli335 · 30/10/2017 22:11

Thank you for the tips! A warm bath definitely seems to help although on a few occasions when she's got in with her sister, we've had to have emergency evacuations accompanied by lots of hysterical screaming from said sister!
I think she's stretched her bowel so much that doesn't always feel the need to go..

OP posts:
FurryTrousers · 30/10/2017 22:19

My DD would never take it in squash, milk etc - but didn't complain when it was mixed with yoghurt, or sometimes ice cream.

Cataline · 30/10/2017 22:19

A really wide straw and getting her to hold her nose while gulping it through the straw- she shouldn't be able to taste it at all.

PerfectlyDone · 31/10/2017 23:19

I think she's stretched her bowel so much that doesn't always feel the need to go..

That is exactly what happens.

Which is why you MUST continue treating her for constipation loooong after she has started pooing more normally - don't stop laxatives the minutes she does a big poo.
It can take weeks and months for the receptors in her bowel wall to function normally again and for her to recognise what they are telling her.

PerfectlyDone · 31/10/2017 23:19

We used to have a dedicated pooper-scooper sieve for the bath for a while BlushGrin

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