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Children's health

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Original poster

Getting desperate about 9 mo constipation

26 replies

TBC45678 · 10/08/2022 10:46

Wondered if anyone's had similar experiences - my 9 mo has struggled with constipation since weaning at about 6 months, and it's just getting worse and worse. He'll happily not poo for 10+ days (seemingly in no distress at all, eating, drinking, in a great mood). But then I give him lactulose as prescribed by my GP, it takes a couple of days to work and then he's straining and in terrible distress for days trying to get all his poos out. He gets anal fissures from pooing so much and bleeding nappy rash. So then I give him a few days off lactulose and he's back to his happy self, but with no pooing.

I'm at a loss. We've also tried macrogol (laxido) with similar results. We've now been referred to paediatrics because he's also losing a little weight, but who knows when we'll actually be seen.

I know to avoid all the binding foods, he has prunes, pears, plums, kiwi all the time and it makes no difference.

I'd love some advice whilst I wait for him to be seen by a specialist.

OP posts:

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northerngoldilocks · 10/08/2022 10:51

When my son was young he had constipation- with hindsight it was dairy intolerance in his case, but movicol was so much better than lactulose. The dose has to be worked out and if he's not been pooing for 10 days at a time he might need to be on it for a long while as the bowel can stretch and then needs time to go back to normal. The ERIC website was useful on this too,

spectacled · 10/08/2022 16:05

Poor thing. This sounds really hard for you both. Could it be worth getting allergy or intolerance testing for him? I don’t know if that’s available at this age. It sounds like you’re doing everything you can while you wait for help.

nocoolnamesleft · 10/08/2022 22:16

Once they've got that constipated, they need to be on the laxatives regularly, pooing soft poo every day, for the rectum to recover from being overstretched by hard poo, and thus grow out of the constipation.

www.eric.org.uk is well worth a look.

Original poster

TBC45678 · 10/08/2022 22:32

Thank you all for your messages. I actually got his referral through today, so we've got about month to wait. I'll keep on with the laxatives daily, even though I desperately just want to give him a rest. I think I'm making it worse by stop and starting the lactulose though. It's just so horrible seeing my normally smiley happy baby be in so much pain.

OP posts:

caringcarer · 10/08/2022 22:35

Try giving him fresh orange juice.

Original poster

TBC45678 · 10/08/2022 22:38

The thing I'm wondering is - is it normal that taking the lactulose is making him poo all day and night? Today he did about a poo an hour all day. Still not huge nappy-filling poos though, and I guess he is backed up with 10 days worth. I just worry that part of his weight loss is pooing too much through laxative use.

OP posts:

RandomMess · 10/08/2022 22:39

It's going to take a long time to get rid of a 10 day back log.

What type of milk does he drink and what other dairy does he eat?

Original poster

TBC45678 · 10/08/2022 22:43

He's breast fed, I eat/drink dairy but not in huge amounts. He's not keen on yoghurt or porridge etc so doesn't have much cow's milk but he does eat some cheese. I am wondering if I should try cutting out dairy (for me and him), though I really don't feel he had a particularly dairy heavy diet.

OP posts:

Original poster

TBC45678 · 10/08/2022 22:47

And I'm nervous to start eliminating things from his diet when his weight is an issue at the moment...

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ForensicFlossy · 10/08/2022 22:51

Definitely keep giving the lactulose, his system needs time to get rid of everything and get in to a rhythm. If you stop and start the medication it is a vicious circle.

Peoplehelpthepeople · 11/08/2022 19:53

Culturelle probiotic for kids with added fibre. Absolute god send for us with the same issues (read the Amazon reviews). I was sceptical but they help so much

Peoplehelpthepeople · 11/08/2022 19:55

Sorry meant to add the link

www.amazon.co.uk/Culturelle-Natural-Dietary-Supplement-Sachets/dp/B075QHJV4R

jamsandwich1 · 11/08/2022 20:00

I’m sure you’ve already tried this but I sympathise, my DS was the same as soon as he started solids. Lactulose did nothing but he started on paediatric movicol around 14 months and you can go hard on the amount of sachets to begin with to really soften the stool then gradually wean down. he’s 3.5y now and still needs a sachet a day to keep regular otherwise he gets constipated again. I think it’s just how some kids are, he has the same diet as his younger sister and she’s never had any problems. I would ask your GP for movicol, lactulose is not great.
my DS hated taking it so I had to syringe it in like calpol

Original poster

TBC45678 · 12/08/2022 08:55

Thank you @Peoplehelpthepeople I'll definitely give that a go, just need to check as he's only 9 months so I'm not sure he can have it yet...

From the advice on here and a LOT of doctor Google research it seems I've been making it much worse by stopping and starting him on the lactulose, so I'm just going to keep giving it daily on the highest dose he's allowed. He is actually a little better now, he pooed non stop for 2 days and nights but it seems to have calmed down a bit. He still strains so much for ages to get even a small poo out though. The main issue at the moment is red raw, oozing nappy rash, poor thing 😞 he won't sit down at all, it's horrible.
Sounds like the consultant at our hospital appointment will probably prescribe movicol so we'll just have to keep persevering with lactulose until then I guess.
Thanks again for all the advice, I really appreciate it

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RandomMess · 12/08/2022 13:44

It's expensive but buy some Sprilon it's designed to protect bed sores from getting dirty of faeces etc.

Clean with cotton wool and cool water, leave to air dry and spray on.

Better than Metanium and everything else when it's that raw.

Original poster

TBC45678 · 14/08/2022 12:54

One more question: do you think I could give lactulose and movicol together? Managed to get the GP to prescribe laxido (which is the same as movicol) but after 2 days it's not helping. Obviously I'll ask the GP but will take a day or two to get an appointment

OP posts:

RandomMess · 14/08/2022 13:04

Gosh no idea. Could you find an open pharmacy to ask the pharmacist?

Original poster

TBC45678 · 14/08/2022 13:12

Oh good idea, thanks!

OP posts:

RandomMess · 14/08/2022 13:14

Did you manage to get some Sprilon? It's is truly amazing, I think it's such a thin layer but amazing barrier that helps with the healing too.

Waitingforever123 · 14/08/2022 13:32

Does sound diet related since it started when weaning would have started.
Dc2 constipation was down to coeliac disease (started when weaning but took 6 years to get diagnosed).
You're right not to do an elimination diet till you've seen a paediatrician. I would say do an indepth food and bowel chart (look up stool chart so you know what the different numbers mean) and also document how much medication he's had and when. You can print them off Google. Do this for as long as possible before his appointment. This will be useful for paediatrician/dietitian and stop them sending you away for several months while you complete one.
Also document everything (dates, other illnesses, when hes seen other professionals, get regular weights, take photos if need be, ask gp to send a stool sample off) so that you can have it to hand when you see the paediatrician. Don't take no/it's his age he'll grow out of it for an answer.
Best of luck.

JustSortYoursefOut · 14/08/2022 13:34

Does your baby drink enough water/fruit juice, throughout the day? Weetabix, BranFlakes or something like that should help too

Original poster

TBC45678 · 22/08/2022 14:34

Thanks for that advice @Waitingforever123 , I've started keeping a food and poo diary (exciting 😂) in preparation for our appointment.

I now have two more questions:

Are Bananas ALWAYS bad for constipation? Because he was given some at nursery the other day and then did 2 days of relatively good pooing. I always avoid them, but maybe I shouldn't be?

Does the fact that he gets terrible nappy rash maybe align with some kind of food allergy?

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Original poster

TBC45678 · 22/08/2022 15:41

And one more question actually - would it be a bad idea to give the movicol in the night? I'm really struggling to get him to drink it, even mixed in with a bottle of milk. But he sometimes has a dream feed bottle, and I think he'd just down it then as he's so sleepy. But will that make him poo during the night?

OP posts:

wibblewobbleball · 22/08/2022 15:46

My DD has bad constipation, the same as your DC - in that it's been since weaning and she's now 2. I have started her on lactulose and massively reduced the amount of dairy she has and it's worked brilliantly. Weetabix is terrible for constipation like this by the way - wrong sort of fibre! I've tried avoiding egg, wheat, using flaxseed and chia on literally everything, she eats loads of fruit and veg - dairy has been the key. Bananas are apparently good if they're nearly brown as they have loads of sugar which helps stimulate the bowel.

BeastOfBODMAS · 22/08/2022 15:46

I think really ripe bananas help things move, but underripe/hard ones back things up

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