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Constipated 3 month old, been prescribed lactulose

2 replies

Topographicals · 10/11/2023 17:57

Our girl is 3 months old in a few days and recently she's been suffering from constipation. She usually has a bowel movement every 3/4 days (she's formula fed) but this week she's been clearly struggling and when the bowel movement comes out it's completely solid. She's been slowly feeding less because of this as well. The GP prescribed lactulose to give her in the evenings however when I've googled it I see nothing but horror stories about really painful wind, refusing to feed or it just not working so now I'm really hesitant. I'm a first time mum so I really have no experience with any of this, my heart's breaking too because she was such a smiley happy baby and I'm not sure what's changed, she was fine on her formula beforehand and consistently had normal bowel movements until last Monday. The health visitor said not to give her water as it's not recommended anymore but I'm hesitant to try the lactulose as I don't want to make her even more miserable! Has anyone had a good experience with it? I can't see anything but bad experiences and even some articles recommending against it because of her age.

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Superscientist · 10/11/2023 20:07

My daughter was breastfed but was on lactulose for about 4 months due to medication induced constipation.

She was still going 0-2 times a day but was passing rabbit pellets which were painful and only passed if we assisted. Within two days of been on lactulose she had stools she could pass without assistance. She needed a dose increase after a while.

It's a relatively mild stool softener I would give it a go and see what happens. if you are unfortunately and get wind that is worse than the constipation and other symptoms go back and investigate something like movicol. It's not a bad place to start it might be enough for your child.

Isthiswinter · 10/11/2023 20:11

Untreated constipation can lead to serious issues. Delaying treatment in can lead to months/years of issues so it’s brilliant that you’ve sought medical advice quickly.

The ERIC website is really good for children’s constipation. I don’t know if it has much specifically for babies but it explains everything well including how stool softeners work.

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