Still struggling ~ is this level of constipation normal

[Howie119]

Follow up from my previous post about my daughter’s constipation.
Quick run down, been constipated since weaning started at 6 months, on Movicol/Laxido (whichever we can get our hands on prescription wise cause my area for some reason struggles to get Movicol) and she’s now 12 months old and if she misses doses, she is still constipated and then cries and screams and is in pain etc like I don’t know if this is normal anymore. Every month I go to the Dr and every month they tell me it’s normal.

We eat a non processed diet, I eat quite well so I eat home cooked meals 98% of the time, I eat fruit and veg and carbs and seeds (chia, flax, hemp hearts) and she doesn’t have cows milk as a drink, only ever in food and she only has 3 portions of dairy a day as her nutritionist told us to do and eats the same food we do so plenty of good stuff. So now I’m stumped cause I feel like she can’t carry on having laxatives forever but they don’t know when or if she’ll grow out of it so now I don’t know whether to just keep going (cause the laxatives do help) or demand she sees a specialist and is this level of constipation even normal?

Thank you

My toddler needed a sachet of laxido/movicol a day (after needing several at the start and a suppository) to stay pain free. Don't miss doses. He has eventually grown out of needing it at 5yo. They aren't laxatives in the sense of increasing contractility which you don't want to do long term, they just bulk up the poo with more water to make it easier to pass and the risks of her being constipated long term far far outweigh any issues with giving her movicol each day. Don't miss doses, and give her time to outgrow needing it.

@Anothercake- I should have said that I don’t miss doses by choice, my pharmacy and Dr are absolutely useless so I end up getting the prescription up to 3/4 days after I’ve run out of her laxative even though I always call them a week or days before she needs it replacing - I just don’t know if there’s a deeper issue because I was told she’d outgrow it by a year old and it’s still going so I wasn’t sure if it was necessary to ask her to be seen by a specialist or if this is actually completely normal and she will outgrow it and I just need to start asking for 2 boxes instead of one so she isn’t missing doses between prescriptions

How much water does she drink?

Movicol is a stool softener not a laxative. It works by combining with liquid so poo doesn’t become hard as is easier to pass. If she has been very constipated for a while then her bowel will have stretched and will need to shrink back down.

My 7 year old still has 1/4 a sachet a day.

@OtterMummy2024About 8oz including the water used in the movicol

@AutumnleaveandthegrassIt’s an osmotic laxative that’s works by stool softening so although not a traditional laxative it is still a laxative ! But the bowel going back to normal is understandable as it took me ages to finally get a consistent dose in her everyday but she was still going every 5 days just with a lot of screaming and crying and evident pain and 7 years just seems like a long time when the Dr specifically told me she’d outgrow it by the time she’s 1 and then when she reached one they said maybe by the time she’s 2 and there’s no real plan in place - basically was told “here’s some movicol” and every month I tell them she still needs it and every month they re prescribe it and don’t even see her

Has a stimulant laxative ever been discussed? Not sure if suitable for a baby/toddler.

My daughter has a stoma- due to a slow transit bowel and the severe end of constipation. Not that this will happen to your daughter, but we tried endless laxatives and treatments.

How long has she been pooing soft poo every day for? Because the rectum generally needs as long of good pooing to shrink back down and heal as it has been stretched up for. If she isn't yet pooing soft poo every day on the sachets, she isn't on enough, and at 12 months there's scope for giving more than when they're younger.

Have you looked at www.eric.org.uk ?

My 11year old is still on laxatives, so it can be life long. Although he is better than he was. You need to drink with movicol as it draws water into the bowel to soften the stools. My child is also on a stimulant as well though to help move the stools through. Our consultant told us it can take as long as they’ve had the constipation to grow out of it, so I can’t see it happening to my DS anytime soon.

Has your child been tested for Coeliac? My granddaughter had chronic constipation after weaning. She was diagnosed eventually aged 4 .