Movicol and endless soiling.

[mimiasovitch]

Hi everyone. I really hope someone can help me out with this. I'm at my wits end and I really don't know which way to turn. My 5 year old dd has suffered with constipation for years and has had a variety of treatments. Lately she's had a series of water infections and we finally got a referral to the paediatrician (sp?).
She thinks the infections are caused by the over full bowel and has put her back on movicol. So far so good. After a few days she pooed for Britain, all in the loo and I redused the dose. Since then she's done soft poos in her pants very day. At first I thought it would improve quickly, but 3 weeks on and it's increasing. 3 times yesterday and today, and having to go to school to clean her up too.

My question is really should I keep on with the movicol or reduce the dose further? I really don't know whether this is leakage around a hard poo or just uncontrollable clearance. I don't think it's the former as even at her worst we never had soiling. I keep feeling that we were better off with a once or twice a week poo on senna.

On top of this I think she has another UTI as she has started wetting the bed again - and this is whilst on nightly antibiotics.

I just feel like I'm getting nowhere. If anyone can offer any suggestions I'd be very grateful.

Hello my DD is now 7 and is on a maintainence dose of Movicol. Half sachet per day.

When she first started at the age of 5 she was the same as your DC. She took quite a high dose for about a month and then gradually decreased the dose so that she stopped the soiling. During the first month she was as you described. Luckily for me though the school were happy to change her clothes. (I did put her in pull ups - very descretely - till she had done her soiling incident for the day, they would then change her into normal knickers).

I would say persevere. you do need to clear out the bowel that is impacted. It can take several weeks to do this. Honestly it will be worth it in the end.

Moviol is nasty stuff. The problems with mediine like this is that it keeps the bowel movement (poo) moving all the time so she won't be able to control it very well. I would reduce the dose but you do need to seek advice from the paediatrician first. have you tried all the alternatives? Soft pears/prune juice/plenty if water?

I would take her to the GP with a water sample, it's possible that the antibiotics she is taken are not strong enough to kill the bug if she has another UTI.

Thanks - I guess I'll have to persevere. I did buy a load of cheap knickers today so I can reduce my stress levels that way at least. A water sample has gone to the hospital, but we have to wait for the results before the meds can be changed.

I did try to suggest pull ups, but she was distraught at the thought. The school won't change her either way. Lucky my husband works from home.

We had problems like this with my ds who ia younger aged 3.9 - he has been on movicol for 2 years, without it he would not go at all, with it he would soil anything between 1 and 6 times a day - and I never mananged to toilet train him poo wise even though he was dry for 18 months. He has recently been seen by the constipation clinic at the local peadiatric unit and the first thing they did was cut down his dose of movicol and add in sodium picosulfate - within a couple of weeks he is suceessfully pooing on the toilet - I think movivol reduces the urge/feeling of needing to go hence the accidents. In hindsight I think he should nver have been put on it because I think it caused him to be unable to control his movements.

That sounds about right Katylou. She says that she can't feel it all until it's out. I know there so many worse things, but sometimes it does feel like the end of the world, especially on a bad day of it.

Because of the build up of feacal matter then bowel will have become distended. This means that she really won't be able to feel it. Once it is empty and starts to shrink back to size then this will gradually improve.