Long term Movicol

[Pen89ox]

Hey, I wrote in here not long ago about ongoing withholding my 2.5yo is going through again for the last month or so (and has had almost a year of doing this on and off). We’re in 4th week of 1-2 days of poos a week and we’ve now exhausted every other option (fruit, all food that is meant to help, lactulose, hot baths).

From previous attempts he hates Movicol and mostly has refused to drink anything it’s in, and even if he does drink he’ll have maybe half the drink and leave the rest. If we’re going to do this (again) I want to do it properly, every time I’ve tried previously it’s just felt pointless as I’ve never got enough in him to do anything. I’m also worried about him being on ‘medication’ long term.

I’m going to the pharmacy and getting his prescription sorted tomorrow. Can anyone who’s been through similar help with the below…

1. how long was your child on Movicol for and did you know if there was any side effects of long term use
2. HOWWW did/do you get them to drink what they need to drink - what do you mix it in?

My DD is on Movical for chronic constipation so might be slightly different scenario.
We did have to do a disempaction regime a couple of times and it was difficult to get large amounts in daily and to make sure she was drinking enough water on top of that. We did it with lots of bribery.
She now only needs to take 2 sachets a day long term, apparently she will need to take it for a few years.
She takes it best if I make it up with water then add some squash and make sure its pretty strong then put ice in it. I think being very cold disguises the taste a little. Apparently you can make jelly with it in if that's easier.

DS has been on it about a year, at first we had to hold him down to syringe it into his mouth - awful, but far better than him having lifelong bowel issues due to us not sorting it out (DSis is a paediatrician, she sees teenagers with genuinely terrible issues because their parents didn't want the aggro of making them take their Movicol as small children). After a couple of days, we didn't need to force him, he accepted the syringes which we still use now (he's 5). Top tip is to make it in advance and chill in the fridge (it dissolves better), and allow screen time whilst syringing it into his mouth to distract him.

DS prefers the plain Movicol, but DSis says some people have better luck with the chocolate one (again, make sure it's prepared in advance and chilled).

Good luck, it's so bloody tough, but you need to keep on top of it and stick to the right dose.

My DC were on it for years; no side effects- its an osmotic laxative not a stimulant laxative so less issue with side effects

Mixed with squash was how we did it

My baby is on this for chronic constipation. She’s obviously much younger so smaller dosage but I mix with the required amount of water and then add it to her porridge in the morning, not sure if you can try that?

A couple of years. Never needed disimpaction (sp?). Mix it into warm chocolate oatley for both mine. Untreated constipation can cause longterm issues.

Dd didn't tolerate movicol so swapped to laxido (plain) and mixes it with juice. Has been on it several years (no end date in sight).

DS has been on it for 5 years. No side effects

My 6 year old has been on/off it for 2 years

Every time I try to take him off it he starts having poo accidents again and doing large painful poos

So I'm now just keeping him on it for next year or so and see how it goes

My son happily takes it in milkshake, in fact he looks forward to his poop medicine as he calls it. I make it up with that powered milkshake you add to milk , quick wiz in smoothie makes and it's a tasty frothy milkshake and he is happy to have it.

I add real fruit sometimes too

We found the plain one mixed with squash with a straw the easiest option.
I did intend on experimenting with pre mixing and making ice lollys at one point, no idea if they would work though!

Our child is 15 now, started on the movicol around aged 4 and was on it for a good 6 years! There are no lasting side effects for being on it a long time, or at least that's what the consultant told us! There's certainly no problem now or any damage etc.

I found using the plain one (there was a fruit flavoured version at the time) was better for us. I used to mix it into cordial. Quite strong to mask any taste. And as small a glass as we could do that it would definitely all be drank. We called it magic powered juice at the start but as time went on we didn't need to call it anything we'd just hand it over and it would be drank down quickly. Never had any problem with teeth etc and consultant said just do whatever you can to get it into them! Once the impacted poo was cleared we were able to lower the dose and for most of the many years we gave it, it was just once a day (2 sachets into one small glass of squash)

I hope your little one gets relief soon, I found movicol an absolute life saver!

We mixed it into weetabix and that worked well.

You do have to use it long term after things calm down. When there is constipation/withholding the bowel stretches which means further constipation is almost inevitable.

You have to keep things moving until the bowel has had time to shrink back to normal. If you try to stop it too early the problem will come back.

I found chilling it first and giving them a straw helped. I just used squash/orange juice. Mine was on it for about 18 months .

DS is now 12 and was on it until about 6 I did think he’d never come off it, we had the plain one and I’d dissolve it in a small amount of water the top it up with Chocolate milk, until he got older and realised it was helping then I could get it dissolved in water and he’d down it in a shot glass. Omg how bad does that make me sound.

We used movicol for a couple of years with my eldest, mixing it with milk.

he’d down it in a shot glass. Omg how bad does that make me sound. 😂

My story is the same as you.
We've not had movicol but have laxido - it's a sachet and we just mix it with diluting juice and give it to him in the morning. Could that be easier than movicol?

Actually the last two weeks he's not needed it at all so i think we've turned a corner. Just wanted to give you hope that it will end one day!

My son has been on it for around a year now. We mix it in with his cordial or in his morning milk (mixed with water first).

The GP advised me there are no concerns with taking it long term, but there are concerns on his bowel being stretched long term through being so constipated.

The Movicol definitely helps keep him going.

Our dd was on it for about 4 years, gradually weaned down to one sachet a day which took a while to stop. Luckily she loves a morning cup of milk and didn’t even notice it in there.

DD (3.5) has also been on it for about 6 months and our doctor says it's safe to stick with it for years. Instead of getting her to drink it all at once, I add small amounts into everything she drinks throughout the day to disguise the taste more easily. I mix one sachet into 60-90ml of water and keep this in the fridge. Then depending on what she wants to drink throughout the day I just add a bit of the Movicol liquid to it (milk, juice etc). What always works is a Coke slushy...I use a very small cup of crushed ice topped with some diluted Coke and Movicol. The cold fizzy texture disguises the taste entirely and the ice itself adds a lot of water which is a bonus for constipation.

My 7 year old has been on it for about 5 years. We’ve gradually made our way down to half a sachet a day. Hoping to come off it in the near future. She has it with her fresh orange with breakfast. She has always taken it well to be fair to her. It’s the plain one. I do think it makes the drink taste off but luckily she doesn’t seem to notice. If we have no fresh orange she has it in strong squash. No side effects and it has really helped her. At one point she withheld for about 10 days and was on about 8 sachets a day so she’s come so far - it’s just been a very slow and gradual process. We are under the continence team who have been really good and helpful

I've been advised that Movicol can give a lazy bowel syndrome? Is this correct

DD is still on it age 15. She drinks the plain one (you can also get flavoured ones) mixed with chocolate milk. I'm a bit worried by previous post saying it causes lazy bowel syndrome. I'm going to ask GP about that.

We have Laxido. We make it fresh in squash , and serve straight away without it going in the fridge. Dd has been on it since an infant, she is 6. We have 5 sachets a week, we are trying to gradually reduce.