Suppository Advice DD

[maisiethemumma]

DD (3) has had troubles with constipation on and off for a while now. GP has recommended suppositories and enemas (Fleet, last resource). Any advice or tips for giving both to her, as I obviously don’t want to hurt her and her be put off if they are needed again in the future. Also I’m assuming best to wear gloves - are rubber marigolds alright or should I be purchasing some proper surgical medical gloves! Thanks x

How long before I give it to her should I take it out the fridge? Or will it not matter if it’s administered straight out the fridge x

I'd take it out beforehand. It's not going to melt that fast!

OP- I've PM you back.

I meant to say, that I used to live abroad where the temp could get to 40'! That's when I used to keep suppositories in the fridge- to keep their shape. If you are in the UK, unless its really hot, room temp should be fine.

It also might be worth mentioning this to nursery, so they are aware incase of any conversations like 'mummy put her fingers up my bottom' 😬

Ahhh good point about nursery 🙈

Update. We got home from nursery - still hadn't pooped. When we got home I suggested that we were going to try some special medicine to "help her go poo poo", and she seemed fine with it at that point. A little while later I called her upstairs after I had put some clothes and stuff away. I told her that we were going to try the new medicine now, and that mummy would need to look at her bottom. I popped some gloves on, and placed some lube on the suppository. I popped her over my knee in the end to do it - she wouldn't stay still properly to do it with her laying on her left side. Granted, she did look a little surprised when I popped it up there - although I imagine it felt a little cold due to it being in the fridge. She did cry a little, but I told her that it was all done for now and to just stay still and have a cuddle with mummy and to let me know if she needed to go poopoo. She calmed down after a minute or so.

However, when she did feel the urge to go, she kind of pooped out half of the suppository, and a wee bit of stool, but not much more. Am I ok to give her another one in a while, or should I just leave it for tonight and maybe try the fleet/pedia lax enema tomorrow morning? (She's not at nursery tomorrow).

Overall she cooperated really well - I think she just wants some of the pain to go and so will accept having the suppositories!

Once again any tips for the enemas would be gratefully received - thanks for all of your help so far - you can probably tell I'm not the best with medical and health stuff!! xx

I used to frequently have to give DS suppositories and enemas, but the micralax ones as mentioned upthread - it's just a small tube of stuff that you squeeze in, much better than large volumes of liquid. And the only thing that would make him go. The suppositories would always come out as you've described (and for me too, I suffer terribly too).

As has also been said though the only thing that works for me (I'll often go a fortnight without 'going') is many many many movicols per day, the disimpaction regime. The blockage is often too high up for the rectal medicines to work, the rectum is empty it's the colon that needs clearing as it's stretched.

I really would persevere with the movicol, we found putting it in yogurt/smoothies worked best and making sure he had a big glass of water alongside it. It also means when she goes it will be less painful (you may need to go back to pullups if she's potty trained as it can get very liquid whilst you're sorting the dosage out)

I agree with trying from both ends ie movicol and suppository’s. How long has it been since she did a normal poo? Have a look at the Eric disimpaction regime ideally you want to get to basically a water consistency and then reduce the amount down. It’s probably best to do over a weekend when she’s not at nursery. The movicol does need to be mixed with the correct amount of water before it is added to anY thing else though.

Well done for doing it, hopefully you are over the squeamish feeling now. Yes, a cold suppository would be surprising for DD.

I use suppositories several times a week (for bowel disease), and have never refrigerated them here in the UK. I also use pointy tip first, unlike recommended by a pp. I once tried inserting the blunt end first, but it was painful. The pointy end just slips in easily.

Is there a leaflet with the suppositories suggesting how often you can use them? What type of suppository is it?