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Parenting

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Original poster

It's OK to give lactuloe every day isn't it?

8 replies

TheLemur · 14/05/2010 21:03

I have been to the pharmacist this afternoon to get some more lactulose for DS who is on/off constipated.

I used to give him the lactulose whenever he got bunged up but as that was becoming more and more frequent (plus with potty training coming up) I'm now giving him it every day, approx 3.5ml at the mo with the aim of 1 easy poo/day

The pharmacist said that it was not for long term use and I should stop it after the weekend and see the GP. Does this sound right? I'm sure I've heard it's fine for long term use. The nurse who originally prescribed it didn't mention what to do medium-long term.

OP posts:

seeker · 14/05/2010 21:06

Why is he bunged up though? What's his diet like? And are you sure he's a poo a day man? Some aren't!

I wouldn't be happy giving a laxative every day long term because it doesn't give the system a chance to start working properly.

lal123 · 14/05/2010 21:07

I think you should probably visit GP if the constipation is regular - better to find out WHY he's constipated than rely on laxatives?

WhatFreshHellIsThis · 14/05/2010 21:11

DS1 was constipated for quite a long time before we potty trained - in the end we reckoned that the constipation was a sign that he needed to be potty trained, as it vanished as soon as trained him (and he learned in one weekend so was clearly ready). I have read that constipation can be a sign that they're ready, as they're learning to hold on to their poo, so you need to teach them when to let go, as it were.

We used lactulose for quite a long time and the GP said it's fine for long term use, it's just a sugar, not a medicine. It draws fluid into the bowels, so the poo is softer, so you need to make sure he's getting lots of fluids. Be careful of cleaning teeth though as it is a very sticky sugar so you need to make sure you're cleaning religiously.

We found kiwis really helped as well, and in fact a kiwi a day was better than lactulose to keep things moving.

But seriously, I would recommend potty training.

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specialsmasher · 14/05/2010 21:18

It isn't a laxative, as such. It causes the bowels to retain water in the stools, which makes you more likely to pass them, but it doesn't stimulate the bowel (which would be likely to cause long-term problems in terms of the bowels being able to stimulate themselves...)

Not being clear here, and anyway, it is obviously still a good idea to look at diet...

Original poster

TheLemur · 14/05/2010 21:27

His diet's pretty good. Not much on the veg side but loads of fruit. I'm trying to increase fluids too. I read on another constipation thread that a poo a day is what to aim for

Wow, WhatFreshHell that's very helpful, thank you. I'm on the verge of potty training so interesting to hear that it may help. He's been constipated on and off for a good year now though (he's 2.9) so I can't imagine he's been ready for training for all that time? I guess sitting on a potty is a good position to push poos out though. I'll up the kiwis too - he has them occasionally and I'd never noticed the connection with poos but I'll keep my eye out now! That would be an excellent solution

That's exactly what I thought, that lactulose isn't actually a 'hardcore' medicine or laxative, just a sugar, which is why I was surprised at what the pharmacist said.

Sounds like I should be OK to continue daily use then til potty training is done/I can get more kiwis down him!

OP posts:

FabIsGoingToGetFit · 14/05/2010 21:34

it isn't to be given every day from my experience via a person i knew.

seeker · 14/05/2010 21:38

Silly question - why do you think he's constipated?

notcitrus · 14/05/2010 21:51

My GP has prescribed ds another bottle - and said that if the 5ml twice a day isn't re-instating happy pooing, that 10ml twice a day is ok until it's all used up (have another 300 ml bottle). And prescribed 6 suppositories 'in case of need' but said to come back for further investigation if we end up using all those.

In his case he used to eat an excellent diet but then got disrupted and had a couple weeks where we couldn't get anything into him except bread and milk, followed by the poor mite being scared to eat because of constipation. Now we know it's a chronic not one-off problem and that it should take a few weeks to resolve - I'm sneaking all sorts of fruit and veg into him but it's hard work, especially when for some reason the sticky poo gets stuck rather than splatty...

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