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Original poster

Need help with poo/movocol

22 replies

Phlebas · 28/01/2011 10:47

Need help figuring out how to get movocol into ds. He has pretty classic overflow issues. He has very little control/awareness of his bowels (4 months ago he was able to say he needed a poo), we're getting loads of soiling, withholding etc. I'm desperate - he's dry day & night now but must be in nappies when out because the poo is so unpredictable.

He has v. restricted diet & lots of food phobias (puking just from seeing new food etc). I have no idea how we're going to get him to take the movocol - paed suggested social story with dr giving medicine to make his tummy better. I don't think he'll go for that. atm he has a teaspoon of nutella in the morning mixed with his vitamins & one in the evening with melatonin - obviously can't mixed movocol with nutella.

[help smiley]

OP posts:

partyof52010 · 28/01/2011 10:54

My DD has chocolate movicol. It only comes in an adult version though so use half doses.

We make it up with milk so she has a chocolate milkshake, followed by 3 chocolate buttons (she'll do anything for buttons)

Its still not plesant, but better than the plain stuff

moosemama · 28/01/2011 11:08

What does he like to drink? Ds2 has his in blackcurrant hi-juice made up quite strong and the sweetness really helps. This is a real treat for him, as he's not normally allowed squash.

I think chocolate milkshake sounds like a great idea though, if he'll have that.

You actually don't need that much liquid with it, which does help a bit. We've found the best trick is definitely to add it to a drink he already likes and make the drink up good and strong.

shazian · 28/01/2011 12:06

My ds has about quarter of half pint glass (plain movicol) mixed with orange or blackcurrant juice, because only small amount and dissolves, he manages to take ok. Good luck :)

DanceInTheDark · 28/01/2011 12:11

DS2 used to have it with juice but i made the juice a big stronger than normal.

DanceInTheDark · 28/01/2011 12:11

bit*

TotalChaos · 28/01/2011 12:20

we have this as well, sympathies. like others we put it in his drink. well intentioned dr suggested we could sneak it into a drink without telling him , but with a fussy eater that's not going to fly is it.....it's best if he drinks plenty when he's on it btw, as it can be a bit dehydrating.

TotalChaos · 28/01/2011 12:21

ps - i'm afraid in the short term things may be worse with accidents whilst the blockage gets cleared.

TotalChaos · 28/01/2011 12:22

PS - things may get worse in the short term re:accidents whilst he gets cleared out, sorry.

mumslife · 28/01/2011 12:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 28/01/2011 15:54

orange juice here too.. well stirred in !

ReindeerBollocks · 28/01/2011 22:32

DS has his with hot chocolate and he can't taste it - he is overly sensitive with food and won't eat or drink anything he doesn't like.

From what I gather from our dietician you can add movicol to most drinks and possibly to nutella or jam etc. So it may be worth seeing how he goes WRT putting it in drinks, and then mixing it into a paste with nutella if he won't drink it.

cheekkatb · 28/01/2011 22:38

My boy doesn't like any drinks apart from water or plain milk. He won't drink it if mixed with water, but tolerates it well if it is mixed with milk.

DJAngel · 28/01/2011 22:53

I really sympathise. We had to build up to 12 sachets a day recently to clear an impaction- dd won't drink much at the best of times but recently hardly at all - but she has an NG tube in currently and so no worries there, but we did have a day when we tried with no tube and found it hard to get it into her..

We tried the adult choc one but she didn't go for it....
We made up milk with movicol and put it on her weetabix in the morning.. and i even sprinkled some into her mashed potato whilst just forcing frequent sips of water as well. It's very stressful. For us I see that it is the fluid that has to accompany the movicol that's the problem as most foods could probably disguise it.. I am dreading the tube coming out in a way as we'll then be back to this issue.

Hope you find a way to get it in.

tallwivglasses · 28/01/2011 23:17

A bit of dulculax (medicine) along with the movicol works a treat because it softens the poo.

We sometimes have to resort to microlax (enema) though. Our poor kids!

Original poster

Phlebas · 29/01/2011 09:53

thanks everyone - I managed to get one sachet into him mixed with orange juice last night (had to bribe with a happy meal though which obviously can't happen too regularly!). Will try again today without the happy meal.

Am also trying to replace some of the huge volume of milk he drink with water - he doesn't eat much & milk is is only protein so it's a delicate balance.

He was soiling pretty much continuously yesterday & getting upset so we really need to sort it out somehow :( I've put him back in nappies for now (sad sad sad) I can't cope with poo everywhere all the time.

OP posts:

Original poster

Phlebas · 29/01/2011 09:55

paed said to try and give it all in one go at the same time every day - do you think that really matters?

It would be far easier if we could add a little bit to his drinks throughout the whole day.

Will try some in milk too.

OP posts:

FickleFreckle · 29/01/2011 11:07

Phlebas, we are finding movicol difficult for same reason. The instructions for us said you could divide it into two doses - one evening, one morning - so you can at least do that.

I find adding lots of blackcurrant squash (wintergreen seems to be best) to it is the most likely to get him to drink some. We don't normally give squash so that is a treat but the flavour has to be strong. (sorry dentist ) Also, I (machiavellian mum) give him toast or something a bit beforehand so he will be thirsty or else we will not get more than a sip.

The continence nurse said it was OK to add it to food as long as it was with the right amount of water. But I find that impractical as it then makes an impalatable texture for ds.

With our best efforts ds' doses have been erratic and he seldom has the full amount. The good news is that the movicol has still been sufficient and after a few messy days his constipation is MUCH better after years of trouble and shedloads of lactulose. The toilet-training is finally starting to happen (he is 4.5) and I feel hopeful and happy on this issue for the first time in I don't know how long.

So just do your best, and good luck! - parenting a child with special needs is one long compromise between theory and reality, isn't it? I wish I had been half this resourceful, determined and patient when I was in a position to pursue a career...!

DanceInTheDark · 29/01/2011 16:07

MOvicol did make things worse with DS2. Having it at the same time each day is supposed to make them 'go' at a more predictable time.

How old is he? Apologies if i missed it. I don't know about any other issues that may be on going but our Paed advised us not to put back in nappies no matter how bad he gets. He has lots of other issues as well so this may be different for you. I can't cope wit hthe poo everywhere either.

moosemama · 30/01/2011 12:19

I've been mulling it over and have had a thought about this movicol/drink problem. Could we mix it in jelly do you think? Just thought, jelly is 99% water anyway and strong and sweet in flavour.

Might have to dissolve the jelly in hot water then add cold to cool it before you mix in the movicol, but might be worth a try. It would probably work better with the instant jelly granules because you need less hot water to dilute them than you would for gelatine cubes.

Might not work for all, especially if there are sensory related food issues, but may well be worth a try with some dcs who just don't like it in drinks?

r3dh3d · 30/01/2011 13:11

DD1 had hers in yoghurt. It doesn't have to be in liquid, it's whatever gets it into them and make sure enough liquid is taken at the same time. The only reason I can see for not mixing it with nutella would be sheer volume; you'd need a heck of a lot of nutella to disguise it.

As DITD says, the point of taking it all at once is to do One Big Poo a day at a predictable time, which clears them out. Theoretically if you give it at tea time the One Big Poo should come first thing in the morning and then you're low risk for the rest of the day. If you spread it out, you presumably just continue getting the constant-trickle-round-the-blockage problem, sorry if TMI. But I guess 2 doses an hour or so apart might catch each other up? So you could put one half in something at teatime and the other in something snacky before bed.

Original poster

Phlebas · 31/01/2011 14:27

Thanks everyone - he's 4.3.

Miraculously we're managing to get a sachet into him every evening mixed with orange juice. Paed said 1-2 sachets a day, so will work on getting it up to 2. He's drinking much more water too.

I have no idea what we're aiming for wrt poo though - today he pooed at lunchtime (vile & liquid), yesterday he didn't go at all, on Saturday we had 3 liquid poos. Still seems pretty random - at some point should it stop being liquid?

OP posts:

moosemama · 31/01/2011 14:51

Have you got a copy of the Bristol Stool Scale? It helps give an idea of what's normal and what you need to be aiming for.

I also found this guide to how often children should be pooing.

Just noticed the stool scale is on that scales as well.

We've found the chart really helpful when we need to explain what's been happening to the doctor and also when ds goes to the toilet on his own, so he can just point to the right picture or tell us the corresponding number. Much nicer than telling him not to flush so we can check.

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