Help please!

[Difficulty]

I’m asking for advice for my granddaughter who is 2 1/2 and finds it difficult to pass solid waste. She has been on Movical and now Laxido for over a year which has helped in that she now doesn’t seem in pain when she goes, but she is now having small, sometimes tiny, dirty nappies at least 8 times a day and it still seems quite uncomfortable for her to go. She does also do regular sized nappies most days in addition to the small ones. We have tried taking her off of Laxido but there doesn’t seem to be any real difference. Has anyone else had experience of this? I am particularly interested to hear if anyone knows of any exercises /natural remedies that might help? Any advice would be welcome, thanks!

[Jellylorum]

Yes we have the exact same issue with my son, who is nearly 4. We know he is not impacted so it’s not overflow soiling. Like in your granddaughter’s case taking him off Movicol doesn’t seem to make a difference (it just changes the consistency of the poo). Interestingly these frequent bowel movements rarely happens when we’re out and about - it seems to mainly happen when we’re in the house. It’s crossed my mind that he might be partially witholding his poo without even realising he’s doing it. I don’t see any real signs of him witholding though. Like you I’d love to know if anybody else has experienced this and what the cause was. He’s been on Movicol for 2 years now and is potty trained for wees but seems to have no bowel control. (He says his poos “just come” without any warning.)

[Difficulty in reply to Jellylorum]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond . We have learnt so much from this site and your post was particularly helpful.

[ivory_47]

It sounds like she’s impacted and has not been diagnosed... we had the same problem with my daughter and she was taking movicol for over a year with 8 pops a day... she was still in nappies and it was exhausting!

After taking her to a private gastroenterologist who did an x-ray it turned out that she was hugely impacted and no-one had noticed previously by just feeling her tummy.

I would try and start the impaction clearing and keep going until she just passes liquid for a day or two, then try and go on a maintenance dose. You need a good supportive GP or paediatrician who you can ring for advice when things get tough. You will need to be prepared to stay home with her until she is cleared as she will poo constantly and will get very sore. It’s very upsetting but worth it in the long term. Movicol was not working so well for us so we used liquid paraffin on advice of paediatric gastroenterologist at Great Ormond street. She is now back on Movicol Maintenance and doing much better. Good luck!

[Difficulty in reply to ivory_47]

Thank you so much for your response. We are learning so much from this site and your post was very helpful!

[FranAdam]

I would say it sounds as if she is actually impacted. It is possible to get a mix of normal poo and "rabbit droppings" when you are impacted. How much Movicol/Laxido is she on? They are both the same thing just a different flavour.

Perhaps try disimpaction regime. When you have had 2 days of almost clear brown water type poo then you know you have been successful. If it is tarry, sticky and dark then she is still impacted.

Standard disimpaction regime as per NICE guidance:

day 1 4 sachets

day 2 6 sachets

day 3 8 sachets

day 4 10 sachets

day 5 12 sachets - add in senna at this point if needed

day 6 12 sachets

day 7 12 sachets

Usual maintenance dose is 1-2 sachets a day.

Look on this site for the poo nurse video.

Good luck

[Difficulty]

Thank you so much for your response and advice. We are learning so much from this site and your advice was most helpful!