Feeling like a failure

[Louise111]

My son is 5 and been on movicol since birth. Hospital have said to use lactilose and senikot which he has everyday. Yet still soils himself on a daily basis. I don't know what else to do. We sit for hours in the toilet with him crying in pain because he can't pass stools, I feel like I'm letting him down and just pumping him full of medicine.

[CN4321]

Please don’t feel like a failure, my son was the same and soiled for years. I just think that by the time our problem was flagged for more intervention rather than just a casual ‘use movicol’ advice/prescription his bowel was so stretched he just lost all sensation. Have you seen a specialist? Things eventually started to change for us after a disimpaction and then a long period of senna every day. We are now down to a small amount of senna once a week.

I also felt bad about the medicine for a long time but eventually had to accept it.

However if he says his poo is hurting it sounds as if he needs and increase in the lactilose.

Good luck and I promise you are NOT a failure, so many of us on here have gone through the same thing

[Louise111 in reply to CN4321]

Thank you, his dad has chrones colitis and although they say it's not normally likely our son will have it.

Son is in senna every day and lactilose every other. He from birth had issues going to the toilet and now he is 6 it's a shame I'm just giving medication even when he has stomach cramps.

[StellaA]

Sorry it's a silly question but do you know why he was first prescribed movicol?

If your saying he's been on it from birth did the doctors find a problem with the bowel or intestines that warranted giving a new born laxatives?

[Louise111 in reply to StellaA]

Hi not a silly question at all. When he was 3 weeks old he was struggling to go toilet they introduced a small amount of movicol once a week. Then at 3 months not much had changed to was told by pediatrician to keep him on movicol.

He now in senna and lactilose and sometimes movicol. I'm hoping when things go back to not he will be tested for chrones colitis as father has it.

[CN4321 in reply to Louise111]

My son became severely constipated at about 6 months old and no one has ever been able to explain why. It’s so frustrating and I tie myself in knots about it but I’m beginning to come to terms with there not being an answer (he is 9 now)