3 y.o. Still Not Going on Miralax

[johnnyz]

My 3-1/2 year old has been blocked up, afraid to poo for the past month. It got to the point we had to go to the doctor last week cos he hadn’t gone in days and was so uncomfortable. The doctor prescribed Miralax, which I hear is common. He told me to start with a full cap full, which I did. He went the next day, again on Saturday…and nothing since Saturday (it’s Tuesday now fyi) and he hasn’t gone since with a cup full of Miralax a day.
I called the doctor yesterday and he said to double it to 2 cap fulls…so yesterday he got 2 cap full, and he STILL hasn’t gone! How is this possible?

Has anyone else experienced their toddler STILL blocked up with Miralax? He’s taking a bigger dose than an adult and still won’t go, just doesn’t seem possible!

He’s so uncomfortable, but still won’t go no matter what we try

 

[newelijahneeded]

@johnnyz Use Miralax with suppositories. Chance are everything is in a big ball, and will hurt.

He could be impacted.

 

[johnnyz]

@newelijahneeded Thanks! Do I ask the doctor for suppositories? Or do that OTC?

 

[bblack4jc]

@johnnyz I used to use Pedialax suppositories there’s penguin on the box

 

[johnnyz]

@bblack4jc Thanks!

 

[thedarkhalf]

@johnnyz Is he well hydrated? Miralax works by drawing water into the bowel. If he is, then I agree with the other reply that it’s probably in a ball.

 

[johnnyz]

@thedarkhalf I think he’s well hydrated. Trying to keep him hydrated. I do think it’s probably in a ball at this point

 

[aniko]

@johnnyz It’s possible that he is also trying to hold it too because he is scared it will hurt (understandably!) to push. He may need a clean out or “Gatorade bomb” to get everything cleared out. Maybe reach back out to the doctor and inquire about this is a possibility? Constipation is the worst in kiddos- I hope he feels better soon!

 

[johnnyz]

@aniko He’s 100% withholding. He has a bad stomach bug a few weeks ago and his poor bum was very sore and he’s been withholding since then. He says he’s scared. I would be too with how big this poo probably is. We’ve been trying to be very gentle about it. Explaining that there’s nothing to be scared of and it’s going to get worse if he doesn’t go. Even set aside potty training and pulled the diapers back out and telling him it’s more important to poop than to poop on the potty. Nothing…

Never heard of a Gatorade bomb so I’ll definitely be looking into it! I know what I do when I get blocked up, I just get nervous trying the same things with my LO in case it’s too intense for him. The doctor just seems to want him try Miralax but it’s just not working

 

[widomcalls]

@johnnyz Could you try pedialax or something similar? It’s more of an immediate process than the miralax. You could also ask your pediatrician about adding a daily probiotic. Hope it gets better soon!

 

[johnnyz]

@widomcalls Thank you! I give him yoghurt every morning for some probiotics, but supplementing probably wouldn’t hurt. Never heard of Pedialax, is that OTC?

 

[widomcalls]

@johnnyz Yes! It’s a magnesium chewable tablet. Miralax is a fiber supplement, so as a daily addition it can help them. But it won’t usually help if they’re already constipated badly. The pedialax is magnesium so it draws water from their body to make it easier to go. But you have to make sure they drink lots of water with it.

I hope it helps. It worked for us!

Pedialax Tablets

 

[johnnyz]

@widomcalls Thank you so much! I wonder why the doc would tell me to up the Miralax to two caps when he’s this blocked up he made it sound like this was going to make it soft. He said “give him 2 caps a day now until it’s so runny he can’t hold it in”

 

[widomcalls]

@johnnyz I’m not sure. I’m not a doctor, so I could definitely be wrong, just relaying what our pediatrician said and what worked for us. The pedialax did help when we used it, and miralax and probiotics helped as prevention, I think. That and making my daughter drink more water in general helped.

 

[johnnyz]

@widomcalls Thank you so much for this tip! I will definitely be looking into pedialax to see if it helps. I just meant maybe my doctor doesn’t realise how blocked he really is so I’ve been debating calling again this morning cos 2 caps of Miralax and nothing still seems a little concerning. But I’m going to go get that pedialax and give that a shot too! It sounds to be pretty common of an issue so I’m not panicking yet! But feel for the poor guy

 

[widomcalls]

@johnnyz Yes it feels awful to watch them struggle and not be able to fix it. I hope he feels better soon!

 

[johnnyz]

@widomcalls Thank you very much. I really appreciate you sharing

 

[zackjohnson922]

@johnnyz My kid has chronic functional constipation. We do two capfuls a day. If he misses a day, he gets backed up, and then it takes a few days of consistently taking it again for him to use the bathroom. It will work. Do the two capfuls.

 

[johnnyz]

@zackjohnson922 Thank you, this makes me feel a bit better. This is so new, and 2 capfuls already seems extreme

 

[twowheeledexplorer]

@johnnyz TLDR: if your mommy senses are tingling, get an x-ray and see how full of sh*t he is or isn't.

When he last went, was it the amount you would expect for the number of days and amount he has eaten since his previous movement? What was the consistency like? Runny/watery? Good play doh like? Dried play doh? Bunny pellets?
What you want is the good play doh consistency. If it's watery/runny, it may be squeezing around a blockage. If it's hard/dry, he's likely either not getting enough liquids, or pieces are breaking off a large chunk of poop.

How does his tummy feel/look when he's laying relaxed on his back? Soft and squishy like a teddy bear, or hard and sticking out? Obviously, the teddy bear is a good sign, a hard tummy could mean a backup.

In your shoes I'd get an x-ray to get a good picture of what is going on, as your mommy instinct is obviously triggered. 3 days without a poop isn't great, but isn't terribly unusual (if no discomfort) 5 days is worrying, with or without discomfort.

Also, be careful with miralax. Some kids are fine on it, some can have behavior changes on it. It would give my daughter sudden irrational bursts of anger, so instead we use a combination of magnesium hydroxide (pedilax chewables), colace, and biscodyl, with a weekly clean out via magnesium citrate. We've also used senna, pedilax suppositories, and pedilax enemas in the past. We've been fighting with chronic constipation and encopariesis (badly misspelled, sorry) for years with multiple pediatric GI's, so, to put it mildly, I've been through the wringer and I've seen some things.