i have a 3year old son with the same problem for the last 2years on and off he's on movicol to soften the stool he's completely blocked up to under his ribs since november 2010 iv been into my doctor loads of times same thing keep him on the movicol ive been to the emergency so many times and they just sent me home and the child is in agony screaming in pain not sleepin or eating so i took him back to the er and wouldnt leave till they admitted him in were still here 5 days now they've done nothing for him just kept him on the movicol they'l keep him on it for 12 days and if theres no sign of anything happening he'l be taken for sergery which they should have done in november and i wouldnt recommend anyone keeping there kids on stool softeners for too long as my soon is on em for 2years straight recomended by docter and they have ruined his teeth he's missing 5 teeth as the movicol is high in sugar
Experience with a partially blocked bowel? update
- Thread starter daly22
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Steely
Active Member
I just spent weeks with my Dad (as a result of his tumor) going through the same thing. He was in so much pain - not from the tumor - but this. One of the hospice nurses came and actually digitally removed the blockage (with her hand). She said that nothing else would work until we could scrape that stuff out. ICK. Later they added in enough laxative to make a horse have diarrhea, but even an enema would not have gotten that blockage out she said. In your case I would get her to the gastro tomorrow asap.
Sorry I am coming into this late.
Hugs.
Sorry I am coming into this late.
Hugs.
The pain medications are counteracting the effects of the laxatives. I don't know why she's on the pain medications but, based on our several years experience dealing with Crohn's and chronic severe constipation, the pediatrician gi will insist on stopping the pain medication. And really, if it was prescribed for bowel pain, well I would have bad words to say about that doctor. Severe constipation/obstipation should have been ruled out by a KUB (xray of the kidneys/ureter/bowel) before pain medications were rxd.
If she already has a pediatrician gi then why was the pediatrician doing diagnosis of bowel problems?
Since my kid has Crohn's that kind of situation is handled by hospitalization for clean out. The Crohn's puts him at high risk for bowel perforation and other nasty life-threatening complications. The treatment in that case is not pleasant. NG tube inserted and a preparation of combined miralax and electrolyte solution (same as Go Litely which is the bowel prep used to prepare for colonoscopy) run for several days until she poops clear. Nothing by mouth except water. When my son had complete obstipation - which may be what you are dealing with -- his intestines just stopped working they were so full.
It is possible to do this on an outpatient basis with an otherwise physically well person. Not pleasant but possible. Unfortunately, hospitals have become places you do not want to go to if you don't really need to be there because of the risk of getting an infection that can be more deadly than those you would otherwise encounter.
You are no where near at the maximum doses of laxatives. My son has taken up to 5 doses of Miralax a day. And I would have expected the pediatrician gi to order the opposite dosing - 3 doses of Miralax to 1 dose of Benefiber. The Miralax makes things slippery while the Benefiber helps it hold together so you don't get leakage. Our pediatrician gi also uses mineral oil sometimes. Which works really well but it's nasty.
Since I don't know anything about your daughter's medical history and why she already has a pediatrician gi I won't go into more details about our experiences and treatment. The pediatrician gi is the one who should be calling the shots and should have seen your daughter for this problem on an urgent basis - more than once already. in my humble opinion.
I saw that at least one person keeps suggesting she might have Crohn's. If she has had a comprehensive set of labs including either ESR or CrP levels with normal results, does not have perianal disease (fissures for example), is not having bloody stools, is not experiencing significant weight loss or growth failure - then you are almost certainly not dealing with Crohn's. While it is possible to have no signs of illness and only symptoms like abdominal pain with Crohn's in a child/adolescent, it is very, very, very unlikely.
I say this because you do not want your daughter to have Crohn's and I really truly don't think you should be worried about it unless her labs are messed up and she has some other signs of illness besides severe constipation.
Hopefully this will get resolved quickly and the pediatrician gi will instruct her on establishing a regular bowel routine. She should be on miralax daily for at least a year for her bowel to recover it's shape. And don't feel guilty or bad - this can and does happen to all kinds and ages of people. Once constipation gets established it needs to be treated consistently and pretty aggressively otherwise you end up in this kind of situation.
You both have my deepest sympathies. It's going to get worse before it gets better but it is almost certainly going to get better.
Patricia
If she already has a pediatrician gi then why was the pediatrician doing diagnosis of bowel problems?
Since my kid has Crohn's that kind of situation is handled by hospitalization for clean out. The Crohn's puts him at high risk for bowel perforation and other nasty life-threatening complications. The treatment in that case is not pleasant. NG tube inserted and a preparation of combined miralax and electrolyte solution (same as Go Litely which is the bowel prep used to prepare for colonoscopy) run for several days until she poops clear. Nothing by mouth except water. When my son had complete obstipation - which may be what you are dealing with -- his intestines just stopped working they were so full.
It is possible to do this on an outpatient basis with an otherwise physically well person. Not pleasant but possible. Unfortunately, hospitals have become places you do not want to go to if you don't really need to be there because of the risk of getting an infection that can be more deadly than those you would otherwise encounter.
You are no where near at the maximum doses of laxatives. My son has taken up to 5 doses of Miralax a day. And I would have expected the pediatrician gi to order the opposite dosing - 3 doses of Miralax to 1 dose of Benefiber. The Miralax makes things slippery while the Benefiber helps it hold together so you don't get leakage. Our pediatrician gi also uses mineral oil sometimes. Which works really well but it's nasty.
Since I don't know anything about your daughter's medical history and why she already has a pediatrician gi I won't go into more details about our experiences and treatment. The pediatrician gi is the one who should be calling the shots and should have seen your daughter for this problem on an urgent basis - more than once already. in my humble opinion.
I saw that at least one person keeps suggesting she might have Crohn's. If she has had a comprehensive set of labs including either ESR or CrP levels with normal results, does not have perianal disease (fissures for example), is not having bloody stools, is not experiencing significant weight loss or growth failure - then you are almost certainly not dealing with Crohn's. While it is possible to have no signs of illness and only symptoms like abdominal pain with Crohn's in a child/adolescent, it is very, very, very unlikely.
I say this because you do not want your daughter to have Crohn's and I really truly don't think you should be worried about it unless her labs are messed up and she has some other signs of illness besides severe constipation.
Hopefully this will get resolved quickly and the pediatrician gi will instruct her on establishing a regular bowel routine. She should be on miralax daily for at least a year for her bowel to recover it's shape. And don't feel guilty or bad - this can and does happen to all kinds and ages of people. Once constipation gets established it needs to be treated consistently and pretty aggressively otherwise you end up in this kind of situation.
You both have my deepest sympathies. It's going to get worse before it gets better but it is almost certainly going to get better.
Patricia
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