Miralax/Glycolax Question

My daughter is also on this but her pediatrician told me to monitor her & adjust the amount as needed. When she started getting the runny stool I reduced the amount & now don't give it to her every day.
Hope this helps.

B.,
I just saw your request. I'm hoping you have most of your questions answered by now, but in case you don't, here's what I know. My son was born with several problems with his bowels. He had a lot of problems with constipation, and even had surgery twice to remove impactions. We were told that the reason the stool is so loose is because the only part of the poop that can get around the blockage is the loose, liquidy stuff. And the reason the smell is so bad is because it stays inside the bowels so long and just gets old and the smell worsens. My son was on a daily regimen of Miralax, Senekot, and something that I can't remember the name of but it comes in a green glass bottle and is supposed to taste like 7UP, but doesn't. He was having constant, around the clock bowel movements. So we really had to experiment with doses and times to give them to him. He is now 5 and still has occasional problems, but we are now only giving him Mineral Oil at night and he usually has a good bowel movement in the mornings, and a few smaller ones during the day. He still has occasional accidents, which really worries me as he will be starting kindergarten in August, but we're hoping that he will continue to make progress and will do fine by then. Please let me know if there's any thing else I can help you with. I hope things are going better for your little girl.

Yes, the medicine is a bit tricky. I only use it on an 'as needed basis'. I just keep an eye on the poops and monitor what she eats (she loves cheese and she loves milk). I usually give her the medicine twice a week, sometimes only once. I am hoping she will grow out of this constipation thing, if that's even possible, but until then I suppose I will continue to give her the medicine. I was actually going to ask my Dr that very question (how long will she need to stay on Miralax?). It's certainly better than her being constipated though. And, like you, I've noticed her poops smell TERRIBLE. I never associated it with the medicine though...good point. Not sure I helped any.
Good luck

ps. how much are you giving her. I've never given my daughter the full dose. I had the same results as you...a mess. Perhaps cut back the dose, especially if you're giving it to her daily.

Ususally Miralax is taken for a short period of time. I think it should be loose until the blockage is cleared up. I would think your daughter should take it as needed-after the blockage is cleared. Usually it is taken for 3 days at a time if there is a blockage. I have to use Miralax because I get blockages due to a stomach disorder I have, and have since I was a child. When I was a child it was 'castor oil'- which I threw up each time... Miralax is by far MUCH better and doesn't cause much cramping. The smell is awful because of how long it has been since she went on a regular basis. I hope all works out for her. Remember though, she souldn't take it daily unless the problem continues. Or you could cut the dosage if necessary.

hi B., my daughter is 2-1/2 months she has been on miralx for about a month now i cut the dose in half because it give her diarrhea. she was on prosobee formula he switched her to gentalease. she still get constipated if i don't give her the half a teaspoon once a day, the dr also told me she could have a teaspoon of karo syrup in 1 are 2 bottles a day so u could try that as well in her drink's but kara seems to do ok with the miralax it keeps her going. i would rather her be a little loose then so backed up she screams. we also b4 we got the miralax in her did a enema. that worked well it got it all out but i still give her the miralax. goodluck to you and her

hi B. my daughter is on this med. also and when she started having really loose poop i asked the doc. if that was normal he suggested to cut her dose which is half a cap in half after i did that she started having regural poop also i was told after a few months she should be able to come off of it and souldn't have any more problems she has been on it almost two months now and i stopped givin it to her three days ago and she is doing good

Oh how I feel your pain!! I went through the very same thing with my daughter when she was 3. She abosolutely refused to poop in the potty because it hurt. She would go if we put a pull up on her and when I stopped buying pull ups, she stopped going. Her pediatric GI put her on Miralax. We had a couple of accidents like that. I then backed off on the dosage just a little. I also started limiting the cheese. She can only have cheese if she has gone to the bathroom that day and only 1 piece(or stick). She is now 5 and we no longer take Miralax. I do keep some Benefiber on hand and if she seems to be having a problem, I will mix a tablespoon in her juice. It took about 9 months on the Miralax and about 6 months with Benefiber daily and now she is doing great. My issue was also a will power thing, she basically refused to go which led to the sever constipation and blockage. If your daughter is not afraid to go, the Benefiber may work well for you. Just check with her doctor.
Good Luck and it will get better!!

You probably need to adjust the dosage. My nephew is on it and his poop smells HORRIBLE!!! But it is a tricky medication.

Hi, I am not familiar with the medicine your child is own. but
I might can help you with the loose stools. I am a big believer in peanut butter. I had hyperthyroidism a couple of years ago. I went through the thryoid storm before i was diagonosed. I started loosing complete control of my bowels the doctors started putting me on all kinds of medicines to control them. nothing was seeming to work my father in Inlaw told me to start eating peanut butter a tablespoon at a time.
It would normally take like 5 tablespoons at one time just to
thicken it up enough for me to feel the urge to go to the bathroom. after trial and error. I finally figured out how much to eat. I have a 8 year old and a 4 year old and when they get loose stools or diaherea I start giving them peanut butter. It normally works right away. since she is so small I would start a teaspoon at a time. It may take a few days since it only happens once a day have you also noticed how long after she takes her medicine before she has a bowel movement.
you might want to keep a schedule to know a time fraim you can start getting her prepared (as for if she needs help getting her clothes down maybe reading her a book while she sits on the potty. If she reacted sadily to the accident. the less she
has the better for herself esteem.) I know a 21/2 year old own
a potty for your not sure of an exact time fraim get some washable markers and cool coloring books and tell her she can only color with the markers while she sits on the potty. worked for me. Hope this helps....

My daughter was on that medication off and on for a year. My doctor told me to adjust the dose. For example if she is taking 1 tsp every day and she is having real loose stools you can try 1 tsp every other day or 1/2 tsp every day. We had the same issues of her pooping on herself and sometimes not knowing she had to go and just go on herself. That medicine is very tricky but it did help get rid of her belly pains.

My daughter has been on Miralax for about 3 years. Her doctor started her off on a tablespoon and that worked just fine because she was on rice milk, which made her super constipated. But, even as she has grown, the tablespoon dose still works well. She loves her veggies and fruits and has NO problem with fiber- it's protein that I have to make sure she gets enough of.

I've never noticed that her poop smells any worse than what I would expect.

On a side note, I do know that my son, who is 15 months, has TERRIBLE smelling poops when he has had dairy (he has a milk protein allergy). In fact, we just went on vacation over Christmas and got stuck in the Colorado snowstorm (the first one). He ate more fast food than normal (even fries have dairy) and was miserable. He could clear us out of our van in minutes after pooping. He has been on Prevacid for a while, and I called his Gastroenterologist doc and he increased his dose. Now, my son's poop is SO neutral smelling that LITERALLY- I could stick my nose in a poopy diaper in between bites of a meal. The doctor said that the Prevacid neutralizes the acids and that was not uncommon. She said that when he has dairy, it causes gastro problems/discomfort and gas build-up because of the way his body digests dairy.....

Just an interesting side note....

Take care!
J.

My son had to take this for a while, and still does at times. We learned to adjust (at our pediatrician's recommendation, and my judgement) the amount that Brody had to take. If his stool was too loose or runny, we would only give him about half of the recommended dosage. Just adjust the amount she is supposed to be taking. We had to do that with Brody, not everytime, but whenever we noticed a change in the consistancy of his stools. As for the smelly poop, the longer Brody would go without "going" the worse he would smell when he did. Sometimes he smelled like something had died!! This did get better as he got more regular.
Hope this helps some! If you have any other questions, just let me know!
L.

Oh the poor thing! Maybe I'm just overly natural, but I would take her off the medicine and try some natural methods like more fiber in her diet and unfortunaly, less cheese. You can also try prunes or prune juice and just fresh fruits and veggies in general. Also, the probiotics found in yogurt can help regulate her, now that the diarrhea has probably depleted them (I would do this especially if you keep her on the medicine).You can give her sweet acidophilus milk(tastes great!) that will help too. Good luck!

Hi B. C, If your daughter is severely constipated you might want to try some children suppositories. If you can get her bowls to move some then the rest should follow. Or you may need a child size enema. I have never heard of a doctor putting a child on medication for constipation. If you get them going, you can always give her smaller doses of the medicine so that she doesn't have diarrhea or to loose of a bowl movement. When you become constipated and it gets worse and worse, when you do finally start getting some relief, it's not going to smell to good, remember it's been inside her bowls and that is how we get ride of waste. If the medication is just to much, maybe you can do in half, or ask the pharmacist what would be good for a small child with constipation. I hope this helps you.

I'm surprised that the doctor hasn't recommended a "natural" solution first, or maybe he did and that just wasn't working. Try to add raisons and fruit juice (juicy juice is best) to her diet. Maybe if you can infuse these into her diet, she won't need the medicine.

Good morning B., my daughter has the same problem. My doctor told me to half the dose. It has helped some, but it is still loose, but not watery. Hers got so bad she couldn't go pee without having something else come out. It made her affraid to go to thte bathroom. Hope this helps. Good luck.