I have a 3 year old little girl who had an ilium atresia and an appendectomy within hours of being born. We have had problems with reflux and the motility of her bowels all her life. The reflux resolved itself once she was introduced to "real" foods; however, she constantly battles constipation. The GI's have her on MiraLax but I'm concerned that her bowels will become dependent on the meds. She is in agony after she gets her MiraLax because her stomach begins to convulse yet the GI's say she needs the pain. I don't agree in the least. Within the last couple of months, we have found that without the meds, she isn't stooling. To top it off, she has begun spitting up mouthfuls of food. It is more common when it's been a couple of days since her last BM. I've voiced my concerns to the GI that I fear that the adhesions are beginning to cause problems but no tests have been done since she was only months old. I was hoping that there is someone that would possibly be able to shed some light on the situation. We have increased the fiber in her diet but promptly removed it because she stopped stooling all together with or without her meds. We are talking about a little girl who lives off of fresh fruits and vegis. I am very blessed because she chooses the healthy foods that would give the normal person diahrrea but doesn't affect her at all. Has anyone been on MiraLax for chronic constipation? Has anyone else had problems with adhesions due to the surgery? Any information is greatly appreciated. I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what we should do next. We have our follow up on August 5 and I want to go to that visit with questions and suggestions in tow.

Thank you in advance for any information that you may provide.

Miranda's Mom


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Hey M's Mom,
I am extremely sorry about your daughter's problems -- I know it is very frustating.
Some things come to mind and I have been on this board probably longer than most and read almost all the posts for the past 5 years. THe reason member don't answer is they don't know about this condition and I don't either but I have read it daily since you wrote and I wanted you to know we really care.

As you already know being on laxatives for long periods makes any person lose muscle tone in their intestines so when they stop they are unable to have a BM because their bowels have become lazy and just don't contract properly. Combine that with possible adhesions and you just have a lot of discomfort, pain caused by spasms and cramping. Heat should help some with the cramping.

I assume the section of the illium that was causing problems was surgically removed at birth so the other sections of the small intestines and colon should be functional. So, for intestines to properly function--- your daughter just has to take fiber and she needs both soluble and insoluble types. Most fruit and veggies provide insoluble fiber but she also needs soluble fiber that to bulk up her stools. Insoluble fiber passes almost unchanged but the soluble fiber expands to fill up the intestines. Soluble fiber is most grains like rice, oats(meal) and corn( grits), beans and peas, potatoes and most root veggies. And of course there is Psyllium cookies by Metamucil.

A problem that I am sure you are aware of is malabsorption of vital nutrients and minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. And blood test should tell if she lacks these but what it doesn't tell is what is at the cellular level. Every cell in her body need these to function. There are vitamins and minerals that are absorbed in the mouth thereby bypassing the GI absorption.

If you live in an area that has a Natruapathic Doctor that uses Homeopathy--- I suggest she be seen by one.
An outstanding homeopathic remedy for muscle cramps and spasms is Magnesia Phos and it is safe to give a small child because it is very--very small doses and absorbed by mouth. BMs should not be painful-- I agree with you. I have been using homeopathic remedies for about 30 years and they work!!!

I have lost 2 daughters 5 and 15 and I know the feeling of a stressed life and a broken heart.

God Bless YOU---Harry

Would something like glycerin suppositories work for your child? I know that's what we were told to use when our children were babies and were constipated, so it must be milder than using Miralax? Also, get another medical opinion. Perhaps there's options for a better quality of life for your child. God bless and keep you strong.

Harry,

Sorry about the loss of your children. Thank you so much for response. At this point, I'm reaching for anything that could possibly help. You mentioned that the fiber would "bulk" up her stools which concerns me. The only time that she doesn't strain is when she has diahrrea. It can take her upwards of 30 minutes to pass a "normal" BM. I noticed also that a while ago, she was beginning to get hemrroids. There are times when all she does is cry as she's straining to go to the bathroom. I just don't understand how they expect a child to want to stool when it hurts them so bad.

From the discharge notes that I just reviewed again, they removed the upper portion of her ileum. They said that the reason she had reflux early on was because everything was going into the large intestine fine but it went straight from the large intestine into the small intestine removing the "middle" portion.

I'm just so concerned about the fiber since it completely stopped her up. And when she finally did stool after 2 days of her MiraLax, it was like paste. Is it normal for the additional fiber do something like that? I'm so at a loss that I don't know what to do. I'm trying to get all of my ducks in a row before the appointment on the 5th. We are seeing the NP but we can request to see the dr. I think that something has got to give. I cannot handle her hurting all of the time. The MiraLax causes extreme discomfort and having her on Benadryll to help the cramps works but it is just a "quick fix."

Again, thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.

It sounds like you are in the Canadian Health System and from what I have read it is not the best. I certainly agree your daughter needs to see a Gastro Specialist -- she just cannot continue to have diarrhea and taking laxatives!!
Our intestines are suppose to function with fiber.
She is so young to have to put up with what she is going through.

God Bless---Harry

We aren't in the Canadian Health System. My daughter has seen the GI's since she was in the NICU at birth. We were seeing the Nurse Practioner because we knew that she was working directly under the original GI dr. My daughter doesn't have diarrhea all of the time. Shoot, she rarely has it. That's why I was so concerned about adding fiber to her diet. If the fiber bulks up her stools, how is she ever going to pass it? The only time she doesn't strain is when she gets a double dose of the laxative. I only do that when we are looking at 2 or 3 days without a BM. That is why I'm so concerned about the possibility of the adhesions and stricture. She not only has a really hard time having normal BM's without the meds but she is now spitting up mouthfuls of food which concerns me deeply. We are fortunate because her appt is at the "children's" hospital and all the appropriate equipment is available immediately. We've got one of the best GI's around and I know that by talking to him, it will alleviate most of my concerns. The only real reason we had to keep the appt with the NP was because a follow-up with our dr wasn't available until mid-December. Can you believe that wait? I know our intestines need the fiber but if it made it so much harder to pass, would you still push it? With the fiber increase, we went from 1 BM a day to once every 4 or 5 days which we were told cannot happen. Please understand that she eats tons of the fruits and vegis. She would much rather have a salad and a can of peas or corn over anything else. I just don't know at the moment what to do. For instance, she hasn't had her meds for 2 days and it's been 2 days since she had a BM. Without them, we get one every 2 to 3 days. That is why I'm so concerned about the use of the laxatives on a daily basis. It sounds like they don't know how to function on their own anymore. And to top it off, when she gets the laxatives, her stomach convulses.

She is too young to go through all of this but I have to admit...if it weren't for her attitude, she wouldn't be as strong. I guess that is the double-edged sword for us. She's got one heck of an attitude and extremely spunky but if it weren't for that, she'd just lay around. She takes all of the falls off of her bike better than her 4 year old brother and their friends. To give you an insight on how tough she is...she broke her hand falling off of her Little Tykes car and never once complained that it hurt. Thankfully, I knew what a broken bone looked like and took her in but because she wasn't crying, the drs almost pushed us out the door telling me I was too paranoid.

Thank you so much for your help. I really do appreciate it.

God Bless---Miranda's Mom

dlamb,

Thank you for your response. The drs tried the glycerin suppositories when she was still in the NICU without success. When she was released, we were given all of the equipment to do enemas twice a day. Before I even thought about the enemas, we had to do the anal stimulation trying to help her along. Even that didn't work. I think that the only time that it was really consistant was when she was on the Erythromycin which helped the motility of her stomach.

Have your children had any further problems with constipation? We've done everything to apple, grape, and prune juice to raisins, grapes, watermelon, and cantalope. You name the fruit and vegi and she'll eat it. I just have such a problem with her being on the laxatives on a daily basis.

Thank you so much for your help.

God Bless...Miranada's Mom