3 1/2 yr old on Miralax - Bowel Disorders Message Board

jlw · 07-27-2005, 08:22 PM

My 3 1/2 year old daughter has been dealing with constipation issues for almost 2 years. She has been on Miralax (GlycolLax - generic) for 1 1/2 yrs on a daily basis. Does anyone know if the Miralax could be harmful to her system after so long?

Harry · 07-28-2005, 07:48 AM

Sorry about your daughter-- they don't need such problems!!

Laxative used for more than a short period will make the intestinal muscles relax and become dependant on them. And, she will develop a lazy bowel that will only function with laxatives. I know you don't want that for your daughter.

The intestines function by intaking enough fiber in her diet--- fruit, veggies and grains like oatmeal, rice, corn meal.
You could add a water soluble fiber like Metamucil that comes in a wafer/cookie form.
To have normal BMs you need fiber, enough water/fluid and exercise.

I wish you and your daughter well---Harry

Ratatosk · 07-28-2005, 09:22 AM

It's my understanding the Miralax is a different kind of laxative, so I don't believe doctors are concerned about long term effects. It actually brings water into the colon to get things moving again.

DS went through a poop holding phase -- he associated stooling with pain, so he held it in and his stools would become huge, rock hards and would cause even more problems. So we used MOM an over the counter laxative similar to miralax to get him thru the rough patch.

Luka Mullens · 07-31-2005, 08:33 AM

My daughter had been on laxatives for 4 years now, and on Miralax for the last year. It will not hurt her/his intestines at all, but as a secondary condition she/he might develop a low motility in his/her bowels. It just means the bowels do not work as fast as they could to move things along. Your ped will help you solve that problem when it comes to that.
Do not worry about dependancy, Miralax is not a stimulant and therefore will not cause dependancy.
With children with severe constipation the laxatives are absolutely necessary. You will want to prevent conditions like megacolon!
Is your child seeing a gastroenterologist? Being on Miralax for such a long time makes me think you could do with extra help!

L.

Cher2005 · 07-31-2005, 09:06 AM

I really can understand what you are going through as my son had very bad constipation growing up since he was a baby. When he was 2 I took him to a gastro doctor who was supposedly the best in the region. He was put on various medicines to help move things along. He used to get so bad that the feces would leak around the inpactions and he would constantly have messy underwear. Just awful and embarrassing for him.
The only saving grace were the fleet enemas which would periodically clean him out but as he got older, he refused to have them anymore. It was very hard seeing him grow up like this but as time went on it seemed to resolve itself somewhat. I still think there may be slight problems today (he is 30). He won't discuss it anymore.
I think there are quite a few children that go through this problem as I used to meet other mothers and discuss it with them. The only thing I can suggest is to try to resolve it now because as your daughter gets older she may react as my son did and that is a losing battle.