More pt woes, miralax and mommy guilt

[PunkyBoo]

If I had known how hard pt-ing Boo would be I would have taken it on much sooner. He pt'd pretty easily last month on the 3 day plan but #2 has been so challenging. I called his ped on Monday to try to break the withholding pattern and started him on miralax. He did great yesterday and went on the toilet twice but in between he had (sorry tmi) messy minorly explosive toots. Our nanny just texted me that he has gone thru 8 pairs of underwear today (and its only 1:30 pm). Accident after accident but he did go on the toilet once. I think the miralax caught up to him...??? Nanny said his little bum is very sore and hes crying. I'm feelingso awful that I'm at work and hes having such a hard time. I don't know if we should keep going with daily miralax or hold off for a couple days? I wish I had done all this before getting my job so I could be the one to help him. Nanny is awesome and doing such a good job but I feel so bad that I'm not there with him.

[Carrots]

Hmm. Miralax is a stool softener, not a laxative. Maybe he has a bug?
I would call the Dr.

:hug:I am so sorry!! My DD K has major GI issues an dhas been on Miralax and a Little Tummies laxative for over 18 months with no end in sight. It is so hard! :hug:

[AnnieW625]

I have heard it is not good to stop Miralax until things are normal, but when I used it there were a couple of times where I got bad gas from it and it felt like I was taking a laxitive as well. Is he eating and drinking it at the same time? A mom recently told me this is the only way it works for her daughter.

I would call your doctor as well. Are you giving him a full dose?

[brittone2]

If he's been backed up for a while, they can have soft poop that leaks around a bigger blockage. BTDT with DS1 for way too long! (eta: when he was a toddler and young preschooler) He PT'd for pee early, but had a massive poop withholding issue that started after a move when he was a young toddler. It spiraled from there. Constipation isn't always obvious because sometimes what you see produced is what is moving around a bigger blockage. The longer it goes on, the more stool they can withhold.

Consult your ped, but for my kids I would keep up w/ the miralax because IME the "skiddies" that go around and into the underwear are often just leakage around a bigger blockage.

(eta: could talk to ped about reducing the dose, or it could also be a tummy bug. I don't know if we're talking a little bit of skid mark kind of stuff based on your OP, or if he's having a LOT come out at once).

[mmsmom]

We just got through months of withholding issues with DD so I feel your pain. According to my ped the miralax can cause explosive poops & that is when you should reduce the dosage. If there are leaks then there could be a blockage or could just be from withholding.

My DD is 3 and 30 lbs. and we could give her up to one capful (which is 4 tsp) a day. I started giving her 1 tsp a day and it really didn't help much. She could still withhold for days. What worked for us in the end was giving her 3 tsp a day for a few days and keeping her naked on the bottom. That left her with no options and she finally started going on the potty. I have since cut it back to 1 tsp a day and she is going daily with no problems. There is hope!

[Binkandabee]

It could be that his miralax dose is too high. DD is on a daily miralax schedule (and has been for a year) and in the beginning when we were adjusting her dosage, if we gave her too much, she definitely had the runs.

She is 4 years old and 38 pounds. We mix one capful into 8 ounces of liquid and give her 4 ounces of the liquid per day, so essentially one half capful.

[Katigre]

Deep breaths - don't quit the miralax but DO adjust the dose. It sounds like it was way too much for him. DD got 1/3 of a scoop max when she was really constipated.

[dogmom]

Yes, it can be liquid stool leaking around hard, impacted stool. I would hold miralax one day, then give 1/4 dose for two or three days and work on the dosage until you get the right amount. It takes time to figure it out. But I caution against stopping it because I've BTDT and it is easier to just resign to 2 to 3 weeks of suckiness vs on again off again use for months.

[cchavez]

DS used to get miralax regularly for withholding issues. DD has withholding issues too but by this time we had started eating mostly organic and natural, so I used George's Aloe Vera juice with her and it worked just as well or better.

[Tinochka]

What worked for us is going to the potty right after meal (read somewhere)... So, it’s around 11:30 and 6:30. I set up a timer and ask just to try(5 min). Both of them will do it, even DC doesn’t have a problem, so DC1 will not feel a pressure. At the beginning I was reading books, then we moved to timer.
My DC1 is 4,5, but I still need to keep an eye on him. We had withhold during PTing, but even as a baby he could go 7 days... Never had a problem with DC2.