[babygrant]

I am so frustrated. To make a long story short, last week DS was in the hospital 5 days with an impaction. He ended up getting laxatives, stool softeners, a supposatory and then an enema. Next day he got a SUPER DUPER dose of a really strong laxative, and he had a huge huge huge liquid poop (like.....2000 ml's). Ever since he's been on 2 tbsp of lactulose two times a day (so 4 tbsp all together). I am not comfortable with this, but I'm so scared of him getting bunged up again. So I talked with the pediatrician and he said that my son's constipation is hereditary because when we were in the hospital he said "do you ever suffer from constipation?" and I said "well once in a blue moon". He then threw his hands up and said "I know what is wrong with your child, it's hereditary". He just kept repeating that it's hereditary. So his plan of action is to keep ds (ONLY 3 years old) on lactulose 2 tbsp twice a day until the end of february. I tried cutting down the lactulose and he started complaining of a really sore belly. I said to the pediatrician "constipation is a symptom though...not a diagnosis" and he ignored me.

:

Am I wrong to be totally uncomfortable with that doseage of lactulose in a day. He lost almost 2 pounds after his enema (YIKES) so he's down to just over 31 lbs.

 

[Panserbjorne]

yes. it's a symptom. Constipation is NOT hereditary.

 

[babygrant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by firefaery yes. it's a symptom. Constipation is NOT hereditary.

Yeah, I even told the ped "I get constipated once in a blue moon when my diet hasn't been that good or not enough water".

 

[KatWrangler]

Yes, its a symptom of something else going on. Whether its some sort of food intolerance or neurological. Something is causing it.

We know my daughters cause of constipation. Its as a result of her tethered spinal cord and nerve damage to the lower extremities.

I know you are in Canada. How can you get to a GI specialist? Your Ped doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Do you have to get the Ped to refer you?

 

[AwakenedMama]

I agree with PP.

While you're waiting to see a specialist, you may really want to consider an elimination diet. It's something you can do yourself much better than any doctor can do, and it's a very very common cause of severe constipation.

Good for you for realizing this and trying to really help your child instead of encouraging a life of dependence on medications!

 

[KatWrangler]

Hey Babygrant,

Check this out from the AGA.

http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=687

 

[babygrant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatWrangler I know you are in Canada. How can you get to a GI specialist? Your Ped doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Do you have to get the Ped to refer you?

We have to wait till we see the ped......the next appointment we could get into is Feb 16th. Then I will demand a referral to the GI or I'll ask my son's GP for a referral when I go next Friday.

So yeah....we are supposed to keep up with the 4tbsp daily of lactulose until we see the ped.

 

[CCChanel]

I second the idea to try an elimination diet.

 

[Ruthla]

It sounds to me like you need a different doctor- either a GI specialist or a different pediatrician/family doctor. This one doesn't seem to know what he's talking about.

I would also hesitate to play around with medication changes in the immediate post-hospitalization time. It's scary when a kid is hospitalized and you don't want to end up back in there!

 

[east carolina]

Is switching peds a possibility? I don't know how it works in Canada, but I live in a country with universal health care and we can switch our care providers three times per year (if we switch more, we have to pay for visits out of pocket).

A good ped should know that constipation is in fact a sympton, that your DS's chronic constipation must be dealt with and that you do not suffer from constipation and should be able to listen to his patients.

I'm sorry you had to deal with such incompetence.

 

[Mommabigs]

Did your daughter go through surgery to have her cord untethered?

Did it help her constipation?