Experience with Ex-lax Protocol for Constipation - TMI

[Anonymous]

My six year old has been on miralax for years due to constipation. We used to do biweekly then switched to monthly cleanouts but then NP who is part of a GI practice told us it wasn't necessary. Things started looking better this year and we slowly weaned to 1/3 cap of miralax. Everytime I would ask NP for an x-ray she would tell me that x-rays aren't really good with detecting constipation and that my daughter, who poops every day and wasn't complaining of stomach aches, is doing well. Long story short. NP left the practice and we switched to seeing a GI doctor in the same practice who NP works closely with. GI doctor said I can probably wean of the miralax given that my daughter was having no symptoms. However she suggested getting an x-ray if I wanted reassurance. Shockingly the x-ray results showed that my daughter was full of poop. GI is suggesting that we do an ex-lax regime for one year. Basically we would do weekly cleanouts with miralax for a month and then switch to biweekly cleanouts. Instead of miralax daily she would take a daily dose of ex-lax. She says this will help bring her rectum and colon back to a normal size and then we can wean off the ex-lax the following year. She assured me that the ex-lax isn't habit forming but I am worried it will mess up her natural urge to poop. I would appreciate it if people with experience following an ex-lax regime with their kids could chime in with their experience. Did it work? Were you able to wean off successfully?

Thank you so much

[Anonymous]

I don’t know but as a person at the beginning of this journey, I just want to send you love and support. We’re doing Miralax but I don’t think the pediatrician is taking me seriously enough and the gastroenterologist can’t see us for months. It’s a frustrating problem.

I think if I were facing this question I would be asking what the alternative is. A mild ex-lax habit, if it even formed, might be an easier problem to solve than the one you have now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but as a person at the beginning of this journey, I just want to send you love and support. We’re doing Miralax but I don’t think the pediatrician is taking me seriously enough and the gastroenterologist can’t see us for months. It’s a frustrating problem.

I think if I were facing this question I would be asking what the alternative is. A mild ex-lax habit, if it even formed, might be an easier problem to solve than the one you have now?

Thanks so much PP. That’s a good way to look at it.

[Anonymous]

My son had severe idiopathic constipation that was truly unmanageable at age 1. We saw a lot of specialists and heard all different answers. We had no luck with miralax or anything else offered. We were advised to have surgery and almost did it but then we found a specialist who was able to clear him out and started him on exlax. He was monitored the first few days by X-rays to confirm he stayed clear. It was a miracle. I couldn’t believe something as simple as a square of exlax could be the solution. He is now 18 and still takes it every single day. There have been zero side effects. At the time, exlax was not a widely accepted treatment and we had many doctors suggest I take him off and put him on Miralax. I’m glad that it’s now more accepted.

[Anonymous]

My son had to take daily ex lax (half a square) when he was 4 after a severe situation. The doctor had him take it for 9 months because that's how long it would take for his colon to shrink to a normal size. He's 8 now and doesn't need meds but I still have to remind him to go every night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had severe idiopathic constipation that was truly unmanageable at age 1. We saw a lot of specialists and heard all different answers. We had no luck with miralax or anything else offered. We were advised to have surgery and almost did it but then we found a specialist who was able to clear him out and started him on exlax. He was monitored the first few days by X-rays to confirm he stayed clear. It was a miracle. I couldn’t believe something as simple as a square of exlax could be the solution. He is now 18 and still takes it every single day. There have been zero side effects. At the time, exlax was not a widely accepted treatment and we had many doctors suggest I take him off and put him on Miralax. I’m glad that it’s now more accepted.

OP here. Glad that it worked out for your son!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had to take daily ex lax (half a square) when he was 4 after a severe situation. The doctor had him take it for 9 months because that's how long it would take for his colon to shrink to a normal size. He's 8 now and doesn't need meds but I still have to remind him to go every night.

Thanks so much PP. This is really reassuring. Who is was your son’s GI?

[Anonymous]

My son had years of slowly recovering from encopresis. He started with the MiraLAX, clean outs, etc. Eventually we transitioned to ex lax daily, then a half dose and then nothing. He’s kind of stuck with his habit of making time to hang out on the toilet daily (with his phone of course), but has had no lasting effects or dependence on the Ex-Lax after we stopped it. I was definitely worried about the same thing, but it turned out to be a non-issue for my son at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had years of slowly recovering from encopresis. He started with the MiraLAX, clean outs, etc. Eventually we transitioned to ex lax daily, then a half dose and then nothing. He’s kind of stuck with his habit of making time to hang out on the toilet daily (with his phone of course), but has had no lasting effects or dependence on the Ex-Lax after we stopped it. I was definitely worried about the same thing, but it turned out to be a non-issue for my son at least.

OP here. Thanks so much PP. Stories like this are very reassuring. How old was your son when he was on the daily exlax, how much was the initial dose and how long was he on it? And how long was he on the lower dose? My other fear, other than it being habit forming, is that it is causes DD to have daily stomach pain. Or is that a non-issue because she would be on it daily?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had severe idiopathic constipation that was truly unmanageable at age 1. We saw a lot of specialists and heard all different answers. We had no luck with miralax or anything else offered. We were advised to have surgery and almost did it but then we found a specialist who was able to clear him out and started him on exlax. He was monitored the first few days by X-rays to confirm he stayed clear. It was a miracle. I couldn’t believe something as simple as a square of exlax could be the solution. He is now 18 and still takes it every single day. There have been zero side effects. At the time, exlax was not a widely accepted treatment and we had many doctors suggest I take him off and put him on Miralax. I’m glad that it’s now more accepted.

So your son has been taking a daily ex-lax since age 1 and is 18 now? He is going to take it forever then?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My son had severe idiopathic constipation that was truly unmanageable at age 1. We saw a lot of specialists and heard all different answers. We had no luck with miralax or anything else offered. We were advised to have surgery and almost did it but then we found a specialist who was able to clear him out and started him on exlax. He was monitored the first few days by X-rays to confirm he stayed clear. It was a miracle. I couldn’t believe something as simple as a square of exlax could be the solution. He is now 18 and still takes it every single day. There have been zero side effects. At the time, exlax was not a widely accepted treatment and we had many doctors suggest I take him off and put him on Miralax. I’m glad that it’s now more accepted. [/quote]

So your son has been taking a daily ex-lax since age 1 and is 18 now? He is going to take it forever then?[/quote]

OP here. Sounds like PP’s son is a severe case and the exlax helped him avoid surgery. My GI told me that in some cultures they have senna tea every night and it’s considered normal. It’s great that all he needed for a normal life is a tiny bit of senna. Also he doesn’t seem to have the negative effects of dependency which is needing an ever increasing amount of the laxative to get that daily bowel movement. It’s quite reassuring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son had to take daily ex lax (half a square) when he was 4 after a severe situation. The doctor had him take it for 9 months because that's how long it would take for his colon to shrink to a normal size. He's 8 now and doesn't need meds but I still have to remind him to go every night.

Shrink the colon why??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son had severe idiopathic constipation that was truly unmanageable at age 1. We saw a lot of specialists and heard all different answers. We had no luck with miralax or anything else offered. We were advised to have surgery and almost did it but then we found a specialist who was able to clear him out and started him on exlax. He was monitored the first few days by X-rays to confirm he stayed clear. It was a miracle. I couldn’t believe something as simple as a square of exlax could be the solution. He is now 18 and still takes it every single day. There have been zero side effects. At the time, exlax was not a widely accepted treatment and we had many doctors suggest I take him off and put him on Miralax. I’m glad that it’s now more accepted.

So your son has been taking a daily ex-lax since age 1 and is 18 now? He is going to take it forever then?

It seems he will. He has very slow motility. His muscles don’t contract so the exlax compensates.

[Anonymous]

We found that psyllium powder worked better than miralax when we went through something similar.

[Anonymous]

My 5yo is on 5 ex lax squares a day after the smaller doses didn’t work. This dose has been amazing and he’s been stable on the dose for about 5-6 months so we are trying to wean off it now. The ex lax has been much better than the miralax. we were also doing 1-2x a month miralax cleanouts for a few months but don’t need that anymore.
Happy to answer any other questions. He started on ex lax 1 year ago.