Moms Who Use Miralax

My son, who is 9 years old, was put on Miralax about a year ago. It took approximately 1 1/2 weeks before we noticed that his bowel movement was smaller in size. My son was put on Miralax because of consipation when he was an infant and because we didn't know about Miralax when he was young, his intestine was enlarged. Due to the intestine being enlarged as an infant, his bowel movements at age 8 were enormous. It was painful for him to poop. Not that I measured his poop at age 8, but approximate size of his poops were at least 1 1/2 inches thick and about 10 inches in length. So, my recommendation to you is to keep your son on the Miralax for AS LONG AS the doctor tells you to. My son has to be on it for at least another year in order to shrink his intestine down to a normal size otherwise, he may have to go through a surgery similar to stomach stapling - of the intenstinal tract.
Be patient. Also, make sure that when your son does go, that it doesn't become diarreah-like. If that happens, you may want to talk to the doctor about backing off on his daily dose. My son had to wear pull-ups to school because he was having "accidents" at school in his underwear and I was called to the school quite regularly to bring him new underwear. We finally decided on pantyliners for him so that no one knew he had a problem and that he wasn't made fun of at school with the pull-ups. Good luck.

My daughter was put on Miralax when she was about 3; we had to use suppositories a bit which was why she was placed on it. The doctor did have us give her two cycles of pediatric suppository to clean her out so that the Miralax would kick in (it took a couple of days for it to kick in after the suppository) and after that she goes now daily. Good luck!

My dtr is 7yrs old and has been on miralax for about a year now and was on a different med before that. she has always had trouble with that area. This miralax has worked wonderful for her and I was told it was something she could take as long as she needed because she would not become dependant on it. she started taking a little less than 17grams daily but tapered off to just a tiny bit every other day. I think it took some time (month) before she became normal. Once they have that problem of getting stopped up it can take a long time to recover and go back to normal. It tends to stretch out that area in there and takes time for it to go back to normal size. This has seemed to work very well for her... the med before this gave her a lot of gas so I was glad to switch since she was in school. Hope it works out for ya.

My daughter took 3-4 days to see results, and you should communicate with prescribor to titrate to proper dose if you don't see results. It's not dangerous stuff, so risk is low I suspect. My daughter took Miralax almost a year, until she go over the majority of her psychological resistance to bowel movements. Good luck, don't be afraid of overcommunicating with the prescriber and trusting your gut.

My son had similar problems starting at about the age of 3 1/2. The doctor prescribed Miralax (when it was still a prescription. My son weighed then about what your son does now...he was a very little guy (still is :)) Our dr. said to start with a tsp and work up to about a 1/2 a cap till we find what works for our son. So we started at 1/2 tsp and made very small increases till we found what works for him. He is now 5 and weighs about 36-40 lbs and gets 1/2 cap once a week. My son has always had issues having a bowel movement. In the beginning, the pediatrician also told us to put about a cap (very small cap...about 1/2 tsp) of mineral oil in a juice, milk, whatever he is drinking (1-2 times per day) to help with the "slip"...to coat the intestines and anus to help the bm come out. My son was having extremely large bm, and this helped them "slip" out easier. So...if your son is experiencing this, a little mineral oil could help too. You can purchase from any grocery/pharmacy in the laxative section. Good Luck to you, and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask me. My son started on Miralax 2 times per day, and now just once a week, so it is not a quick fix, but with consistency it now doesn't burden our daily routine...
K.
www.kristenstemple.myarbonne.com

My daughter is 3 and about 29 pounds, we use 1/2 capful. Seems to do the trick. I tried weaning her down to a tsp/day, but it didn't work, so we just stay at the 1/2 capful. My DR. said that it could take 6-12 months for her system to really be regular, so we just keep doing it. Good luck!

My 9 month has been using Miralax. It can take a number of days to work. I think it has taken up to five days to work before. We were prescribed 1-2 tsp in 2-3 oz of water or milk as needed. We did 2tsp in 2oz for a week. Once we had a bowl movements we moved to Miralax every 2-3 days. Unforunately, Miralax doesn't just fix it for good. It just helps in the short run. You could get a blow-out poop. That's what we ran into. He had a massive poop and then no poop for another few days. Just know that you might have to keep him on it for awhile. It just might be routine for awhile. Other people suggest eating apricots and prune juice.

We began using it at four with some spiratic problems. She started out with a half a capful and at five was at a capful (at the line). It was only a matter of a day or so before she had a poop. But I'm ALSO VERY emphatic about her water & fluid intake as well as eating a multitude of fruits & vegetables. She doesn't have the problem when she's with her father & I. She "arrives" that way. When she's at mom's....she gets very little fluid except soda, which she has now taken herself off it after our conversation... and gets very few, fruits and vegetables. She gets plenty of carbs and McDonald's and that's about it. When she's with us, we're constantly on the move. In addition, she's CONSTANTLY eating blueberries, blackberries, grapefruit, strawberries, apples, peas, green beans, etc. and VOILA......NO more problem!

We've been using it for over a year and still can't get our 3 year old regular. We do have to play with the doses a lot, but her issues seem to be more mental (I think) than physical all the time. Just something to keep in mind -hopefully it's not your son's issue, but want to throw it out there.

Hi, my son is 8 and he has been taking Miralax for about 3 years now. We first had it as a prescription and used it only when he needed it but now he takes it everyday. The dr. told us that it might take a year for him to become "regular" again. He suffers from chronic constipation. He has always taken a full dosage (1 capful) and it usually takes 2 or 3 days before it works initally. He has had really good results from it and no side effects. Its nice that it is OTC now and that you can get almost at any store. Good luck!

My son is 21 months, 24 pounds and uses it too. My doc suggested 1/2 cap when my son was 1 year old. WAY too much for my son - runny poop. We use about 1 tsp a day. I would suggest you up the dose another tsp a day until he poops. You will need to play with the amount until you find the right amount for your son. Good luck!

Hi E.! My daughter is almost 2 and has been on Miralax for awhile now. You should be getting a stool out of him anyday now. My daughter has constant constipation so I have to give it to her everyday and usually within a few days he stools are softer. Just be prepared for it cause it could be like diarrhea.

Hi E.,
My 38 month old daughter (33lbs) was also just put on Miralax. Her doctor told us to start at 2tsp a day, and possibly go up to three. We started on Friday and she pooped two times Saturday, but not on Sunday. The poop was pretty soft to watery, but that is what the doctor said she wanted for a number of months (up to 6) until she has no recollection of having hard/infrequent poops. Maybe you can keep increasing by 1/2 tsp until you get a result.

Good Luck.
J.

if what your son has is constipation or irregularity, i suggest probiotic supplements. you can't find any articles/studies saying there are any drawbacks to these. you can get them at Fruitful Yield (next to Kohls near Fox Valley Mall) in the refrigerator (must be kept cool to keep their potency). They have great ones that are chewable in strawberry or blueberry flavors. my son loves them. give one a day, every day. my son was always an intermittent pooper. he's regular now that I'm giving him these. Plus, I started taking them and am more regular than I have ever been in my life (only used to go every 2-3 days). Good luck!

My 2 year old has been on Miralax for almost a year. His current standard rate is 1tsp a day. However to "get him started" when we first went on it he was on half a cap full (which is about 3 tsp) and it worked within 12 hours. It was very messy though, very loose poop. Honestly he only needed about 2 days at that dose and than he went done to the 1tsp. Occasionally if he gets bad we will give him 1.5tsp. My GI told me that since it's not a laxative you can't overdose or cause damage if you give more so you just need to experiment to get things moving. Especially if you child doesn't finish all of it, My son is notorious for not drinking enough (one of the reasons for constipation) and since I mix it in his juice if he doesn't finish it...also the bottle says you can mix it in anything (if you bought it over the counter) but my GI said it is not as effective and not to mix it with diary.

**Thank you to the mom with the 8 year old. We have been wanting to take him off the Miralax, it's been a year and we are a little frustrated. No one has ever told us what some of the problems of constipation can be other than the pain for him and potty training. I won't be so quick to rush him off of it. I hope your son gets better soon and doesn't need surgery.

My 2 year old, also about 28 pounds, is on a daily dose of 1/2 capful mixed in 8 ounces of fluid-per his pediatrician. I give it to him mixed in his morning milk. It took about 2 full days before it "kicked in". This dosage seems to work well for him. He doesn't have excessive bowel movements and it does not seem to cause any discomfort from gas.

Both the doctor and the pharmacist recommended this dosage for him. Hope this helps!

I have a 2 year old son too who has been on Miralax for the past 6 months. If he has not pooped yet I would up the amount of Miralax. It is basically benign so you can't overdue it by any means. The worst that can happen are several poop diapers throughout the day. I typically give my son a cap full every other day and that seems to work for him. Personally, I feel a teaspoonful is not enough.

Hi E.-

My pediatrician recently put my 2 1/2 year old daughter on Miralax as well. Without knowing her weight (34 lbs.), he put her on 1/2 capful in 4 oz. of juice once a day. I just started giving it to her last week (I think Wed.). It wasn't until Saturday that she started having quite a few bowel movements. Between Saturday and Sunday she FINALLY.....had a lot of substantial bowel movements. To be honest, I was shocked at how much she must have been holding inside. Maybe you need to add a little more....just a thought.

S.

Hi E.,
Spending time in a warm tub should help him along. Also, another method that is helpful is to have him lie on his back in the tub and you cradle his head in your hands.His body will become buoyant which allows for the body to relax in a way that the bowels start moving. It's remarkable!
Good Luck!
S.

We have used Miralax in the past and it was hard to get the right dose, but it did seem to work. Our family eats Activia Yogurt by Dannon. For us, it definitely clears up any constipation problems within 1 day. I don't really care for yogurt, but love the taste of this. I didn't really think it would make such a big difference so I was letting my 7 y/o eat it anytime she wanted. She had loose stools. So now, she only has one once in a while. I think it's ok for anyone to eat Activia, but you may want to check with your Dr. 1st.

My oldest son was hospitalized because of chronic constipation. Our pediatrician put him on Miralax after we ended up having an upper and lower GI done on him. We were told to use 1/2 capful once daily. I mixed it with just enough milk for him to drink so I knew he was getting his dose. It took about 3-4 days before it finally worked. We also used glycerin suppositories - these can be bought over the counter (get child size). It does produce a little bowel movement - maybe enough to get started. My son was almost 3 and weighed 32lbs. He was on the Miralax until he potty trained - he did that at 4 1/2 (for poop). Be patient.

Looks like you already got some great advice, but just wanted to throw out there that my son was also put on Miralax this past Thursday. He's also 2 and 28 or 29 pounds. The peds and pharmicist both said 1/2 capful in any kind of drink. We put it in his milk at lunch time. It took about 18 hours to work and the first couple of days poops were huge. He's been pooping once a day on it and the past 2 have been thick pastey normal so it is working great like this. You could call a different pharmacist for reassurance on upping the dose to a half cap or call back the peds/pharmacist to ask them about it. Best wishes to you!!