Hospital Clean out

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 3:17 pm

Hi,
I’m looking for info from anyone who’s done a hospital clean out for their child due to constipation. I just scheduled one for my toddler and I’m a little apprehensive about it, so any information is so appreciated!
My main questions are:
1. What made you decide to do it? Was your doctor suggesting it? My 4 year old daughter has been struggling with constipation for 2 years and had been on miralax consistently for about a year now. Her stools are very soft at this point but she is still very backed up according to the x rays we’ve done.She does seem to be withholding a lot but I’m unsure why if she says it doesn’t hurt her to go anymore. We tried at home clean outs several times and they haven’t gotten us anywhere. We’ve tried suppositories a couple times but she is so terrified of them we’ve barely been able to get them in.
My doctor is fine with us doing the hospital clean out but isn’t pushing for it. Though she doesn’t have any other suggestions. Just wondering at what point you decided to do it?
2. How was the overall experience for your child? Obviously it’s very unpleasant, but did your child do ok with the nose tube; I see my child being very upset about that. Are they able to eat/ drink anything at all during the time it’s in?
3. Did the hospital clean out do the trick? Has your child stayed cleaned out with medication after doing it?
Thank you so much!

amother

Springgreen

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 5:48 pm

m2 wrote:

Ok I figured it out.

1) we decided because dc refused all other clean out meds and dc needed to be cleaned out, I would’ve happily done a different form to clean out but it was a huge fight and was never effective because dc wouldn’t finish. Yes doc suggested, we also took X-ray and knew there was a backup (although at this point I know the signs),

2) the experience is awful I’m sorry to say. It’s just terrible. They have child life and other specialists help out, they also can sedate a bit. We did it 3 or 4 times I don’t remember by time # 3 dc absolutely refused was running around the room and kicking the nurses, they had to restrain dc, it was awful. The first 2 times dc didn’t catch on as much to what was happening and it was easier to just sedate. But if your child needs it they need it. I try everything to avoid it but sometimes there is no choice

They can eat popsicles, just not red. No other food. But that wasn’t the hardest part for dc. Also I let dc watch videos most of the time.

3. No it’s not a one and done. You need to figure out the root cause and figure out appropriate ongoing maintenance

Happy to answer any other questions you might have. Does your dc have encopresis along with the constipation? Or just constipation?

amother

Springgreen

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 5:56 pm

amother Hyssop wrote:

I never did a hospital cleanout so can't answer that part but I did do daily enemas for my kid and she is currently on daily laxatives. It's been a journey and I found that a good physical therapist really makes a big difference. don't know that the therapist we used when she was little was so helpful but now that she's 9 and still having urinary accidents we are taking her to someone who is really analyzing every aspect to see what is not working properly leading to the accidents.

What sort of person are you taking her to?

amother

Hyssop

Mon, Mar 25 2024, 6:03 pm

she's a pelvic floor pt. Out of pocket. who primarily works with adults but told me she's seen kids who went where my daughter went without seeing progress. Before that my daughter was going to physical therapists (tried two different ones a few years apart) at the local children's hospital which is considered an excellent children's hospital. people travel in for it but I'm finding that her current therapist is really treating her more comprehensively.
The previous therapists were very focused on if she could squeeze and hold her muscles down there properly. they even had machinery to check it...
This one is looking at how her cores muscles are working while she's breathing... I never knew she had a diastis recti before! having her do different types of activities and then checking to see exactly what type of activities are causing the leakage...

My daughter really didn't like going to the previous pt but put up with it hoping it would help but I ws supposed to watch her do the exercises which was wasn't so pleasant for her (underwear down... ) , this therapist she's totally on board with, she writes down her homework and is on top of doing it herself!

amother

Lightcyan

Tue, Mar 26 2024, 3:31 pm

amother Hyssop wrote:

Wow daily enemas on a 9 year old? How does she handle them?

amother

Hyssop

Tue, Mar 26 2024, 3:54 pm

amother Lightcyan wrote:

Wow daily enemas on a 9 year old? How does she handle them?

Now she takes laxatives. She was in pre 1a when we did the enemas but it started with a weeklong program where we met other families doing it also and there was a frum family who came in for it and their son was older then my dd, possibly 9.

And no it wasn't pleasant. We let her get screen time which we usually don't, in order to make it more pleasant. It did teach her how to be aware of if she was empty or not.

amother

Springgreen

Wed, Mar 27 2024, 3:05 am

amother Mint wrote:

how do you know if your child is backed up? DD has had constipation problems since she was 1 yrs old recently she's been complaining her stomach hurts terribly but she does go to the bathroom. How do I know if she's emptying fully?

The surest way to know is an X-ray. I know because dc has encopresis and will have accidents if backed up (both wet and dirty).
The GI can sometimes feel backup but it’s not a fully accurate way to tell.

You don’t know if child is emptying fully. But once you start watching it you can get more familiar with what regular emptying looks like