Guest guest Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 well, here's what happened. my son, collin has had frequent constipation for a LONG time. i finally thought it was time to do something proactive, since our dr wasn't. i had actually went there to get a referral to a ped. gastroenterologist. the dr. wanted to see if he could do the specialist's job before giving a referral. the dr. was saying something to the effect of the magnesium is basically squeezing his intenstines really tight, and that the miralax would be more gentle. i have no clue what pegs or hypermagnesemia are. so..here are what my son's side effects were, anybody have anything similar? 1. no bm since last week. isn't that the opposite of what a laxative should do? causing ridiculous amounts of tantruming, but at the same time, can you blame him? i'd be grumpy too in the same situation. 2. he's still got a little of the bleeding. 3. a lot more aggressive. 4. headbanging, hasn't done this since last summer. 5. words all slurred together. usually he speaks pretty clearly. so..after all these side effects i stopped it right away. i also switched pediatrician's this morning effect next month. this same dr completely blows me off first when we knew something was up & wanted to see a specialist to get a diagnosis. i had to finally have my dh come to the dr office w/me for the referral. we have another son, 15 months, who likely has a speech delay and maybe something else that this dr. will most likely blow us off again. i have an appt set up w/the new dr. and will get the referral and should be in to see the ped. gastro in maybe a couple months(the gastro's offic said that's the avg wait time). has anyone here dealt w/a ped. gastro? what do i need to know about that process? mindy > > my asd son started miralax a week ago(ped. wanted us 2 stop using > magn. hydroxide,which worked,but ds had rectal bleeding). i need 2 > know if his side effects are typical & what a better alt. is > > So if I am understanding correctly, the doc wanted you to stop using > magnesium hydroxide because of the rectal bleeding, I am guessing > that his/her thinking was that because of the open skin/mucosa in > that area, that the magnesium might be getting absorbed directly into > the open areas, which would result in hypermagnesemia? Was this > their line of thinking as to why he/she wanted you to stop using it? > > If that's the case, then I would have to question why he/she felt > miralax was a better option--putting PEG right into open wounds is > NOT a good idea. In fact, I remember reading about lower molecular > weight PEG, being absorbed so much through burn medications that it > resulted in PEG toxicity in the person, so the recommendation was to > remove PEG from the burn medication products altogether. It's kind > of the same thought that I am having when I read that doc's have rx'd > miralax for individuals with known ulcerations or sores or wounds in > their digestive tract/rectum-- should the PEG be coming into contact > with open skin/mucosa? No. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hi Mindy-- I'm going to put my comments within your text with ****marks preceding my words--read thru till you see my signature... the dr. > was saying something to the effect of the magnesium is basically > squeezing his intenstines really tight, and that the miralax would be > more gentle. *****magnesium actually functions more as a smooth muscle regulator, not tightening up the intestines. i have no clue what pegs or hypermagnesemia are. **** PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol, which is what Miralax is-- PEG 3350, polyethylene glycol 3350...sounds like something that belongs in a car, or a science lab, doesn't it? (actually, PEG 3350 is used in science experiments, frequently, and there is an MSDS sheet in our Links section/Files section--MSDS stands for materials safety data sheet-- you should read it!). ***hypermagnesemia is when someone is given too much magnesium. Too much magnesium will make someone sickly and ultimately is very serious because it puts too much stress on the kidneys to process the magnesium through and then things deteriorate from there... > > so..here are what my son's side effects were, anybody have anything > similar? > > 1. no bm since last week. isn't that the opposite of what a laxative > should do? causing ridiculous amounts of tantruming, but at the same > time, can you blame him? i'd be grumpy too in the same situation. ********Yes, this is exactly what happened to my son. Initially, nice bm's on the miralax, then after about a week, things stopped working. In hindsight, knowing what I know now, I believe the problem was that there was bad bacteria in his digestive tract that was degrading the PEG from polyethylene glycol into small trace amounts of ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is antifreeze. The reason why dogs get so sick from antifreeze is because it becomes oxalates in their body. I have looked into the oxalate issue enough to believe this is what happened--the small amounts that were converted into oxalates were enough to overload his system neurologically and he stopped being able to go. We ultimately had to do an enema to get it out and when it came out, it was soft and normal shaped, so it wasn't an impaction or anything--his body just stopped being able to go. > > 2. he's still got a little of the bleeding. > > 3. a lot more aggressive. *** yes, miralax side effect for my son. > > 4. headbanging, hasn't done this since last summer. *** my son didn't headbang, but he had a whole host of other symptoms like facial tics, impulsive behavior, just very jekyl and hyde. > > 5. words all slurred together. usually he speaks pretty clearly. *** YES. I have pictures where my son looks a bit drunk to me, slurry words... I really feel that the miralax was slowly, slowly poisoning my son. He wouldn't have ever died from it mind you, because I don't think that much was being converted to ethylene glycol but enough that it was causing him neurological problems. And that alone is scary enough. W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2008 Report Share Posted May 14, 2008 A few more points: RUN from that GI IMO -- unless you are giving your child A TON of magnesium there is very little risk. This doctor appears to be well versed in prescription drugs but not with natural supplements. I missed how old your child is -- but for a 50 lb child you could safely give 1000mg a day for many days without a risk. The drunkeness can be from miralax or leaky gut letting protein molecules through leading to a morphine like reaction (google caseomorphin) Consider senna tea for a short period of time, vitamin C and high dose probiotics -VSL#3 is the best in my opinion HTH LeeAnn > > Hi Mindy-- I'm going to put my comments within your text with > ****marks preceding my words--read thru till you see my signature... > > the dr. > > was saying something to the effect of the magnesium is basically > > squeezing his intenstines really tight, and that the miralax would > be > > more gentle. > *****magnesium actually functions more as a smooth muscle regulator, > not tightening up the intestines. > > i have no clue what pegs or hypermagnesemia are. > **** PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol, which is what Miralax is-- > PEG 3350, polyethylene glycol 3350...sounds like something that > belongs in a car, or a science lab, doesn't it? (actually, PEG 3350 > is used in science experiments, frequently, and there is an MSDS > sheet in our Links section/Files section--MSDS stands for materials > safety data sheet-- you should read it!). > > ***hypermagnesemia is when someone is given too much magnesium. Too > much magnesium will make someone sickly and ultimately is very > serious because it puts too much stress on the kidneys to process the > magnesium through and then things deteriorate from there... > > > > > so..here are what my son's side effects were, anybody have anything > > similar? > > > 1. no bm since last week. isn't that the opposite of what a > laxative > > should do? causing ridiculous amounts of tantruming, but at the > same > > time, can you blame him? i'd be grumpy too in the same situation. > ********Yes, this is exactly what happened to my son. Initially, nice > bm's on the miralax, then after about a week, things stopped > working. In hindsight, knowing what I know now, I believe the > problem was that there was bad bacteria in his digestive tract that > was degrading the PEG from polyethylene glycol into small trace > amounts of ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is antifreeze. The > reason why dogs get so sick from antifreeze is because it becomes > oxalates in their body. I have looked into the oxalate issue enough > to believe this is what happened--the small amounts that were > converted into oxalates were enough to overload his system > neurologically and he stopped being able to go. We ultimately had to > do an enema to get it out and when it came out, it was soft and > normal shaped, so it wasn't an impaction or anything--his body just > stopped being able to go. > > > > > 2. he's still got a little of the bleeding. > > > > 3. a lot more aggressive. > *** yes, miralax side effect for my son. > > > > > 4. headbanging, hasn't done this since last summer. > *** my son didn't headbang, but he had a whole host of other symptoms > like facial tics, impulsive behavior, just very jekyl and hyde. > > > > > 5. words all slurred together. usually he speaks pretty clearly. > *** YES. I have pictures where my son looks a bit drunk to me, > slurry words... I really feel that the miralax was slowly, slowly > poisoning my son. He wouldn't have ever died from it mind you, > because I don't think that much was being converted to ethylene > glycol but enough that it was causing him neurological problems. And > that alone is scary enough. > > W > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Welcome . Many of us here have children that started to have constipation issues as breastfed babies. In my son's case I can trace it back to his 2 month shots. I'm quite sure the DTaP shot was the culprit. We read alot about the problem with the MMR, but the DTaP is given earlier and causes lots of problems too. Since you just went cold turkey with Miralax, please make sure that you aren't too conservative with your alternatives - aloe, magnesium or natural calm, kidlax, prunes, plum smart, figs, lots of fruits and vegies, water, etc. I found that it was better to have a little loose stool and back down than to try to remedy the situation after 4 days of no BM. > > My daughter, Gabby, is 2 years old and has been on Miralax every day > for 2 months and before that a few times a week. i have never been > comfortable with this. She only has a BM every 3 to 4 days and has > been like this her whole life, even as a breast fed baby. I was > concerned that she did not go every day and my doctor said to use the > Miralax so she would go every day and use up to two caps a day. I am > not sure if she is actually constipated or if this is just her normal > cycle. She has gone 7 days before and then has a little trouble > going. But normally her stools are soft. She still does not go > everyday on the Miralax. I found your page yesterday and got really > concerned and have stopped the Miralax. I guess my main question is is > it a bad thing if my daughter is only going to the bathroom every 3 to > 4 days? > I am glad I found your page and will be trying some of the more > natural thing to get her to have a BM once a day. Thank You! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 24, 2008 Report Share Posted July 24, 2008 Thank you! Where can you get natural calm, aloe vera juice, and OLE? I have noticed that these work for a lot of families on here. > > > > My daughter, Gabby, is 2 years old and has been on Miralax every day > > for 2 months and before that a few times a week. i have never been > > comfortable with this. She only has a BM every 3 to 4 days and has > > been like this her whole life, even as a breast fed baby. I was > > concerned that she did not go every day and my doctor said to use the > > Miralax so she would go every day and use up to two caps a day. I am > > not sure if she is actually constipated or if this is just her normal > > cycle. She has gone 7 days before and then has a little trouble > > going. But normally her stools are soft. She still does not go > > everyday on the Miralax. I found your page yesterday and got really > > concerned and have stopped the Miralax. I guess my main question is is > > it a bad thing if my daughter is only going to the bathroom every 3 to > > 4 days? > > I am glad I found your page and will be trying some of the more > > natural thing to get her to have a BM once a day. Thank You! > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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