Lactulose vs Miralax

[Guest guest]

Well, my son has been on Generlac (lactulose) for a couple

weeks now. After being on Miralax for over a year, and having found a nice

balance with my son’s bowel maintenance regimen, I can honestly say that

I cannot stand Lactulose.

Lactulose is turning my 2 ½ year old into a smelly kid who

is always dirty. If we give him enough to be effective, the excrement is liquid

and tends to find its way out of the diaper and into his clothes. We’ve tried

to lower the dose to find a dose that keeps things moving without the “blowouts.”

What we achieved was his bowels packed full of hard stool. So we had to use

Miralax to do a cleanout ( 3 adult doses over 24 hour period) to get him empty.

We’re going to continue to use Lactulose  for the next

3-4 months, but we’re not happy about it.  During the holidays when we’re

seeing family and friends, he is going to be on his regular Miralax program. We

have found that 2 tsp (9-10 grams) is the right dose for him.

The reason we’re trying Lactulose instead of Miralax

for a period of time is that my son has not been gaining weight. In the past

year he has fallen off the bottom of the weight chart for children his age. His

height to weight ratio is fine. The doctor’s aren’t concerned, as

he is healthy and happy, but I want to make sure this isn’t some type of

oddball effect from the prolonged use of Miralax.

My son has never demonstrated any of the symptoms other

people have attributed to Miralax. He has Spina Bifida (root cause of his

constipation) and Hydrocephalus.  His appetite is good, and he eats a normal

diet.  He has a twin sister with no health issues that is the right size for

her age.  She has about 5-6 lbs on him.

I’ll update again on my test to see if substituting another

laxative for Miralax has any effect on my son’s weight.

From my limited understanding of how nutrition works, there

isn’t any scientific relationship I can make between Miralax and weight

gain. But I figured it wouldn’t cost my son anything to try making

changes to see what impact it has.

We’re also investigating a recent development of vomiting.

Started a few months ago about once every couple weeks.  Now we’re up to

twice a week.  We have done a gastric emptying test which showed slow

motility.  No surprise there with the Spina Bifida.  We have also done an Upper

GI which showed a bit of reflux.  Again, expected with SB. We had a Barium

Enema done.  That test sucked.  My son absolutely hated it. (not that the upper

GI was a walk in the park.)  I think the next test is going to be a PH probe,

which is a 20 hour test at the hospital.  The doctor wants to treat with an

antacid.  I believe the doctor is probably right about the treatment being

effective, but I want to gather the data without the antacid being a factor in

the results.

I would REALLY like to learn what changed this past summer

that triggered the vomiting. The doctor just wants to treat.