What Are Alternatives to Miralax?

[Leslie]

My 5yo has been on Miralax for probably three years, she's taking 1/4 teaspoon every morning. She rarely drinks, and I think that's probably the heart of her issue with irregularity, but I've been unable to get to increase the amount she drinks. I read some things about Miralax that concern me, so I want to take her off it.

I'm thinking of using magnesium citrate instead. I have some capsules and I opened one and mixed it with jelly and she ate that (it's tart and is okay with fruit, but horrible with peanut butter). I think that could be effective, but I have no idea what dosage, or whether she should also be taking calcium. Do they come in children's chewables? Is there something better I could be doing on a daily basis?

[Blueberrybabies]

Mag citrate should work. It doesn't work for my G, but he has severe constipation. I'd include calcium as well. I like Lifetime vitamins high potency cal-mag liquid. It's blueberry flavored, and I find the ratio of cal to mag is a good one--I think it's 750 mg cal-300mg mag in a 15 ml serving. My 4yo gets 10 ml, so might start there, and go up if necessary.

[SansSouci]

This is for constipation, right? (just want to make sure I'm thinking of the right thing)

~ A good omega supplement. Flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil.

~ Lots of fruits & veggies, especially raw if possible.

~ Lots of water.

~ Less processed foods.

:hugheart

[zak]

We use HerbLax (Shaklee product). :tu I use pear juice too.

[sweetpeasmommy]

We use Magnesium Citrate and it has worked as well as Miralax for us. :tu http://www.vitacost.com/Peter-Gillham-Natural-Calm We give 1-1/2 tsp.

[Leslie]

This is for constipation, right? (just want to make sure I'm thinking of the right thing)


Yes.


~ A good omega supplement. Flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, fish oil.
~ Lots of fruits & veggies, especially raw if possible.
~ Lots of water.
~ Less processed foods.


If I could get her to do those things, she probably wouldn't have a problem. :giggle

[Rabbit]

Will she drink beverages that aren't water?

[Leslie]

Will she drink beverages that aren't water?


She won't drink water at all. The time I tried by only allowing her to have water, she would go all day without drinking anything. None of my kids have ever been much for drinking. So she drinks diluted juice.

[Rabbit]

Will she drink beverages that aren't water?


She won't drink water at all. The time I tried by only allowing her to have water, she would go all day without drinking anything. None of my kids have ever been much for drinking. So she drinks diluted juice.


Both of my children went through that, though we were lucky enough for it to just be a phase. Simon would cause himself serious harm from not drinking before he'd touch water, and water was all I initially offered him, after breastmilk.

What about herbal teas? There are some nicely tummy friendly ones that could help.

[SansSouci]

How about smoothies? You can sneak so many helpful things in there (fruits, veggies, oils, even ice for the H2O).

Juice Plus+ Gummies are a very tasty way to get some of the fruit & veggie nutrition into a kiddo who isn't interested in eating many fruits & veggies. That would be a good thing to consider, b/c it's whole-food, natural, and is a really solid product. A link is in my signature.

P.S. What about dried fruit? Or freeze-dried fruits & veggies - like the line from Just Tomatoes (my kids love the Just Peas, and practically everything else in that product line!). Or frozen blueberries.

:heart

[Rabbit]

Fiber only constipates if it isn't accompanied by enough liquid to make it sodden.

[zak]

What about herbal teas? There are some nicely tummy friendly ones that could help.


My MIL suggested Smooth Move Tea for R recently. That might be a great idea! You could do it iced for her. :tu

[tempus vernum]

Flax seed oil and flax seed are considered to be almost the exact same as miralax :) And we use CLO too

We also used magnesium . . . in the form of colon sweep for kids not swallowing just empty into a glass of apple juice

Aloe vera in apple juice is pretty palatable

[BearyBlessed]

We use magnesium citrate as well, along with probiotics and fiber (Benefiber). I just use the powder and it goes in his bottle. I have wondered what to do when he weans. His doc suggested in jelly, nut butter balls, and as a last resort in a syringe.
He gets about 150mg a day. She didn't say anything about needing the calcium with it for constipation. I have tried some of the flavored liquid ones with no success. It would be so much easier if he would take those!

[Littledisciples]

Mega Magnesium contains all the forms of it and Omega Three Fish Oil works for our Daughter she has GI issues from being premature and even our pedi approves and notices the diffrence. Also we have not had to go to a gastro in a while because she is doing so well on it.

[BeckaBlue]

Abbey is on 750mg magnesium +30g of fiber (benefiber) plus yogurt probiotics, it's the only combo that's worked for us so far
she missed 3 days of fiber out of the last 10 and is constipated again, so going without fiber is not an option
she was on 500mg mag w/ the other stuff and started having probs, so 750mg mag it is
everything ive found says children (shes 7, about 60lbs) should not take more than 800mg mag a day...im not sure about youngers though

[tempus vernum]

I was just wondering. . . since magnesium was mentioned a few times here, has anyone else heard that magnesium for constipation is not a good long term approach? :scratch I heard it's like taking antacids long term. . . a bandaid approach that doesn't help with the cause but actually can cause addiction and a reduction in the acids/chemicals that a body needs to rid itself of waste. Just like miralax and other "medicinal laxatives"

Just wondering. . . I will see if I can find where I read that :think. . . we stopped after 6 weeks of it as a "cleanse" to see if she could make it without it but she couldn't so we are doing elimination diet and considering AAT, naturopath or kinesthesiology to determine the cause of her constipation as cleaning her out with it for several weeks didn't work.

:think

[Littledisciples]

I don't know but My DD is 33 pounds and 8 years old and she takes the Mega mag fine. I could list the ingredients later but gotta run. :shrug

[BeckaBlue]

I was just wondering. . . since magnesium was mentioned a few times here, has anyone else heard that magnesium for constipation is not a good long term approach? :scratch I heard it's like taking antacids long term. . . a bandaid approach that doesn't help with the cause but actually can cause addiction and a reduction in the acids/chemicals that a body needs to rid itself of waste. Just like miralax and other "medicinal laxatives"

Just wondering. . . I will see if I can find where I read that :think. . . we stopped after 6 weeks of it as a "cleanse" to see if she could make it without it but she couldn't so we are doing elimination diet and considering AAT, naturopath or kinesthesiology to determine the cause of her constipation as cleaning her out with it for several weeks didn't work.

:think


I havent, but seriously dont know where to go next other than medical laxatives. :/

[tempus vernum]

I was just wondering. . . since magnesium was mentioned a few times here, has anyone else heard that magnesium for constipation is not a good long term approach? :scratch I heard it's like taking antacids long term. . . a bandaid approach that doesn't help with the cause but actually can cause addiction and a reduction in the acids/chemicals that a body needs to rid itself of waste. Just like miralax and other "medicinal laxatives"

Just wondering. . . I will see if I can find where I read that :think. . . we stopped after 6 weeks of it as a "cleanse" to see if she could make it without it but she couldn't so we are doing elimination diet and considering AAT, naturopath or kinesthesiology to determine the cause of her constipation as cleaning her out with it for several weeks didn't work.

:think


I havent, but seriously dont know where to go next other than medical laxatives. :/


:hugheart I truly understand. :hugheart If you read "does prune juice cause candida" thread you will see how much we've done :hugheart Daily, my dd takes: aloe (2oz 2 times a day), prune juice 2 oz, 3 times a day, flax oil 3 times a day, clo 1 time a day, essiac 2 times a day, probiotics and digestive enzymes, not to mention keeping a food diary to make sure she gets enough fiber but not too much and requiring her to drink 36 ounces of water a day (4 ounces for every year of her life) :rolleyes . . . I rotate what we do as I try to figure out *what* could be causing this so that one thing won't become "addictive" :sigh She also now has "scheduled toilet time". This is actually working better than I imagined :jawdrop. The doc said it is because after eating your digestive juices get started, if you stop and sit you might go. Of 6 times she's done it in 3 days, it's worked 4 times :jawdrop. It's basically 4 minutes after breakfast, 4 minutes after dinner.

Her constipation has been chronic condition too :( . . . . I was hopeful a magnesium "cleanse" would do it but within 4 days of coming off she was backed up again :(. We've also done clay off and on again but like magnesium I am uncomfy doing clay regularly :( It's so rough. . . . I was asking because the more I read, the more concerned I became about her doing magnesium long term :nails That was our original plan though until I found out the "controversy". I didn't mean to upset you :(

We are now doing a gluten fast (already dairy and rice free) and if that doesn't work, the next step is going to be a naturopath or possible kinesthesiology, NAET or AAT . . . . . :banghead

[BearyBlessed]

Oh dear, I hadn't heard anything about the magnesium being bad for long term. Punkin has been on it for a long time. :/
We think it might be dairy for him, but I don't look forward to doing an elimination to find out for sure. Yogurt is one of his favorite foods. :(

[zak]

AFAIK, the herbal supplement that Shaklee has (HerbLax) is fine long term. :shrug3 It's worth looking into. :)

[tempus vernum]

Oh dear, I hadn't heard anything about the magnesium being bad for long term. Punkin has been on it for a long time. :/
We think it might be dairy for him, but I don't look forward to doing an elimination to find out for sure. Yogurt is one of his favorite foods. :(


Hey, that's exactly what I said about Luke and yogurt. . . when the doc told me that their "favorite" foods are because their bodies crave what's bad for them, I cried :cry :cry :hugheart

It took awhile for my kids to start eating other stuff-- it was TERRIBLY hard to give up dairy. :yes2 ITU that feeling. It's still hard to be dairy free :hugheart . Gluten has been easier to eliminate as a fast because they are older and I have told them :shrug we are doing this. WHen you are hungry enough you will eat (while having TONS of food in the house - including gluten free brownies and banana muffins).

Savana who is 3.5 is the one struggling the most with gluten. . . just with breakfast. . .she cries a lot in the morning now because she wants granola :( It's hard but I just keep offering a safe option for her :( I have allowed gluten free oats 2 times this week :shrug

[BearyBlessed]

Oh dear, I hadn't heard anything about the magnesium being bad for long term. Punkin has been on it for a long time. :/
We think it might be dairy for him, but I don't look forward to doing an elimination to find out for sure. Yogurt is one of his favorite foods. :(


Hey, that's exactly what I said about Luke and yogurt. . . when the doc told me that their "favorite" foods are because their bodies crave what's bad for them, I cried :cry :cry :hugheart



I can see how that would be. Maybe I just have to bite the bullet and do it. He's almost off the formula, which is a big one I've been waiting for. No reason cutting out all other dairy when he still gets it in his formula. :/ And it means I have to go mostly dairy free and definitely yogurt free. :yes2 It's also one of my favorite foods and a good source of protein for both of us. :sigh

[ChristmasGirl]

i'm reading this thread with interest, as ds is chronically constipated, and has been on milk of magnesia for 2.5 years :( anytime he misses a dose, there's a noticable difference in his stools, and it doesn't take much for him to get backed up. he's having a barium enema this coming week to rule out abnormalities. I completely understand the frustration! He's even wheat and dairy free :shrug3 i do agree with having potty times. ds sits regularly after break. and dinner and that has helped quite a bit. i never heard the 4 min. thing, that's interesting!

[BeckaBlue]

well after abs recent missing of fiber and getting constipated, she's been back on as before and has been having very loose stools, near diarhea, but not watery. she pood in her undies/the bathroom floor twice today before she could got on the toilet :/

shes going to the doc again next wk and im gonna look into allergy testing for her (im not sure what kind, i imagine te scratch test only works for symptoms easily seen?). when she was there a few wks ago she went back onto zyrtec, dr's hoping that itll stop any more ear infections. it's stopped her stuffy nose and constant unproductive cough :shrug
we did do dairy free with her for a couple mts or so when she was younger, hoping to clear the sinus/ear infections, but there was *no* improvement
i need to make a new post :giggle itll wait till tomorrow though, it's wayyy past sleep time!

[Leslie]

We found a liquid called magnesium chloride - a dropperful in her juice seems to be working.

I realize that it isn't ideal for regular use, but it has to be a step up from Miralax. And until she can force herself to drink more than her body is calling for, she's going to have to use something artificial. None of my kids have been drinkers, and I rarely get thirsty. I can go an entire day without drinking a thing and never miss it. I think it must be some genetic trait - lack of thirst sensors. All my kids have inherited it.

I'm really, really surprised there are so many kids who have this problem. My dd is wheat and dairy free - and I know a lot of the kids represented on this thread eat healthy and even fibrous foods. They aren't supposed to be having this problem.

[hey mommy]

What about a superfood juice? We buy Odwalla Superfood and it works great for C.. I really need to get some more for him.. We've been able to totally eliminate miralax and dairy and not have any problems.

[tempus vernum]

We found a liquid called magnesium chloride - a dropperful in her juice seems to be working.

I realize that it isn't ideal for regular use, but it has to be a step up from Miralax. And until she can force herself to drink more than her body is calling for, she's going to have to use something artificial. None of my kids have been drinkers, and I rarely get thirsty. I can go an entire day without drinking a thing and never miss it. I think it must be some genetic trait - lack of thirst sensors. All my kids have inherited it.


Okay, I do want to comment on the magnesium vs miralax.

We have personally chosen miralax over magnesium :hiding and how they work as a laxative is why we chose that. My preference over miralax would be flax oil and here is why

Magnesium, milk of magnesium and senna are our second choice and that is because they work by causing the bowel to contract after softening the stool by drawing water into the colon. Of the three, we prefer magnesium first, senna second and milk of magnesia is 3rd.

Miralax and flax oil both work the same. They draw water into the colon, softening the stool and pushing it through. We tried flax oil but even on an adult dosage she wasn't going regularly and we were concerned with the toxicity of high levels of flax oil so we tried miralax next. while it is not "natural" it's still allowing the bowel to push the stool out on its own. We would prefer her colon continue to contract on its own to avoid it getting lazy and out of shape. However, we have done some magnesium, senna and even milk of magnesia during really bad times.

Just my :twocents and how we arrived at this conclusion. I just wanted to share. Our doc knows we are naturally oriented and spent a lot of time talking to me about this. Suggested flax oil first. WHen it didn't work, we talked again and I wanted magnesium. He explained how it worked (and I googled to see if I agreed :shifty). I switched to miralax. That is though on top of prune juice, aloe juice and essiac which are our first line of preventative defense for her. Oh and occasional clay. But this post was supposed to just be about why I prefer miralax over magnesium :doh


I'm really, really surprised there are so many kids who have this problem. My dd is wheat and dairy free - and I know a lot of the kids represented on this thread eat healthy and even fibrous foods. They aren't supposed to be having this problem.

:yes2

I know it's so so hard. They SHOULDN'T have these problems :banghead We also started counting fiber grams just in case and my dd is on the high end of normal for her height/weight/age but not getting "too much". We are gluten and dairy free. Gluten just was dropped about 3 weeks ago though. I am SO hopeful when the 60 day intro to no gluten is over that her constipation problems are behind us :pray4

[Blueberrybabies]

[That is though on top of prune juice, aloe juice and essiac which are our first line of preventative defense for her.

Jodi, can you talk more about aloe and essiac? I haven't ever heard of essiac. I think aloe is pretty much one of the only natural things I haven't tried with G, b/c it was my understanding that it was also a stimulant type lax.

[allisonintx]

I've been thinking about this thread a lot.

I'm very concerned with the number of kids who "won't drink water" I'm not talking about the kids

This is the real problem for most kids who have constipation. The constipation is just the symptom. We need to be seriously focusing on adequately hydrating our children with *water* Only water is water. You can make tea with it, but that's still not optimal.

I notice that kids drink much more water when there's a cooler around that they can use to serve themselves, at all times during the day.
Learning to drink water as your own primary beverage and not having other 'options' in the house is also helpful.

What are some other good strategies for increasing water consumption?

[tempus vernum]

What are some other good strategies for increasing water consumption?


:hiding Bribery. . . my children (8, 7, 3.5yo) actually drink 36, 32, and 21 ounces of water per day because that earns them a small glass or natural flavored lemonade/fruit punch/strawberry drink (basically koolaid from frontier). We don't keep juice in the house for drinking except for prune juice and apple juice for taking with aloe vera every day. If they get juice, it's a treat not a regular occurance

But it's an "as soon as you finish your water today, you may have fruit drink" so I shouldn't call it bribery.

ANd honestly, 90% of days, they forget about the "other thing" or its a bedtime snack. Only once in a great while is it gotten at dinner.

Another thing I do. As we read aloud at breakfast/lunch, as I turn the page, I say "drink" and everyone takes a drink of water. We've done this for years. . . honestly, I don't think my kids remember not doing it :giggle

We also have color coded rubber bands on our glasses so that they always know which is theirs. And I put them at a certain level and say "drink to here by the end of lunch". The older two use 32 ounce mason jars and I expect them to have drank 20 ounces by 1pm every day so that the last 12 ounces can be drunk before bedtime or ds will wet.

SO for our family, unfortunately, water consumption isn't the issue, although our doctor asked we increase A to 36 ounces - she was only at 32 about a 2 months ago but he said that's probably not it but he wants 4 ounces per year of life ;) until they reach their full height and she'll be nine in 3 weeks !

Another fun one, let them pick out their kleen kanteens or cool water bottles :giggle the kanteens made water consumption super fun the first few weeks. . . but it didn't do anything to increase them as they ahve to have theirs filled 2 times to get their water drinking in. Or fun glasses. DD1 just got an awesome covered water glass at sibling day at the hospital - it only holds 28 ounces but she LOVES to drink it.

And straws are a big one. When ds gets out the straws I actually have to watch that he doesn't drink his water too fast because he gets super bad tummy aches and wets his pants :( He actually wet his pants on the way to speech 2 weeks ago because he drank 32 ounces of water by 1pm :doh I have been watching more carefully now to make sure he slows down when he has a straw.

I'll post more if I think of it. Great idea Allison :)

About essiac. It's an anticancer herbal infusion. It just happens to help with constipation, candida, and a lot of other ailments. Everyone over 5 in this house takes it. When I began taking it, I was going like crazy - it was shocking :giggle and I realized it really helps a lot more than I thought for bowel issues :giggle

[hey mommy]

We put water in a thermos with a straw and he drinks from that all day. If we add ice, he drinks it even more. Being able to have the thermos on his desk at school makes a big difference too. He drinks more that way.

And if he wants juice, but hasn't had enough water for the day, I add just barely enough just to flavor the water, so it doesn't taste so bland. Seems to work.

OOH, and drinking contests.. yep, start 'em young.. :giggle

Straws a BIG one here.. We drink way more when we have straws.

And ITA w/SoneshineMama.. bribery works wonders. I am not above bribery. :lol The only juice we usually have is pure apple and pure orange juice.. Sometimes we have some water-based capri sun, but it's rare.

[tempus vernum]

What about a superfood juice? We buy Odwalla Superfood and it works great for C.. I really need to get some more for him.. We've been able to totally eliminate miralax and dairy and not have any problems.


I missed this before. I wonder if that would help dd :think - I had stopped giving greens because of expense and she was taking so many other thigns. But I've cut out a lot of the supplements and we could start this again. I think I will tomorrow because I bought more recently and we can afford them again :tu

[hey mommy]

That's the ONLY way I can get C to 'eat' greens.. he just started eating salad, but w/me being sick, no one has eaten salad in a while. :( Green juice is a wonder drink around here.. and he LOVES the taste.. He hates the Naked brand and will only drink Odwalla.. LOL

[tempus vernum]

That's the ONLY way I can get C to 'eat' greens.. he just started eating salad, but w/me being sick, no one has eaten salad in a while. :( Green juice is a wonder drink around here.. and he LOVES the taste.. He hates the Naked brand and will only drink Odwalla.. LOL


I just hopped up and had everyone take greens (pills w/water) and shouted out "drink". Talk about behavior modification. They all started drinking their water. :giggle I have officially brainwashed my children to drink water whenever I hollder out drink :haha :laughtears :shifty

[hey mommy]

That's the ONLY way I can get C to 'eat' greens.. he just started eating salad, but w/me being sick, no one has eaten salad in a while. :( Green juice is a wonder drink around here.. and he LOVES the taste.. He hates the Naked brand and will only drink Odwalla.. LOL


I just hopped up and had everyone take greens (pills w/water) and shouted out "drink". Talk about behavior modification. They all started drinking their water. :giggle I have officially brainwashed my children to drink water whenever I hollder out drink :haha :laughtears :shifty


Hey, whatever works... I do something similar... :)

[allisonintx]

I had forgotten the straw rule.

When women come to me having trouble with drinking water, I have them use a straw, because it bypasses the tongue, mostly, and they don't have to hold their breath to drink, so they drink more each time than they would if they had to tip the cup and hold their breath to swallow. It's a great trick.

[BearyBlessed]

Thank you for the reminder about water. :yes Punkin gets a fair amount in his bottles still. He gets ~2oz oat milk and 6 water. But, it's still not straight water. He does like to drink water, I just need to do better about reminding him (and me!) to drink enough. He has a KK, but I may try the straw trick and see if it helps.

Jodi, would you mind sharing more about your research on magnesium? Our doc prefers him to be on it rather than Miralax long term, so I'd love to see more about it. Our 2 yr well check is coming up and I have a feeling we're going to do a lot of talking about his constipation issues.
I too just started gluten free and I'm hoping to see some improvement. I think. :shifty If it improves that means we have to stay gf. :O

[tempus vernum]

First, it is very confusing because certain sites say a certain type of magnesium is safe/good and then sites say "no and here is why" :crazy Because I can't get a difinitive answer, I am not comfy doing magnesium :blush Call me paranoid . . . okay I am probably paranoid :shifty.

Here are some of my links. . .

website that outlines types of magnesium (http://www.oxypowder.com/magnesium.htmlMagnesium oxide - laxative - [/url) This website actually says magnesium oxide is very safe and tells you why but of course it's trying to sell you magnesium oxide. I am posting it because it gives a nice overview of the different types of magnesium used as laxatives.

wiki info on magnesium oxide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_oxide) says In quantities sufficient to obtain a laxative effect, side effects of long-term use include enteroliths resulting in bowel obstruction.[4]

article re: magnesium (http://ezinearticles.com/?Laxatives---Common-Constipation-Treatments-Part-1&id=626566) stimulating bowels, long term tocity levels Magnesium can also have mild stimulatory effects on the colonic muscles, but it can be partially absorbed into the body from the intestine. Magnesium is removed from the body through the kidneys, so people with impaired kidney function could develop toxic levels of magnesium from long-term use of laxatives containing magnesium. The most frequently-used and mildest of these laxatives is milk of magnesia, while Epsom salts is more potent and contains magnesium sulfate.

milk of magnesia info article which reminds us why milk of magnesia shouldn't be used long term (http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/treatments/medications/magnesium-hydroxide/index.aspx[/url) I'd have to quote the entire article to show all the many reasons why milk of magnesia should be "emergency use only" and just FYI we have used as emergency when dd was in really bad shape and we couldn't get her going using other methods :shrug .

Now about my choice to use miralax. I certainly don't plan on having my dd on miralax forever :no but I haven't found any toxicity levels from short term usage. I think the bottom line for me is that I don't want to use just ONE thing TOO LONG I had dd on magnesium for over 6 weeks and as soon as she came off she didn't have a bm for 6 days :sigh As the jury is out on magnesium stimulating the bowel or not, I am not interested in taking a risk. BUT I can't find ANYWHERE that miralax does anything but draw water into the bowels to soften stool. So to me, that's less risky. medicine, not natural but less likely to cause dependence.

just my :twocents

I am certainly not a bowel expert so I am totally unoffended if people don't agree with me ;) . I am just a mom who has researched this over and over and hoped and prayed for answer as I have a child who drinks 36 ounces of water a day, eats fibrous, healthy unprocessed foods, is VERY active, yet struggles with chronic constipation in spite of trying a ton of different natural remedies for constipation :sigh . If you look back in this forum, I think I have posted about constipation/stomach several times these past several months :rolleyes It's been quite the journey and we even got a stomach x ray to make sure her abdomen was normal.

[allisonintx]

there's no toxicity levels because the molecule never leaves the GI tract. It is too big to be absorbed. That's how it works.

[tempus vernum]

there's no toxicity levels because the molecule never leaves the GI tract. It is too big to be absorbed. That's how it works.


Do you mean miralax or magnesium :think If you mean magnesium, I'd love more info because while dd was on it she did poop GREAT. It's just afterwards she stopped going altogether and it got worse than it had ever been before the magnesium :sigh So maybe it was just "for her" a bad thing . . . . ?

[allisonintx]

miralax. sorry. Magnesium is a smooth muscle relaxer.

[allisonintx]

If you're concerned about chemicals in your child's system, the Miralax actually ends up being more, well not natural, but less invasive.

[tempus vernum]

I also just noticed the question about aloe vera directed to me. I was re-reading this whole thread because poop is such a big issue in our house :haha . My understanding is of aloe that is soothes digestive tract (including an inflamed small intenstine and inflamed colon). We actually take it because I believe it to be an antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal super food which happens to help you go to the bathroom because of the digestive soothing. Never heard of it being a stimulative :think Links?

I forgot to report that BOTH my older dc went poop today within 30 minutes of having greens :jawdrop :jump YAY Janice :clap :clap :clap The problem. . . they finished the bottle :doh and I can't find the other one :giggle so I have to tear about the vitamin cupboard :rolleyes

[tempus vernum]

wiki aloe info (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloe) I found the following quote quite interesting
[quote]On May 9, 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule banning the use of aloin, the yellow sap of the aloe plant for use as laxative ingredient in over-the-counter drug products.[8] Most aloe juices today do not contain significant aloin.

I also found some interesting links about aloe and irritable bowel that indicate that it does soothe inflammation in your digestive tract. That may be why it helps you go more ;)

[allisonintx]

even though I'm not a big fan of MLM's Mannatech has some good research on Aloe, too.

[Blueberrybabies]

Never heard of it being a stimulative :think Links?

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/faqs/medi-3-13-constipation.html is the one I was thinking of. Rereading that I remember that I haven't tried dandelion yet either. But whenever I've tried anything other than miralax he gets horribly constipated in a day or so and so I'm very nervous about trying new things.

[LadyofReason]

I didn't read the whole thread, so I'm sorry if this was already mentioned. :O

I saw this product recommended recently http://www.calmnatural.com/kidscalm
Until we can order some I'm giving my daughter (3 year old and constipated for probably a year if not more) Epsom Salts. I give her a pinch or so in her juice a couple times a day. She doesn't notice it (one pinch in a 10oz cup. I know that's a lot of juice but it's liquid and it's helping :shrug3 )

In one day she started having better formed BM (smoother instead of balls or balls formed together). The next day it was the same and she also was thrilled to announce that "it was easy to poo!" :giggle :rockon :clap

Another way to get it in her is to add it to the bath. I fill the tub so that the warm water is about belly button level (higher than I normally do) and add about 1 cup of Epsom Salts.

I'm not sure if only one of the above is helping or both, but with the great results I'm keeping it up. :)

[allisonintx]

Epsom salts are magnesium sulphate. :hug That's why it works so well.

[BeckaBlue]

the dr wants abs to lower her mag and start miralax, and im gonna do that. the mag shes taking is super high and ive been nervous about that much for awhile. i bumped her back down to 500 and she started having trouble again :/
we talked about sendin abs to an allergist, if her issues (sinus, ear, and bowel) are allergy related and there's something we can do, i need to do that. i backed off but i dunno why, but at her followup i will def be having the referral sent

i think too saying 'if you rink this much water, then you can have X' would be good in our house. abs does drink water well, at least 3-4 cups a day, usually more, but kenz n nik dont. they get a flavored drink at meals only, but ive seen kenz not drink until a meal cause she doesnt want water :/

afa epsom salts......are they absorbed into the body in a bath?!

[allisonintx]

yes, they are. It's Transdermal....like the nicotine patch or a pain killer patch.

[Sundance]

I just wanted to bump this thread up.

I see posts all the time about constipation & this thread is packed full of good information!

I really like the ideas about increasing water consumption :)