Questions about intestinal blockages

[amber682]

Okay, I need to know how people with CF can get intestinal blockages from not taking enough enzymes. Not taking enzymes would make stools loose and greasy, how does that cause a blockage? I thought a blockage would be caused from too many enzymes. But then how does a baby with CF be born with MI? They've never had enzymes. I would think their stool would be very loose and greasy, not blocked up.

I'm just a little confused as to what causes a blockage. Too many enzymes? Not enough? Both? Something else entirely? My son has never had serious GI problems, just needing to take enzymes. But recently he's had a few bouts with severe constipation and it has me wondering (he's never had this problem before).

I'm sorry if I confused anyone, I can't seem to think straight today!

Thanks!

 

[amber682]

Okay, I need to know how people with CF can get intestinal blockages from not taking enough enzymes. Not taking enzymes would make stools loose and greasy, how does that cause a blockage? I thought a blockage would be caused from too many enzymes. But then how does a baby with CF be born with MI? They've never had enzymes. I would think their stool would be very loose and greasy, not blocked up.

I'm just a little confused as to what causes a blockage. Too many enzymes? Not enough? Both? Something else entirely? My son has never had serious GI problems, just needing to take enzymes. But recently he's had a few bouts with severe constipation and it has me wondering (he's never had this problem before).

I'm sorry if I confused anyone, I can't seem to think straight today!

Thanks!

 

[amber682]

Okay, I need to know how people with CF can get intestinal blockages from not taking enough enzymes. Not taking enzymes would make stools loose and greasy, how does that cause a blockage? I thought a blockage would be caused from too many enzymes. But then how does a baby with CF be born with MI? They've never had enzymes. I would think their stool would be very loose and greasy, not blocked up.

I'm just a little confused as to what causes a blockage. Too many enzymes? Not enough? Both? Something else entirely? My son has never had serious GI problems, just needing to take enzymes. But recently he's had a few bouts with severe constipation and it has me wondering (he's never had this problem before).

I'm sorry if I confused anyone, I can't seem to think straight today!

Thanks!

 

[Ratatosk]

It's my understanding that the same sticky mucus that can clog up the lungs, sinuses, can clog up the intestines. DS was born with a bowel obstruction caused by meconium illeus -- sticky green tar like poo got backed up. So if you don't take enzymes, enough enzymes, you can get a bowel obstruction.

When DS was about 4 months old, he was still having loose stools, but had a LOT of stool backed up in his colon (large intestine). Cfers can have something called a meconium equivilant. Sticky poo, food not properly digested... Some of the older cfers get a feeling, even though they're still stooling and start taking Milk of Mag, Miralax... to get things going again.

Can be tricky. Your first instinct might be to decrease enzymes to get things moving again and that can cause problems. Another problem can occur with taking too many enzymes, which can cause strictures in the intestinal tract in which food gets blocked. Although it's my understanding that taking too many enzymes means a LOT of enzymes, really high dosage.

Confusing, isn't it.

 

[Ratatosk]

It's my understanding that the same sticky mucus that can clog up the lungs, sinuses, can clog up the intestines. DS was born with a bowel obstruction caused by meconium illeus -- sticky green tar like poo got backed up. So if you don't take enzymes, enough enzymes, you can get a bowel obstruction.

When DS was about 4 months old, he was still having loose stools, but had a LOT of stool backed up in his colon (large intestine). Cfers can have something called a meconium equivilant. Sticky poo, food not properly digested... Some of the older cfers get a feeling, even though they're still stooling and start taking Milk of Mag, Miralax... to get things going again.

Can be tricky. Your first instinct might be to decrease enzymes to get things moving again and that can cause problems. Another problem can occur with taking too many enzymes, which can cause strictures in the intestinal tract in which food gets blocked. Although it's my understanding that taking too many enzymes means a LOT of enzymes, really high dosage.

Confusing, isn't it.

 

[Ratatosk]

It's my understanding that the same sticky mucus that can clog up the lungs, sinuses, can clog up the intestines. DS was born with a bowel obstruction caused by meconium illeus -- sticky green tar like poo got backed up. So if you don't take enzymes, enough enzymes, you can get a bowel obstruction.

When DS was about 4 months old, he was still having loose stools, but had a LOT of stool backed up in his colon (large intestine). Cfers can have something called a meconium equivilant. Sticky poo, food not properly digested... Some of the older cfers get a feeling, even though they're still stooling and start taking Milk of Mag, Miralax... to get things going again.

Can be tricky. Your first instinct might be to decrease enzymes to get things moving again and that can cause problems. Another problem can occur with taking too many enzymes, which can cause strictures in the intestinal tract in which food gets blocked. Although it's my understanding that taking too many enzymes means a LOT of enzymes, really high dosage.

Confusing, isn't it.

 

[2perfectboys]

I would assume no matter how many enzymes u take, there is still going to be some food that is not digested, hence it ends up hanging out in the intestines that can have this same sticky mucas as the lungs. For us it has been a double edge sword and there is a fine line to keep the digestion under control. At first sign of contipation I start my son on Mirilax. We went from 2-3 bowel issues a year to nothing in the last 2 years, but I still feel like I don't have a full grasp on keeping intestinal problems away. I would just never skip the enzymes, while this will cause loose stools there will be lots of food that is left undigested. As far as taking too many, there is a caculaton your doc can do, to tell u the max that should be taken based on weight, while I think my son is on a large dose, 3 Creon 20s with meals, that is still way within the allowable dose.

 

[2perfectboys]

I would assume no matter how many enzymes u take, there is still going to be some food that is not digested, hence it ends up hanging out in the intestines that can have this same sticky mucas as the lungs. For us it has been a double edge sword and there is a fine line to keep the digestion under control. At first sign of contipation I start my son on Mirilax. We went from 2-3 bowel issues a year to nothing in the last 2 years, but I still feel like I don't have a full grasp on keeping intestinal problems away. I would just never skip the enzymes, while this will cause loose stools there will be lots of food that is left undigested. As far as taking too many, there is a caculaton your doc can do, to tell u the max that should be taken based on weight, while I think my son is on a large dose, 3 Creon 20s with meals, that is still way within the allowable dose.

 

[2perfectboys]

I would assume no matter how many enzymes u take, there is still going to be some food that is not digested, hence it ends up hanging out in the intestines that can have this same sticky mucas as the lungs. For us it has been a double edge sword and there is a fine line to keep the digestion under control. At first sign of contipation I start my son on Mirilax. We went from 2-3 bowel issues a year to nothing in the last 2 years, but I still feel like I don't have a full grasp on keeping intestinal problems away. I would just never skip the enzymes, while this will cause loose stools there will be lots of food that is left undigested. As far as taking too many, there is a caculaton your doc can do, to tell u the max that should be taken based on weight, while I think my son is on a large dose, 3 Creon 20s with meals, that is still way within the allowable dose.

 

[amber682]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, my first instinct was to just give him a meal without his Creon, hoping that would help the constipation. I wasn't aware that not enough could cause blockage as well.

We recently took him off of Pediasure (it was causing him to not want to eat). He's now eating much better and has gained some weight, but now we're dealing with constipation. I was afraid he was now taking too many enzymes, because we cut out the very fatty Pediasure, so I gave him one less. But that hasn't helped, so maybe I'm making it worse. I don't know what to give him or how much to help him out. I've seen Mirilax mentioned on here tons of times, but wouldn't know how much to give him. I wish the clinic had called me back today, now I have to wait until Monday!

Thanks again!

 

[amber682]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, my first instinct was to just give him a meal without his Creon, hoping that would help the constipation. I wasn't aware that not enough could cause blockage as well.

We recently took him off of Pediasure (it was causing him to not want to eat). He's now eating much better and has gained some weight, but now we're dealing with constipation. I was afraid he was now taking too many enzymes, because we cut out the very fatty Pediasure, so I gave him one less. But that hasn't helped, so maybe I'm making it worse. I don't know what to give him or how much to help him out. I've seen Mirilax mentioned on here tons of times, but wouldn't know how much to give him. I wish the clinic had called me back today, now I have to wait until Monday!

Thanks again!

 

[amber682]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, my first instinct was to just give him a meal without his Creon, hoping that would help the constipation. I wasn't aware that not enough could cause blockage as well.

We recently took him off of Pediasure (it was causing him to not want to eat). He's now eating much better and has gained some weight, but now we're dealing with constipation. I was afraid he was now taking too many enzymes, because we cut out the very fatty Pediasure, so I gave him one less. But that hasn't helped, so maybe I'm making it worse. I don't know what to give him or how much to help him out. I've seen Mirilax mentioned on here tons of times, but wouldn't know how much to give him. I wish the clinic had called me back today, now I have to wait until Monday!

Thanks again!

 

[2perfectboys]

Hey Amber,
Mirilax is a powder medication that u mix in with a drink, my son uses it with Apple Juice, guess u could do gatorade or even milk? I really don't think it has a taste, because he has never complained of it, if u stir it up it disolves completly. Ask your doc if they think it would help and get a script for it, like i said the first sign of stomach cramping or when I find he is stilling on the pot for more than 10 mins and is constipated, I fix him a glass of it and it really helps, a few times it has taken a couple of glasses but usually one will do it.
Hope this helps I know this contispation think is frustrating, and like I said before, I still don't think I have a firm grasp on it, but it has been under pretty good control for a few years.
Lori

 

[2perfectboys]

Hey Amber,
Mirilax is a powder medication that u mix in with a drink, my son uses it with Apple Juice, guess u could do gatorade or even milk? I really don't think it has a taste, because he has never complained of it, if u stir it up it disolves completly. Ask your doc if they think it would help and get a script for it, like i said the first sign of stomach cramping or when I find he is stilling on the pot for more than 10 mins and is constipated, I fix him a glass of it and it really helps, a few times it has taken a couple of glasses but usually one will do it.
Hope this helps I know this contispation think is frustrating, and like I said before, I still don't think I have a firm grasp on it, but it has been under pretty good control for a few years.
Lori

 

[2perfectboys]

Hey Amber,
Mirilax is a powder medication that u mix in with a drink, my son uses it with Apple Juice, guess u could do gatorade or even milk? I really don't think it has a taste, because he has never complained of it, if u stir it up it disolves completly. Ask your doc if they think it would help and get a script for it, like i said the first sign of stomach cramping or when I find he is stilling on the pot for more than 10 mins and is constipated, I fix him a glass of it and it really helps, a few times it has taken a couple of glasses but usually one will do it.
Hope this helps I know this contispation think is frustrating, and like I said before, I still don't think I have a firm grasp on it, but it has been under pretty good control for a few years.
Lori

 

[amber682]

Thanks again! Like I said, he's never had any problems with constipation before at all. But with all this lately I'm starting to worry about blockages. I tend to get overly worried and anxious when its something CF related.

I will definately ask about Mirilax when I call back first thing Monday am. He definately needs something. Its not so much that he can't go, but that the stool is super hard and very large and round, and it must hurt a lot because you can tell he's trying to hold it in. I mean its right there, you can just about see it (TMI, I know!). He refuses to sit down and his stomach gets big and hard. And he cries off and on for hours, and doesn't want to eat. When he actually did pass it, it must have really hurt because I saw his knees actually buckle. I think it would have hurt me to pass that stool. Tylenol, vaseline, or suppositories don't seem to help. Then after a few hours he finally goes, and is 100% back to normal. I was afraid I was giving him too many enzymes, so I cut back one, and I may be making him worse. It happened about 5 times over the last 3 weeks.

So anyway, now I'm starting to worry about him getting blocked. Thanks for all your help. I just hate seeing the little guy hurting.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

 

[amber682]

Thanks again! Like I said, he's never had any problems with constipation before at all. But with all this lately I'm starting to worry about blockages. I tend to get overly worried and anxious when its something CF related.

I will definately ask about Mirilax when I call back first thing Monday am. He definately needs something. Its not so much that he can't go, but that the stool is super hard and very large and round, and it must hurt a lot because you can tell he's trying to hold it in. I mean its right there, you can just about see it (TMI, I know!). He refuses to sit down and his stomach gets big and hard. And he cries off and on for hours, and doesn't want to eat. When he actually did pass it, it must have really hurt because I saw his knees actually buckle. I think it would have hurt me to pass that stool. Tylenol, vaseline, or suppositories don't seem to help. Then after a few hours he finally goes, and is 100% back to normal. I was afraid I was giving him too many enzymes, so I cut back one, and I may be making him worse. It happened about 5 times over the last 3 weeks.

So anyway, now I'm starting to worry about him getting blocked. Thanks for all your help. I just hate seeing the little guy hurting.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

 

[amber682]

Thanks again! Like I said, he's never had any problems with constipation before at all. But with all this lately I'm starting to worry about blockages. I tend to get overly worried and anxious when its something CF related.

I will definately ask about Mirilax when I call back first thing Monday am. He definately needs something. Its not so much that he can't go, but that the stool is super hard and very large and round, and it must hurt a lot because you can tell he's trying to hold it in. I mean its right there, you can just about see it (TMI, I know!). He refuses to sit down and his stomach gets big and hard. And he cries off and on for hours, and doesn't want to eat. When he actually did pass it, it must have really hurt because I saw his knees actually buckle. I think it would have hurt me to pass that stool. Tylenol, vaseline, or suppositories don't seem to help. Then after a few hours he finally goes, and is 100% back to normal. I was afraid I was giving him too many enzymes, so I cut back one, and I may be making him worse. It happened about 5 times over the last 3 weeks.

So anyway, now I'm starting to worry about him getting blocked. Thanks for all your help. I just hate seeing the little guy hurting.<img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0">

 

[JazzysMom]

This thought popped into my head from experience. As long as his stools arent floating I wouldnt play too much with the enzymes, but definitely look at other things. MY daughter (no CF) has HUGE stools. Its amazing that they can come out of her butt (TMI LOL). She has always been prone to constipation and one thing that triggers it is too much milk &/or not enough water. She doesnt get gass etc so its not lactose intolerance. Her stools dont float like CFers can, but definitely influenced by what she drinks. More so then what she eats. Good Luck!

 

[JazzysMom]

This thought popped into my head from experience. As long as his stools arent floating I wouldnt play too much with the enzymes, but definitely look at other things. MY daughter (no CF) has HUGE stools. Its amazing that they can come out of her butt (TMI LOL). She has always been prone to constipation and one thing that triggers it is too much milk &/or not enough water. She doesnt get gass etc so its not lactose intolerance. Her stools dont float like CFers can, but definitely influenced by what she drinks. More so then what she eats. Good Luck!