Mineral oil
#15503 - 07/30/03 06:08 AM
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BarbaraS
Reged: 02/12/03
Posts: 1939
Loc: Wisconsin
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My sister-n-law suggested using mineral oil to get things moving. She gives it to her six year son, because he holds his BM. The doc said this was okay. 
Has anyone tried mineral oil? I read the label and it says it is a laxative, so I'm not so sure that was good advice.
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It is a laxative, and not such a hot idea for IBS. Sorry.
 There's probably no polite way to tell your sister this, but she's potentially setting up serious bowel problems for her son as well. I totally disagree with their doc and am at a loss as to why he'd think this is okay.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Thanks Heather for the info. I'll talk to her about it and have her question her Doctor. Her son is given Mirlax and mineral oil everyday and that can explain why he still has accidents in his pants everyday. Bummer for my nephew when doctors don't give out right info.
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Oh wow - this is really worrisome. Does he have a GI problem that necessitates this? Has he had GI tests to determine the problem? He could actually wind up with IBS if his gut nervous system is subjected to ongoing trauma like this. Not to mention that laxatives cause bowel dependency.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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He has had no testing. The doctor sent him to a nurse who deals with children and poop problems. Between the nurse and doctor they decided his C is due to holding his poop in. I've never been comfortable with the idea of giving him laxatives without checking for a possible medical problem. I've questioned my sister-n-law about this and ask if her if the doctor suggested running tests to make sure it isn't a physical problem. She feels no need to - the doctor is right and I'm wrong.
If you have any go websites I can refer to that may help.
Thanks
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Hi - Well, here are some sites web page and web page
The second site says that mineral oil cannot cause dependency, so I've now seen conflicting info about this.
See what you think...
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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It is interesting in the second site that the author states mineral oil is not a laxative - the bottle says it is.
The first site is really helpful. I'll print it out for her and see what she thinks.
Thankyou!
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Hi Heather,
I tried talking to my sister-n-law yesterday and told her that I have an article for her to read. She disagreed with me about the mineral oil. Her thought is it is oil - how can that be bad for you. She asked me if you are a doctor and told her no, but you are an expert about IBS and how foods and FS effect IBS. She didn't want to discuss it with me and I let it go.
I hope her son will be okay down the road. She is moving back to MN, so hopfully a new doctor will set her straight.
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Having read the whole thread, I can see that your sister-in-law isn't going to change her mind, but let me just say...one of the saddest cases I've worked with in a childcare setting was a typically developing little girl (who was under two when I first knew her and is now past four) whose parents gave her laxatives every day. They believed she had a huge variety of food allergies (dairy, soy, beef, pineapple, citrus I believe), and they had a doctor's note...but the little girl had never had any testing done. And so when she arrived at the center, she was already on a restricted diet and laxatives. And she's now in preschool and hasn't achieved full bowel or even bladder control--no wonder, the way she's been treated! Having a BM has been and probably still is so traumatic for her--we'd have to change her diaper, pants, socks, shoes, and sometimes shirt. She had diaper rash from her waist to her knees. And this was the the child of two middle-class, professional, well-educated parents. Mom even worked in the medical field. I guess what I'm saying is, some parents can really screw up their kids by having too much faith in doctors.
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Tess it's not only parents who put too much faith in the medical profession - it's also a lot of us who have IBS. We eat what the doctor's tell us and most of us ended up feeling worse. Thank goodness heather knows more than the doctor's do when it comes to IBS. 
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my GI doc put me on high doses of mineral oil to "clean my colon" out. (i'm IBS C.) i do believe it is a laxative but i do know it is supposed to lubricate the inside of the colon to help the stuff move out. my doc told me it should be taken on an empty stomach 2 hours before or 2 hours after a meal so it does not interfere with food absorption and also should be taken at least 2 hours before laying down for bed. i hope this helps a little. my doc also recommended a brand mineral oil called kondrumel (spelling may be a little off!  ) it took me a while to find it--i had to call several drug stores, so you (or your sister 'n law) may have to do a little hunting. i haven't tried it yet, but it's supposed to taste better than mineral oil and the back of the bottle says you can even mix it in hot cocca, so it may be a better choice for a 6 year old. good luck!!
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"Only the strongest are put through the fire..."
~Quote from the novel "Archangel" by Sharon Shinn
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