Toilet Troubles...

Is there an easier way???


Now I thought of writing this blog while cleaning the bog... Excuse my feeble witty attempt!


Now my eldest Cameron (almost 11) struggled as an older baby/toddler with constipation, he was given various advice ie/ eat more fruit/veg, drink more water, drink prune or apple juice etc, etc & then the Dr prescribed Lactulose followed by Fybogel, he wasn't on meds for long & although he still doesn't go daily (he goes most days, occasional has 1 or 2 days without going) he has never struggled with pain or sitting for hours without movement since his short course of meds.


My middle child Hermione (almost 9) has NEVER suffered in this area, although her diet is exactly the same as the rest of the family - well apart from Cammy his diet is the same with the exception that he consumes a vast amount of sugar in his diet (but that is another blog entirely).


Now the main reason of this blog is my youngest Anneliese (5) as a baby & up until just after she was 5, so up until April this year, she had NO problems at all... None, but in April the fun started!


Pretty much every night at either tea time or bed time she would say the needed the toilet, sit on it then start screaming & crying in pain, shouting "it hurts"


So we went back to apple juice instead of squash, a week later no better so on to the trusty prune juice, this helped a little but not that much... We persevered for approx 2 weeks with the prune juice, much to Anneliese's disgust (she didn't like the taste much) but we would get 1 or 2 normal days & then the rest were still badly constipated.


So on May 4th a trip to the Dr's was in order (it's so sad to hear your baby crying in pain & there's nothing you can do to help them) - now since Cameron was a youngster things have changed & now they prescribe different meds...


First she is given Movicol paediatric plain oral solution - she has to have 1 sachet daily mixed in 62.5ml water (we use squash too, to make it slightly more palatable)...

It's only 1/4 of a cup but oh my word, this caused so much chaos in the first few weeks! You would've thought I was trying to poison her (in fairness she had a point it is vile, imagine drinking a 1/4 cup of water/squash/tea/coffee (whatever drink you fancy) but with 2 teaspoons of salt in it & you may be close to what it is actually like) - it would take an absolute age to get her to drink it & somedays a damn right battle too, refusals, tantrums you name it!!!  I mentioned all this in a blog on May 22nd, when she'd only been on it 2.5 wks - you can find that blog here: I surrender!!!!!

Anneliese has actually got used to this now thankfully, but for the past 2 weeks she has had to take the addition of 2.5ml of Senokot syrup every night too (which strangely she likes) & takes no problem at all... We actually don't have too many issues with the Movicol now (good job as I've just put in for this months supply)!


Now on the meds she is fine, doesn't have a problem & it doesn't hurt one little bit... but should she (or should I say I) forget her meds for a day (sometimes 2 if we've been really busy) the problems & occasionally the pain start again - Only on Friday did she suffer & produced what could only be described as a torpedo (Hermione had great delight in saying it was so BIG it had blocked the toilet!) poor little Anneliese though.


Now, how can you convince children to drink more fluids, eat more fruit & veg etc if they really don't want to?!  I am sure I am in no way alone here, but all of my children since reaching school age have dropped the amount of fluids they consume immensely - they all used to drink gallons of water, very dilute squash & diluted fruit juice but now they pretty much drink a cup with breakfast, a carton at lunch & a cup at dinner - That's it!!!


I don't like to rely on meds, but what else can I do?!

What's the Bzz?!

Yes, what is the Bzz???  I am a BzzAgent & have been since 9th May 2007, I bet you're wondering what a BzzAgent is?!  Let me tell you...


Basically it is a consumer testing panel & anyone can become a BzzAgent you just have to sign up, you can do it by visiting: BzzAgent


You get invited to join campaigns where you can get FREE products to try (or products at a reduced price, they're not always FREE) & you review them then spread the word - what they call the Bzz!


I am currently on the Naturally Powered campaign, Naturally Powered is a new range of environmentally-conscious cleaning products that have been developed with the help of environmental experts, tested in the laboratory, & approved in the home. Naturally Powered's outstanding performance makes it hard to believe that it is an eco range, but thanks to its combination technology, plant-derived cleaning ingredients & recycled packaging, it's as good, if not better, than other leading brands.


I was sent the anti-bacterial spray, that I must say is as good as the Dettol spray I normally buy, I was also sent a couple of samples of washing up liquid in my BzzKit but I wasn't as impressed with this compared to my normal brand Fairy - it didn't lather up as much & I didn't think it's performance worked as well as Fairy (that's just my honest opinion of the product though)


I have a couple of friends that are also BzzAgents (I only recently found out they were, so we quite often chat about campaigns & products) - Caroline had the Naturally Powered washing powder to trial, from all accounts this too is quite a good product! Lisa got the toilet gel & from her review she loved the gel as stayed where it was squirted, cleaned well but the fragrance was overpowering - so it looks like Naturally Powered seems to be a a good brand!


Other Bzz campaigns I have been on since becoming an agent include: Philips Pressurised Steam Generator, Remington Wet2Straight(TM) Slim, Philips goLITE BLU, Philips Wake-up Light, Colgate(R) Sensitive Pro-Relief(TM), Activia(R) & NutriCat (to name just a few of the campaigns I have been doing over the years)