Still on the daily laxative, months later
Daily MiraLAX is a good tool for getting through a hard week. It’s not meant to be the plan for a year. If your child still needs it every day, something upstream hasn’t been addressed.
In-person in Central Florida. Telehealth anywhere in Florida.
You’ve been here before.
- Daily MiraLAX with no plan to stop
- Painful stools, then withholding, then worse stools
- Soiling accidents in a fully potty-trained child
- Bloating and a poor appetite
Constipation is usually a cycle, not just a symptom.
A cycle that feeds itself
One painful stool teaches a child to hold it in. Holding it in makes the next one worse. This becomes self-sustaining without help breaking it.
A reaction to cow’s milk protein
A well-documented and often overlooked cause of constipation that doesn’t respond to the usual approach.
What’s missing from the diet
Fiber, fluid, and magnesium intake are often genuinely inadequate, and small changes here matter more than people expect.
Muscles that aren’t cooperating
Sometimes the muscles used for a bowel movement aren’t coordinating properly. This needs specific physical therapy, not more fiber.
How long things take to move through
Gut bacteria play a real role in how quickly things move through the digestive system.
A few conditions worth ruling out
An underactive thyroid and celiac disease both deserve consideration in stubborn, hard-to-explain cases.
Find the driver. Then treat it.
A board-certified pediatrician with the time to look properly — working alongside your child’s regular care, not replacing it.
- 1Determine whether there’s retained stool that needs clearing first — most plans fail because this step got skipped.
- 2Address the fear and the behavior cycle alongside the physical piece.
- 3Structured dietary trials, including a milk protein trial where appropriate.
- 4Referral for specialized physical therapy when the exam points there.
- 5A written plan for coming off the laxative, so it’s a bridge and not a lifestyle.
Constipation rarely shows up alone.
Digestion, diet, and stress are closely linked. If your child has more than one of these, they’re likely related.
Let’s find out what’s driving it.
See exactly how a functional consult works, what the process looks like, and what it costs.
Process, pricing, and how to book.
In-person in Central Florida. Telehealth anywhere in Florida.
Functional medicine consults are cash-pay and do not replace your child’s primary care or specialist team. This page is educational and is not individual medical advice.