Hi guysI have just discovered this forum and need some help. My 4 yo daughter has been a stool withholder for at least a year and movicol doesn't seem to really be helping. She has one sachet per day but still only has a bowel movement once a week. She is often screaming in pain too which is so heartbreaking and stressful and I am feeling so alone and overwhelmed with it all at the moment. I feel like our lives are dictated by her bowels. She won't sit on the toilet as she says it hurts her and no amount of offers of sweets, presents etc will convince her to even try so when she does have a bowel movement it is in a pull-up. We have tried making her sit on the toilet but she gets so distressed there seems little point. She has no trouble going for a wee on the toilet but does want to get off straight away.
I am going to take her to the doctor tomorrow to try and get a referral, should I request for her to see a gastroenterologist? Has anyone else had a referral and have they got answers / support? The other thing I have been looking into is coeliacs disease, a lot of the symptoms really fit with what she is going through. Has anyone else been tested/found a link between constipation and coeliacs disease? It seems more than just stool withholding but maybe I am reading too much into it.
Any advice or help gratefully received. Sorry for long post! Thanks x
Hi there, sorry you’re having such a hard time! I’ve been on this forum for a few months and found it really helpful.
Might be worth asking dr for a different laxative. Movicol bulks up the poo with water to make it easier to pass. It’s great for keeping bowels moving but if there is some impaction then it might be worth trying dulcolax. When my daughter was really constipated it really cleared her out. It really pushes everything out and makes it very loose. Can be a bit messy but worth it!!
My daughter is 7 and has had constipation issues on and off since she was a toddler. It got very bad in the spring/summer and I’ve found that regular toilet sitting with the iPad has helped her do a poo every day. I was reluctant to rely on technology but if she sits on be loo for 20mins late afternoon she will go as tbh iPad helps her to do that!
Re: coeliac, my daughter was also recently diagnosed with that with constipation really the only ‘gut’ symptom. We’re still not totally sure it’s related but very likely and the gastroenterologist told me they are seeing constipation as an increasingly common symptom. We had no family history of coeliac so had been a bit of an adjustment. Might be worth an ask, it’s a funny condition with symptoms that really vary from person to person but it is under diagnosed!
Thank you for your reply, I am glad I am not the only one going through these issues! I will ask the doctor for some dulcolax to try and clear the impaction and stick with maybe 2-3 Movicol for a while and then slowly decrease. The thought of suppositories or enemas brings me out in a cold sweat as I think they would be too traumatic for the poor little ones.
That's really interesting re the coeliacs disease, I think it would be best to check her out. I have had no offers of referrals, just been told to up the Movicol and this was after the last time she was impacted and hadn't had a bm for 18 days in the summer! I am definitely going to push the doctors a bit harder now.
Thanks again x