I really hope you can help us, my granddaughter has had problems with bowel movements since potty training about 18 months ago, she has just turned 4 and really starting to get us down as she starts school in September, she started off withholding her poo and would just leak bits in her pants a few times a day, she used to say her bottom was hurting, she eventually got better and started asking for a poo and it was like a whole weight had been lifted, she had the occasional blip but things got better again, now she has reverted right back to the way she was in the beginning, constant leakage, fighting with her to sit on toilet, as if she is afraid to go. She has a perfectly healthy diet, she has movacol which was prescribed in the early days, the thing is if she has too much it gets too watery So we reduced it to half a dose every other day, we are just at the end of our tether, we have literally tried everything, even reward charts, we are afraid to plan day trips.....
Please please help!!!! Any advice would be much appreciated
Many thanks x
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Helen71price
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So sorry to hear that you and your granddaughter are going through this. I can assure you that you aren’t alone and (as you’ll see from this forum) it’s very common.
Your granddaughters experience is exactly how my daughter started. She’s now 10 and still suffering... and (please don’t let that scare you) that’s because I thought it was a potty training / behaviour issue that would go away on its own and didn’t get help early enough. If you get help now, it’s more likely to be sorted quickly, the longer kids are constipated the more the bowel stretches and the longer it takes to shrink back down and resume normal function.
Watch the poo nurse video on this website and it will show you exactly what’s going on. Constipation means your granddaughter won’t be aware she’s pooing and they don’t even smell it, so seem to just ignore it... but it’s because they really don’t know they’ve done it.
My advice would be to get to the doctors and, if you can, get them to refer her either to a continence clinic or paediatrician. They’ll probably continue the movicol and add in a stimulant like Senna. It’s also a good idea for her to sit on the toilet for 10 minutes after every meal to train her bowels. Sounds like that might be tricky with you granddaughter, but you could make it fun while she’s there - play a game, read a book. They also saying blowing bubbles on the toilet helps with the pushing. Then reward her just for trying, whether she’s done anything or not.
My biggest advice though is about getting her referred now. Don’t make my mistake and think it will go away on its own.
I also wished I pushed to get in front of a paeditrian sooner as I think it is going to take us alot longer to rectify this problem when we could of been on this road at least 12 months sooner.
I’m sorry you’re going through this - it’s difficult, isn’t it? It feels like you spend your whole life talking about, and dealing with, poo.
We had similar problems - our 3.5 year old never really did poos on the potty/toilet, even though she was fine with wees on the toilet pretty quickly. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we think she’d mostly been constipated much of the time, with soiling caused by overflow poo that managed to get around the block. She didn’t really know that she was having accidents, and seemed to have little control over it. We didn’t have problems with her not sitting on the potty/toilet, but she refused to try to push anything out.
She was prescribed Laxido (a softener) and Senna (a stimulant), but it didn’t seem to improve much. We spoke to the ERIC helpline and they suggested doing an disimpaction regime. We were dreading it, but it was nowhere near as bad as anticipated, and if anything, she had fewer accidents and for the first time ever, successfully did poos in the toilet. It just means gradually increasing the dose of softener over a number of days until you’re sure the blockage has gone (because you get ‘type 7’ poo - basically, rusty water with bits in). We established a good routine - having ‘toilet time’ for 5 minutes about 20-30 minutes after a meal, trying to make it fun by reading her books, letting her watch stuff on an iPad, singing songs, etc. We also got her a toilet step/seat so she was in a good position while sitting on the toilet. We never asked her to push or try to poo so I was amazed when she did. She was never bothered by sticker charts or anything like that either.
We’re now back to 2 sachets of Laxido a day and, touch wood, it’s going well. She’s regularly pooing when she goes to the toilet, her poo is still on the soft side, but not so soft she can’t control it. We want her to be really confident about going to the toilet and pooing before reducing her dose any further.
I was really sceptical that, even when cleared out, she’d start to poo by herself. But it seems like if it doesn’t hurt, she will. I’m not convinced we’re at the end of this road, but the last week and a half has been amazing!
I meant to also say - we had previously increased to 2 sachets a day, which resulted in more accidents - 5 or 6 a day - sonwent back down. That was why I was dreading the disimpaction. I think at that point, the Laxido was watering down the poo that was getting around the block, but not dealing with the block, but sticking with the disimpaction regime made sure everything was out.
Thank you so much for your reply, it makes things a lot easier knowing we are not the only ones going through this, I am pleased to say that over the weekend she has been telling us she needs a poo which she hasn't done for a long time, althou still a little leakage beforehand. But we can deal with that as long as she is going and is comfortable then im sure the leakages will stop in their own time. we were giving her half a dose every other day but we have increased to a full dose every other day, so far so good, as long as it doesn't get too soft, it's just all about getting the right dose isn't it, as long as it doesn't get too hard, as that is what she is afraid of in case it hurts, thanks for your advice, will keep you updated, Helen x
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