Fear of pooing after constipation

[mummykj]

3yr old had constipation a few days ago following an illness. Treated with suppositories but now I think withholding out of fear of it hurting again. Giving lactulose and pushing lots of drinks, fruit and probiotic. Had always been great at using the toilet but now worried about getting into a cycle of withholding which I know too well from years of issues with eldest. Any new suggestions please? Desperately don’t want it to become an issue!

[SallyCal]

So sorry to hear this. We had same with our 4 year old a few years ago. We tried Lactulose, diet changes and reward charts but nothing really worked and it went on for a very long hard year! Our daughter was still able to withhold on Lactulose and this was a vicious circle as it made her poo bigger and harder so reinforced the message that pooing hurt. Movicol/Laxido was our saviour. It made the poo soft enough that after getting to the cow pat stage (we never had to do a full disimpaction) for a few days and then slowly reducing the dose our daughter was able to poo without it hurting. She stayed on Movicol for about a year and I am pleased to say we have been about a year free from medicine and just making sure she still eats lots of fibre and drinks lots of water. Please don't wait as long as we did. Good luck. Xx

[RuthRosetta]

The most useful piece of advice I've been given fir my daughter who is a witholder by a professional is that you want to give enough laxatives for the poo to pass in a way that's easy for your child, rather than what the poo looks like. So what I'm saying is don't be afraid to give more laxatives even if it makes the poo runny as long as it's easy for your child to pass. Good luck.