Does this sound like constipation?

[Mummybecs]

Hello I have been reading this website all evening and I'm hoping so.one can help.

My son is 5 and in reception, he has struggled with soiling for a year, it comes and goes in waves, but never clean for more than a coup!e of weeks. Sometime his poos are hard and dry, sometimes sticky, others they are mushy.

We have been to the gp many times, health visitors are and no-one has been any help. I have finally gotten a referral to incontinence clinic but who knows how long this will take. My son is otherwise healthy, intelligent and has no behavioural issues. He doesn't notice when he has done an accident, and claims not to feel it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[MunchieMum]

It could be constipation, yes, as when they get blocked up, watery or soupy poo can sometimes still leak round the sides of the blockage giving them pooey pants. Does the GP feel any blockage in his tummy?

[Helen36]

Hello - what you describe is unfortunate pretty classic constipation symptoms. Your son almost certainly can’t feel it as the sensation can be lost from constipation - or the leaking is happening from trying to hold in a poo that hurts, bless him, and is newer liquidy poo (overflow) coming round a blockage.

I would go back to your GP and ask for a prescription for a macrogel like movicol or laxido and then follow the advice on the ERIC website to do a disimpaction. This is effectively a bowel clear out (half term is an ideal time to do if you can get the prescription in time!!) and then you can find a maintenance dose of this to help keep him soft and get a good routine going. It sounds hideous and isn’t much fun but it’s not as awful as you might imagine and is so worth it.

Most continence teams will treat for constipation as the first step regardless so you’ll probably be asked to do this when you get to them.

If you want to confirm things first, try cutting out sweetcorn for two weeks and then give him some and wait to see how long before it comes out. Anything more than 24/48 hours is a slow ‘transit’ time.

Other tips are to get him to sit on the toilet after each meal and try for a poo, with his knees on a step and ideally a toilet seat. This is the time he is most likely to get the urge for a poo and will help establish the right routine.

On the positive side, the fact he sometimes manages clean periods is really good news - sounds like you have a good chance of getting this under control with some advice and a prescription xxx

[Helen36 in reply to Helen36]

eric.org.uk/pdf-a-parents-g...

[Skipcrb]

This is how my boy has been for years and years since he was 4 he is now 14 and still like it we have done everything asked to do clear outs/ sachets/ scan/ doctors/ incontinence nurse/ now under a consultant but still no better off. It's been a very long haul and we still havnt found the right answer.It affects everything in his life ie school/ friends /days out/ holidays seems our lives are controlled with this issue.I hope you can find help soon and get him sorted good luck keep on trying to resolve it.Im on the 10th year but I wont let it beat me x

[Rainbow24]

My boy has suffered from

A baby with his bowls it only got worse and really bad once he started having solids from 7 months we have been back and forth the doctors I even took him to a&e oneday because he was doubled up in pain he has had lactose which didn’t work just gave him stomach cramps then he was given Movicol and he is now under the care of a pediatrician , he has days when he can go up to 4-5 days with no poo and he can be sick with this he has thrown up a couple times he will then go the next 2 days pooping nonstop I’m still trying to work out the best maintenance dose for him at the moment his poops are soft and passable so we one sachet in the Morning and half at night if he goes lots of days not going I will up to 2 to 3 sachets a day but the thing with my little boy he has never passed a painful poo to caused him to be scared of pooing to then be constipated so I’m looking to investigate further as to why he holds himself and struggles to go and then goes lots of days going due to the movicol it was unpleasant when he was in nappies but now he is in pants it can be so awful we go through a lot of pants some are saveable some I just throw away he has these accidents at nursery too which I find really distressing for myself and him the nursery are aware of his condition I juts want that him there , also my nearly 6 year old daughter suffered constipation from about 3 too but she passed a painful poop that made her that way but now she still gets constipation and soils her underwear she needs reminding to go regularly to try the loo! My boy soils loads but they don’t feel the soiling they get so bunged up the sensation to poop goes which is a circle that goes around and around

I’m still looking for answers for my boy he has sticky poop slushy poop it varies but it’s very stressful and upsetting the whole situation

Mummybecs it sounds like your boy has classic signs of constipation keep on at the doctors and movicol is the best thing my boys had to help him go just be prepared for the consistency of it as I found with my boy he will goes days and nothing then movicol kicks in and we have two full days sometimes three of pooping i hope you get answers and the support you need from the doctors all the best x

[Mummybecs]

Thanks you for all the responses. The doctor felt his tummy and said it isnt co stipatuon or a blockage. She said the fact he goes most days and she cant feel anything rules that out so we are back to square one...

[Mummybecs]

Would the GP definitely be able to feel it? Or does anyone have any other ideas if what it could be? We are on holiday for a week so I will try regular sitting on the loo with him, but my partner and I are really starting to lose hope

[Helen36 in reply to Mummybecs]

I have been told by both a continence nurse and our GP that feeling a tummy is actually a pretty poor way of diagnosing constipation - and that looking at poos against the Bristol stool chart and soiling is a much better indicator to use.

[Robinia]

No, I would say GP wouldn’t necessarily be able to feel it. I expect the continence clinic you mention will treat for constipation anyway. I would be tempted to see a different GP in the meantime. It might be that introducing some daily movicol at a low dose to start with helps.