Chronic Constipation/UTI/ASD

[NHBro-]

Hi!

Mum of 4 year old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (so still in nappies). My son has suffered with constipation on and off since he was roughly 6 months old (he was born 9 weeks premature). In April last year he was in hospital with an impacted bowel (he had been on movicol once daily for roughly a year before this). We disimpacted at home and continued with daily dose movicol. Since April we have had to disimpact 4 times.

Over the last few months he has also had reoccurring UTI’s (3 since august 2023). It’s now believed that these UTI’s may be caused by his chronic constipation and there being pressure from the bowel to the bladder not allowing him to empty his bladder fully. I wondered if anyone else had experience with this? If so were there any further investigations or changes in treatment?

My main concern is that even with daily Movicol (3 times daily) that the constipation is now starting to affect how he empties his bladder and have complications due to this.

With ASD toilet training in itself is a huge task and one that seems so far off, with these added issues I fear that we may not ever get there as he now carries anxiety that both emptying his bowel and bladder causes pain. Has anyone got any tips or success stories on how they might have completed toilet training under similar circumstances?

TIA 😊

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Hiya, it may be helpful to call the helpline to get some further support: eric.org.uk/

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Dear NHBro- ,

You might be interested in our next webinar: Talking about toileting with additional needs, on 7th February, more information on this page:

eric.org.uk/family-events/