Refusing to poo at 4.

[pinkcactus]

I am at my wits end and hoping someone can help. My (almost) 4 year old son has been potty trained since he was 2.5 yrs old. This week, however, he is absolutely refusing to poo in the toilet (or anywhere else).
I think it stems from a fear that it will be sore.
I've given him Movical prescribed by GP and have tried all sorts of bribery but he will not poo.. nothing is working. I've tried forgetting about it, I've tried holding him on the loo, tried bribing him with presents/ sweets etc but absolutely nothing I've done so far has worked. He's a determined young man.
I am becoming increasingly frustrated, verging on anger, and also extremely concerned for him as he's complaining occasionally about stomach pains, headaches and tiredness.
What else can I do??

[GGandT]

I've not much advice but I just wanted to say I feel your pain and frustration.
My son is 6 and wouldn't poo anywhere but a nappy until about a year ago.
He was potty/toilet trained at 2.5 but would always refuse to poo, he always had a real anxiety about it, would hold on to it for 7-10 days until he couldn't hold on to it anymore.
Nothing seemed to help, he wouldn't take any laxitive medicine, no amount of bribary worked.
I used to just tell myself that he wouldn't be pooing in a nappy when he was 15 lol.
He just gradually grew out of it, he now poos in the toilet but has a weird ritual of taking off his clothes, and squats over the toilet with his feet on the seat.
Sorry I can't be of any more help but just wanted to let you know you're not alone with this problem. xx