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Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

Behaviour/development

DD5 holding poo in - not gone properly for days - please help/advise.

10 replies

CarrieLouise25 · 08/07/2016 23:53

At end of my tether. So is DH.

Basically DD went to toilet 5 days ago, and it hurt, so she didn't go. She probably hadn't had enough to drink, so I made sure she drank more and cut out treats etc increased fruit etc.

Next day, she said she didn't need to go. The next day the same. By that night she said she really needed to go, but it took 3 hours of getting up and down out of bed, crying etc, us encouraging, convincing... eventually she managed to do a poo. But not properly, she did it in her pyjama pants and said she couldn't help it.

But I was so happy the 'blockage' was out. I thought we were done.

Next night, same happened. Hours in and out of bed, wanting a poo, not wanting to try. We're now on the 4th night. She is crying, it's nearly midnight. DH and I are exhausted (have a 4 month old too).

We have tried prune juice, tonnes of fruit and fibre, but she will not go. She says her tummy hurts, but she refuses to go.

I know it's because she thinks it will hurt, but she won't even try. We've tried reasoning, looking up info on how body works etc, encouraging, almost at bribery stage?

At what point do we go to the doctors? And what will they do?

Anyone who has any advice, please help. I am running out of ideas and patience and I hope that doesn't make me sound unsympathetic.

We're going round in circles and DH and I are stuck.

(never had any issues before, never been constipated before)

Thanks

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milkjetmum · 08/07/2016 23:58

Go to docs if she's awake now (or first thing if she's asleep). Dd1 was given glycerine suppositories which work in around 30min (with extreme efficiency! Sit her on a towel while you wait for action)

Poor love, it really is uncomfortable for them. You will probably need to speak with gp about prevention after this acute episode is over (dd1 started on lactose daily for 6 months ish, then it happened again so moved onto movicol)

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CarrieLouise25 · 09/07/2016 00:12

Thanks Milk

Having just had a baby, and piles/constipation, I get where she's coming from

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Mouthfulofquiz · 09/07/2016 00:23

Lactulose worked a treat for my little one (two and a half) when he was really constipated (more than a week) and we used it for a week or so afterwards to make sure the poo was nice and soft to allow for anything to heal up. Movicol is good too.

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CarrieLouise25 · 09/07/2016 00:32

Thanks for the suggestions. Will be off to the shops tomorrow!

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Thesunrising · 09/07/2016 00:43

If this is becoming recurrent definitely go to the GP for advice. There are a number of different things you can try to get things moving and you definitely don't want to have any more nights like you've just had - so stressful for all of you!! Glycerine suppository will usually work and they are available OTC, but could be quite traumatic for a 5 year old - and you! A stimulant laxative like sodium picosulphate (dulcolax) or Senna liquid ( more gentle) might be best to get things pushed out, followed by a maintenance dose of movicol/cosmocol to soften things a bit. A GP that knows about this kind of thing should be able to advise on appropriate action - but don't get fobbed off with advice about more water, fruit and vegetables. Water is very important, but diet on its own will rarely tackle constipation or withholding. Look at the ERIC website for more info //www.eric.org.uk Good luck - I know how stressful it is having gone through this.

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CarrieLouise25 · 09/07/2016 01:59

Thank you. I think it's more psychological than physical now. She finally went, poo was nice and soft but she was worried it would hurt so was holding it in. Has been a horrible few nights. I hope have turned a corner though.

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Justbeingnosey123 · 09/07/2016 02:02

Even if it's psychological do go to GP constipation and holding it in can be such a big issue in kids it's best to get help early.

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CarrieLouise25 · 09/07/2016 02:17

Absolutely, I agree. Thanks for all the replies

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Playitagainsam · 09/07/2016 11:34

We have had this problem on and off for 2 years with our DD (sorry, not wanting to scare you) and it all started the same way. Get her on Movicol as quick as you can, GP will need to prescribe, and don't worry about increasing the dose if she still holds on. My DD was on 3 X the daily dose and still held on for 4 days . The only difference is that when she did go it was totally soft. We've seen a couple of experts on this and you need to get her going once a day, and make it as soft as possible with Movicol. We got given short shrift by our GP and that's when the problem really took hold, so you have to push. Movicol is totally safe for continuous use and you can increase dosage until it works for your DD. Hopefully you can nip it in the bud. We also found that a little bribery helped!

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CarrieLouise25 · 09/07/2016 12:44

Hi Play, thank you for sharing your experience. Definitely want to nip this in the bud as soon as possible. Have heard good things about Movical, and getting her to go once a day is what we'll be focusing on. Can see a poo chart coming...