Please please help - withholding poo

[NutBiscuit]

DS is 2.7. Not yet potty trained. He has been suffering from constipation for a while now, and I guess at some stage it's hurt him to poo because he is now refusing to poo.

Trouble is, he gets SO distressed by it. Today for example he spent the entire time from 3:30 til 7 writhing around on the floor screaming "my poo, my poo". He can't stand up or do anything because it obviously makes it harder to hold it. It is so so distressing to watch and obviously really frustrating. I had to put him to bed without going in the end because he was so tired, so it'll all start again in the morning.

Can anyone please advise me on the best way to deal with this? I've tried ignoring (not easy when he's throwing himself around on the floor and screaming); being firm and telling him he must go; and being sympathetic and explaining that I know he's scared but it'll be ok. Nothing works!

I should add he's now on lactulose (since yesterday) so I'm hoping his poos should start to get softer, but we've still got this psychological issue to get past.

Please, any advice from anyone would be reall gratefully received!

[Alfabetibisgetti]

My advice would be to keep up with the lactulose but go back to your gp if it doesn't get him moving tomorrow. They can give him movicol or pico sulphate.
You have my sympathy as my ds was a similar age when he had the same issue.
I'm ashamed to say I ignored advice from posters on here to take him to the gp as a matter of urgency as it was over a weekend, and I'm sure it prolonged his suffering
We were also given glycerin suppositories which might've worked had we used them earlier.
On a positive note, once he'd cleared out (lots of movicol and about a week later) he quickly forgot that it had been painful. However, he was on the movicol for a year after his initial episode.
We tried to wean him off after 6 months and he had a minor relapse. I was beside myself when we tried again but he was fine and (touch wood) we've had no issues since. He's about to turn 6.
I'm sure I had another name then. I'll go and search for my original thread and try to link it.
Unmumsnetty hugs ((()))

[DriverSurpriseMe]

I'd recommend Movicol rather than Lactulose, it's more effective as a stool softener. So do go back to your GP if you don't see results quite quickly.

And stool softeners is what you need, because you need to make the poo so soft they physically can't hold it in. This also helps to break the cycle of constipation = pain = withholding = constipation.

It's likely to take months, so don't feel tempted to stop the mess too soon. They're safe for long term use. Good luck!

[DriverSurpriseMe]

*meds. Though "mess" is apt!

[NutBiscuit]

Thanks both for your responses. He's currently waking up every 10 minutes and screaming .

With the movicol, doesn't it taste awful? DS will not take meds by mouth. I'm get the lactulose into him by mixing it into his milk but I heard that that won't work for movicol? I don't need more stress of him vomiting it up every time I try to give it to him!

[Alfabetibisgetti]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/1419945-How-long-before-I-should-ring-OOH-if-at-all

Here's my old thread fwiw x

[teacher54321]

Ds had this and it was horrific, the only thing that worked was movicol, we mixed it into his milk morning and evening. The trauma and unhappiness that went with this was one of the worst parts of parenting so far. His record was 5 days and he was beside himself. You have my sympathies! Get a Drs appt and get the movicol x

[Alfabetibisgetti]

To answer your question, yes, movicol is a powder in a sachet to be mixed with water.
Ds hated water (probably a cause of the constipation) so we mixed it with squash. It got him drinking more which also helped. He still doesn't like water but I just make sure his teeth are brushed and don't feel guilty.

[DriverSurpriseMe]

Movicol doesn't taste great, but mixed into strong squash and drunk with a straw tends to work. I give it first thing in the morning when DD is thirsty - gets it out of the way.

[MingZillas]

Hi OP have you tried giving your ds pears to eat? Or blitzed up prunes in the blender (you can freeze them in ice cube trays). Seems to keep the poos soft to prevent constipation. Hope you get sorted soon, must be horrible for you both.

[Alfabetibisgetti]

Hi nutbiscuit how's your ds today?

[123Jump]

I mix movicol into a fruit shoot bottle. Start with 1 sachet in half a fruit shoot.
DS now takes 2 sachets in half a fruit shoot.
He has ASD and doesn't like pooling. It takes all the stress away, they can just go with no pain.

[NutBiscuit]

Update just in case anyone is still watching (and thanks Alfa for asking after DS).

Last week was pretty tough with DS holding on for days on end without going but in distress with it, and then I think the lactulose must have finally kicked in. His poos are now very soft and he went once on Friday and once on Sunday with no issues at all and no distress or panic.

Hoping we're going in the right direction now - thanks all for your advice.

Should I see the GP about the ongoing dosage of lactulose? His poos are now REALLY soft - I presume that's not how we want them to stay? Should I be aiming for some sort of happy medium whereby they are formed but not hard?

(I'm not the poo troll, I promise, have honestly never talked so much about poo before in my life)