6 year old having major toilet issues - advice appreciated !

[6timesthemess]

Seriously ....don’t read on it or a delicate nature /eating your dinner!

My 6 year old has always been prone to constipation but we have mostly managed it just making sure her diet is good and that she’s going regularly.
She had one episode about 8 months ago where she got really bad and we were given movicol to take 4 times a day to chest it which it did after a few days.

The doctor gave us extra and told us to use that the next time it happened.

The last 1.5 weeks she hasn’t managed to poo at all (and I gave a feeling it’s longer than that but it’s just 1.5 weeks ago she told me.)

Her belly is really bloated and lumpy. We have been using the movicol for 4 days but no results and she is leaking liquid poo which I know is it coming around the blockage.

So I am going to call up the gp tomorrow and say that the movicol doesn’t seem to be working - but my question is really how long can someone seriously go without pooping....

Why does she always have trouble with constipation ??

The gp was extremely dismissive about it so I’m not anticipating many helpful answers tomorrow!

Thanks!

Sorry for the many typing errors I am as usual doing way too many things at once

I am not sure if you knew but there's this charity: www.eric.org.uk/pages/category/bowel-problems

I listened to their spokesperson and they had interesting tips for parents, my dd had constipation problems when she was 5-6 and I listen out to any new advice given even though she is a grown up now.

Sounds like you need the movicol disimpaction regime, which at 6 years old is 4 sachets day 1, 6 sachets day 2, 8 sachets day 3, 10 sachets day 4, then 12 sachets on day 5 and day 6 and day 7, only stopping early if their poo has gone from liquid to lumpy to brown water. And then to carry on with a lower dose of movicol (amount to poo every day of something squidgy that doesn't hurt to come out) for at least weeks, but probably months, to let the rectum recover and shrink back down.

But you don't know me from Adam, so either ring 111 or look up disimpaction on [eric.org.uk] This is absolutely classic for what happens when childhood constipation is undertreated.

how long can someone seriously go without pooping

7 or 8 weeks. There have been several deaths of autistic children and teenagers who withhold. Before this point you get the child being sick instead of pooping.

You need to up the movicol dose to clear the blockage- not having been for 1.5 weeks is a long time. Look on the Eric website for the disimpaction regime/information. Your poor DD must be so uncomfortable. Ds struggled with this when he was 3 and the longest he went was 5 days and he was BESIDE himself so you have my sympathy. It’s so stressful. Definitely doctors tomorrow. Also movicol has to be phased out gradually, DS was on it for a year-a sachet a day, then half a sachet a day, then every other day etc etc etc.

I hope she feels better soon

Sorry your GP was not helpful. ERIC are brilliant. Definitely push for the movicol. You would need the peadiatric version which may be prescription only. Good luck, I hope she feels better soon.

You need to get the higher dose of movicol until the constipation clears, then maybe think about taking it regularly?

We've had constipation issues with our dds for years, and movicol is really good if you stick with it. It doesn't enter the body, just suspends fluid in the bowel.

My DD has this problem. I didn’t find the Movicol worked at all, and we were getting desperate, so I bought a bottle of Lactulose from the chemist. It tastes sweet and syrupy and I mixed a few good glugs into a glass of apple juice. Only took a few hours to take effect - but instant relief for her, no more blockage and no issues since, thank goodness. I really do recommend that stuff! Nothing else we tried ever worked. Hope she feels better soon

As well as reading the ERIC website, you need to google the "poo nurses" and watch all the videos, right to the end.
It amazes me how poor the advice from many HCPs is when it comes to impaction issues. Those 2 websites are excellent and explain everything in clear, logical terms.
The most important thing to understand is that once you start the correct treatment, it will always take at least twice as long as the problem has existed to sort it, often longer. so it is vital that you don't stop too soon.
You may need to follow a maintenance regime for years.

You can go months without pooing so I wouldn't worry about her dying or getting sick or anything but I can't imagine she is very comfortable like that, the poor dear.

Do go and get her physically examined to make sure there isn’t a blockage in her bowel.

We just went through disimpaction with DD3, she was given an enema and movicol on the doses similar to what a PP said. We are still on 1-2 sachets a day and will be for quite some time. It was utterly miserable so sympathies to you and your DD.

Hi, my 11 years son behaviour scarlet this weekend, but kicking my in my stomach this is the kind of bad behaviour problems I'm talk about for so many years. as a mom we are out for not respect at all. what can I do. help please

My nephew had similar symptoms for years, and was dismissed by doctors and told to eat more fibre, etc. My sister had to be very persistent with the docs and he was scanned and found to have a tethered cord. He's just had a very simple operation to releas it (it is a form of spina bifida) and is recovering well.

Oh noooo. Poor thing. Try reading a story whilst they are sitting on rhe toilet. Having struggled with constipation through most of my teenage yrs i feel really bad for your little one. One thing i did find that helped was reading a book on the toilet. Suppose it helped me to feel relaxed and id just sit on the toilet for 30 mins reading, sometimes id go and other times i didnt but it really helped and because i was preoccupied it wasnt as painful

I also ate weetabix for breakfast every day and it seemed to sort itself eventually

I totally agree with all movicol regimes suggested. Just saying that what also helps our dd is to sit on the toilet twice a day with her feet up high resting on a step for 5 minutes. When she keeps hopping off i know it's because she is ready to poo! So I let her play phone games just to encourage her to sit in that position, often it works and 5 mins later she is pooing.

Please don't self medicate, please do see a dr. As pp said, not pooing can be dangerous and she needs to be assessed properly. See a different dr if possible and you didn't feel confident with first dr. Constipation is a massive problem in western countries.