3 1/2 year old won't poo! Help me end Poogate!!

[bumpitybumpbump]

My DD who will be four in March is refusing to poo. She got a bit constipated after a long haul flight and did a poo which was hard and big and which clearly hurt and now is point blank refusing to do any poos - to the point where she will sit on the loo to have a wee but leap off and run off hopping around if she thinks a poo is coming. It's been 4 days now. Chemist has given us stool softer (which she won't drink in juice as it tastes disgusting) and suggested suppositories...although the thought of inserting those fills me with utter horror - has anyone done this before for a toddler? Anyway, i've send her off to nursery and asked them to have a go at enticing her to do the deed but if she still won't then I'm giong to have to take her to the doctor. I'm keen to avoid this becoming a massive issue that might go on and on so have been trying not to make a big deal about it but I'm now getting worried. Any thoughts/experiences/suggestions gratefully received. Thank you!

Sympathies. We went through this with DD when she was 3, just after she potty trained. She was holding it in, therefore got constipated, therefore it hurt when she did poo, therefore she got scared about pooing.
We did end up at the doctors (because she became ill with it - stopped eating, lethargic, very upset, etc). They gave us the glycerin suppositories (this works to clear out the backlog) and then lactulose, which is a stool softener. Lactulose is perfectly inoffensive tasting - like sugar syrup. DD was happy to take it.

Within a few days she was pooing relatively regularly.

Thanks Closet - was it awful administering the suppositories? She is funny about her bottom because I think it's a bit sore so I'm wondering if I should attempt whilst she's asleep? I'm giong to go to the chemist now and get some and also the lactulose. I'm pretty sure I was given that after childbirth and I remember it tasting just very sweet.

thank you!

DD1 is 2.6yo and recently started withholding poo after having a bout of constipation. As above, holding it in made the problem worse and left her with a "sore bum" and even more determination not to go. We had success with telling her she needed to drink lots more water and eat all her fruit and veg, and then it wouldn't hurt if she pooed as that's what makes it all soft (yep, I can't believe that worked either). She now eats every meal repeating the mantra of "eat alllll my vegetables up so my bum won't hurt ANY MORE!" She asked for extra lettuce with dinner yesterday to stop her bum hurting! We've also bribed her with a chocolate every time she manages a poo in the toilet/potty which has magically convinced her to try. A few weeks on, she still needs the bribe to give it a go some days but things are a lot better. Plus the extra water and fibre is certainly making a difference to what, erm, comes out so she must be able to notice the difference herself.
A bit of a long shot I know, but maybe worth a try?

Try the book "sneaky poo". It is aimed at managing this but double check it first as my memory is for slightly older kids (6/7years) but could be wrong and parts still useful anyway.

I won't lie, it was awful administering the suppositories. Not so bad actually putting it it, but it obviously feels really weird when it's in there before it dissolves. It was quite traumatic for her, and lots of tears. And she still remembers it more than 6 months later (but she has a very good memory!). However, I'm still glad we did it as it got her on the road to recovery.

I would not suggest doing it in their sleep! Firstly, they'll probably wake up and get completely freaked out. Secondly, it usually makes them poo quite soon afterwards.