Looking for Advice or Shared Experiences –
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to hear from any parents who’ve gone through something similar. My son will be 7 in November, and he’s been struggling with severe poop issues for nearly five years now.
It started with a very painful constipation episode around age 2. He later was diagnosed to have a urachal cyst that made pooping painful, and he became scared to go. Surgery was delayed twice for over 6 months due to COVID. Since then, he’s had chronic issues with soiling his clothes. He’s been under the care of a pediatric gastroenterologist and has been on laxatives pretty much daily for 5 years.
Despite this, accidents still happen 4–5 times a week on average. Sometimes we get a good stretch—he’ll poop regularly for a week or two—but then it cycles back to accidents every day, sometimes more than once a day. He’s had allergy and food sensitivity testing, and there’s nothing there.
We also notice emotional changes—he seems to get really angry or short-tempered, and it often lines up with when we think he’s backed up. It’s hard to know what’s physical, what’s emotional, or both.
If you’ve experienced something similar with your child and found anything that helped—whether it’s medical, emotional, behavioral, or even just how to cope as a parent—I’d be so grateful to hear from you. We’re doing our best, but it’s exhausting and we feel pretty stuck.
Thank you in advance for any advice, resources, or shared experiences ❤️