Poo withholding

[Athousandstars04]

I won't go in to all the back story of it all cause it's a long one. DS who is 4 has been withholding since jan 2017 and I've tried everything. School are heavily involved now and nothing is changing. I just want to know if anyone has come out of the other side of this after it going on for so long?

Bump

Anyone?

@Athousandstars04 Maybe not helpful but your not alone, i have a 4 and 3 year old.

My 4 year old still withholds occasionally, she is prescribed senakot. Hers is a bit of constipation too.

My 3 year old who was fully potty trained at 12 months for health reasons, has now been withholding for about 8 months! She can go for 2 weeks without going. She also has been prescribed a laxative which sent her the other way and had several accident a day which stressed her out.

I have also tried everything from presents to reward charts.

My son is 7 and still does this. We are having a bad few weeks at the moment with lots of overflow accidents. He is on regular laxido and we have to do a clear out from time to time. The ERIC website is fantastic. They also sell books on there for all ages. There's also a app that is called poo goes to Poo land. It's quite helpful.
Has your child been referred to paediatrician? It took us a couple of years to get our son referred and they have been helpful. They have ruled out all over reasons for it and that it's psychological.

I forgot to say. My son he been doing this since potty training. He's always suffered with constipation from a baby. And the paediatrician thinks that it was a painful poo that started it all
Off. We tried everything and in all honesty just thought he was being lazy to begin with. I would go and see your gp to get the ball rolling.

Is he on any laxatives? I would suggest seeing your GP for a referral to a paediatrician who will be able to prescribe a laxative that suits him so it's comfortable for him to go to the toilet. When/where does he poo now? It can become such a problem for children (especially if they have had a bad bout of constipation) that they are so scared of going to the toilet, so small steps are important. Gentle encouragement, reward chart/stickers, ensuring the toilet/bathroom is a warm and comfortable room with a stool he can comfortably rest his feet on and sit for a few minutes with a book or an iPad, blowing bubbles on the toilet and lots of praise praise praise for even sitting on the toilet not just for producing a poo can help.
Lots of fluids during the day, prune juice, fruit and veg etc helps too.

If school pooping is an issue they can support by allowing the child access to another toilet (staff/disabled/visitor maybe) away from the other kids so they can relax and not feel rushed or pressured. Sometimes their shared toilets are noisy/smelly/busy and lacking in privacy which doesn't help. Similar reward systems at school for sitting and trying can be helpful too.