Avoidance of Poo's

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

DD is 10 and has been holding in poo for a while now. This time last year, GP gave her laxatives and it took a week of laxatives for it to work. Cue 2 further weeks off with uncontrollable diarrhoea. So 3 weeks off school. She also suffers from frequent UTI's and I suspect she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome like me. She is being investigated for that by Paediatrics and has support from specialist physio and podiatrist (for joint issues)

But I think from what DD has told me that it is a sensory issue. She has said that she holds poo in as it is a control thing. She also says that she doesn't like the feeling of poo coming out.

No possibility of abuse as she lives with me and school nurse has done multiple questionnaires and checks.

Myself and DD are being assessed for ASD. I think this might be her way of controlling her body as she can't control her mind. But I cant find anything online to help. We have SENCO on board and awaiting referral to CAHMS. DD is also obsessed with me dying. This comes from us having a flood, a fire and a friends Mum dying recently.

Any advice welcome. I'm currently having counselling and they always recommend the same sort of things like breathing exercises, 5 things etc. It's helping with her general anxiety, but the poo thing is extremely worrying

Could you get a step so she can put her feet up on it whilst on the loo? It improves the way the rectal passage lies and makes it easier and more comfortable to poo. It might change the sensation and make it more comfy for her because there's less of a feeling of pressure.

Could she play a phone puzzle game whilst on the loo to distract her? As long as she cleans the device afterwards with an alcohol wipe it'll be relatively germ free.

Thanks Barrow. I'd been looking at those steps on Amazon and forgot to check out. Think they were only about a tenner.

I've suggested a few bits to distract her on the loo, but I think phone idea is a good one. Like you say, clean afterwards with alcohol wipes. Willing to try anything at this stage to be honest.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

Could you get a step so she can put her feet up on it whilst on the loo? It improves the way the rectal passage lies and makes it easier and more comfortable to poo. It might change the sensation and make it more comfy for her because there's less of a feeling of pressure.

Could she play a phone puzzle game whilst on the loo to distract her? As long as she cleans the device afterwards with an alcohol wipe it'll be relatively germ free.

It's only gone and bloody worked!

Got the step yesterday. She had a little go (was worried she would end up getting engrossed on the game and be stuck on the bog for 2 hours) and I checked gently on her twice. Just like 'hope all going well in there, DD' Anyway, she tried again this morning and had a massive poo. Sorry for TMI, but I was past myself. She hadn't been in 3 bloody weeks and this cycle has gone on for nearly a year!

Anyway, she said it was great as she was distracted from her negative thoughts and was also in a much more comfortable position. Hopefully we will be able to keep on top of it now. So thank you very much for the fab advice. You are a

Ds struggles with this, we keep on top of it with his diet so he has prunes and flaxseeds in his porridge each morning. He also has a squatty potty, or the poo step as it's known in our house.

OP is she on movicol?

My younger child had constipation problems and movicol was a game game changer for us.

Quite a high dose at the start while they ‘clear out’ then you reduce a bit to a maintenance dose - however much they need to make it easy to go at least once a day.

From there it can be gradually reduced further.

My DC has been on and off it a few times over the years. As once issues flare up again you need to follow the process.

Constipation / withholding like you describe stretches the bowel and becomes self fulfilling, so they need to be on movicol for a good few months while their systems reset.

We also use a stool, bolstered with some books when DC was smaller, most children are at the wrong position to poo easily or comfortably on an adult toilet.

And yes diet, and especially drinking. My dc can go all day drinking very little, so I remind to drink frequently, set clear targets (have to drink all the water bottle during the school day) etc. Not easy to keep going but makes a real difference.

re water - look at 'air ups'. They are expensive but make water 'taste' nice using smell not flavourings.

I promise it works !

uk.air-up.com