Constipation and constantly staining pants - DD 4

[theressomethingaboutmarie]

DD took to potty training last year without issues. However, she's always had issues having a poo (straining and infrequent). We got to the stage where she had faecal impaction and had to go to A&E. She now has Movicol on a regular basis (couple of times a week) to help her to go but oh dear God, the number of stained pants. On Saturday, she stained (skids and small poos) TWELVE pairs of pants. I know that part of it is laziness but obviously given the prior issues, part of it is due to constipation.

I'm going to go and see the doctor again as I'm genuinely fed up and I know that she is too. Has anyone else been through this and able to let me know that it shall pass (pardon the pun)?

Hi, I have no experience of this but I am sure I read on another thread something similar to pant liners you put inside the pants at the back, that might mean you could cut back on the washing a bit?

Ah, sympathy and understanding from me. We've had this with DS who's now 7, has had constipation since he was 3 and been on Movicol for ages. You will probably will hear from someone else who has got through to the other end of this quicker. But for us it's been long term and just become part of life.

It's complicated because part of it is physical, the results of being constipated. But this is caused by behavioural issues which then seem to be reinforced by the physical problems.

I don't think DS is constipated, generally, anymore. He is certain prone to it at times. But if he witholds poo for even a few hours, whilst at school for example, then that's enough to start the soiling up again.

I would speak to the dr again and try to get some practical advice on how to help. We were referred to the specialist team at the hospital at one point and they were very good.

You may need to have Movicol more often than a few times a week. We do 1.5 sachets a day and more if he gets constipated. It has no physical effects I'm told. But at least it makes the poo soft and easy to pass.

I don't think her staining or accidents are a result of laziness, but of faecal impaction and overflow.

Once impaction is there, it makes the rectum go floppy and then the child ceases to have the messages about needing to go IYKWIM. This then makes it worse, as they don't feel the need to go, meaning the poo stays there, getting harder and dryer (as the fluid gets sucked back into the body). Then obviously it hurts more so they withold more. Then you get diarrhoea type overflow.

It is terrible. Am just going through it with DS(3) and have given up potty training as was getting in such a pickle. Long long term movicol and other drugs seem to be the only way. Hard I know :(

Thanks for all of your responses. I know that when it's staining and a little bit of poo, it's not laziness but on occasion, it's proper poo that she MUST have felt come out (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, we're quite new to all of this constipation/faecal impaction stuff). She's a darling girl and I'm doing my utmost to be patient but it's a constant battle.

Thank you for the sympathy and support too. I know it's a real drag for DD of course. I'm just concerned that it will affect her confidence when she starts school this September too.

This is a really good website, and they don't always feel it, my ds always said that he didn't even now he remembers, he finally improved aged 7/8 but we never used movical etc but made changes to the diet, no brown bread, brown rice etc.and kept any roughage to a minimum so he didn't get bunged up. www.eric.org.uk/#
We also had fantastic advice from a continence nurse.

My son was also taught to 'rock and pop' which is a method of sitting on the toilet with a step stool, leaning forward, rubbing the tummy and rocking slightly. It helped him to go for a poo.

please please dont think it is laziness, once the sensation has been lost with stretching they wont be able to feel poo come out.

My DS was soiling as many times as yours and we needed 4 sachets of movicol a day and now soiling has stopped after over a year but he remains on 1 sachet movicol per day plus picosulphate to regain the muscles and prevent constipation again.

Think you need more help than a GP can give. In our case it needed a gastroenterologist to solve it tho paediatricians helped.

Now I feel just terrible at getting a little tetchy with DD when she did a more solid poo in her pants - evil parent emoticon. I gave her some Movicol on Sunday morning and she seemed to empty her bowels without issue on Sunday afternoon and again at nursery yesterday. I've given her another sachet this morning and am hoping for similar success. She's a little darling and I know that she's really frustrated by this issue too.