Poo witholding. Terribly worried - your advice/experience please!

[TangerinePuppet]

DD is 2.4 and has been potty training for two weeks.

Wees - no problem at all, not completely dry during the day.

Poos another story. Started off fine with a couple of poos on the potty, but DD is now witholding and becoming very uncomfortable and upset. She'll hold on for 2-3 days and then be inconsolable when she can no longer avoid going. It's awful.

I have tried:

Offering her a nappy to poo in - she firmly refuses this
Every bribe going - chocs/books/presents/trips out etc.
Every book about poo you can imagine, including Pooland
Ignoring the situation
Sticker charts
The big loo - DD will only use the potty though
Letting her see me and DP in the act
Getting her to observe her toddler friends doing it

Her diet has loads of fruit and veg, plus plenty of fibre, so I know that's not the cause.

Gah! WTF can we do? I'm really worried the problem is going to get worse. It's now been over 3 days.

Help!!

Oops - she is 100% dry during the day is what I meant

Pleeeeeeeease!

I can share my experiences with you as currently going through it but I can't guarantee it will be reassuring!

Get it sorted ASAP - it can become
A major problem if it continues.

Dr can prescribe lactulose and senna stuff - id go in next couple of days, try pharmacist for fig syrup in meantime. Long term medication is called movicol and works but try and nip it in the bud now.

Good luck, it's horrible for them

We have three potties, all of which she'll use confidently for wees. MarkStretch that's what worries me as I know it can become a distressing and drawn out situation

Her toddler friends are all pooing away merrily on their potties

DS is 3.4yrs and was potty trained at the same age as your DD. He has been doing this for the last year. It started off with a difficult poo that got a bit stuck and hurt his bum and that was it. He was terrified of pooing after that.

We have tried lots of things and he too has a good diet, I make sure he has lots of fresh fruit and veg, we only have wholemeal bread, he has fresh orange juice, eats dried fruit like it's going out of fashion etc but it is psychological with him. He thinks it will really hurt and so he doesn't want to do it.

He has held it in for 6 days before. I spoke to my HV and GP and GP prescribed some Movicol which you stir into drinks. It is very mild and quite harmless and not so much a laxative but more a stool softener so it is easier for them to pass. Let's face it, when they have held it in for ages there is normally quite a lot of poo to come out!

We also have a poo box which is an old shoe box filled with chocolates, lollies, sweeties, toy cars, marshmallows, etc. (i.e. things he sees as real treats) and he gets one of those when he has had a poo. It has helped but it hasn 't cured the problem. So we are a year down the line and the problem still exists but it is managable and I just bear in mind that he probably won't need a poo box anymore by the time he is 16!

Apparently it's very common, maybe a call to your HV/GP might help?

Oh dear

Yes, I think a visit to the GP/HV is in order, but we have a long bank holiday in the meantime.

I've given her a cup of orange juice and sent her to the farm with DP - I'm hoping the law of sod will intervene and have her doing a huge poo in the middle of the courtyard

My highly strung then 2.4 year old did exactly the same thing, and got extremely agitated and distressed, running up and down, sweating but would not poo. The GP diagnosed 'protalgia Fugax' a spasm in the anus which is very very painful. We tried lactulose/ senna syrup etc.. to no avail. It seems it was a mind over matter thing and the h/v urged me to not give up on star charts.

We put one by the loo so that she could see it as she performed and wonders of wonders, it worked. It could have just been the right time but whatever, we came out the other side of what was an awful time. You have my great sympathy.

I think it will come right in the end. Be patient and a little lactulose may help to soften the stool so that when she goes she isn't straining which will reinforce the trauma of the act. Good luck.

Thank you.

I definitely think it is a psychological issue as we've only had probs since we began potty training.

Prior to that she was a regular girl with poos on the softer side of soft