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A year of toileting problems!

4 replies

maskingtherealme · 28/03/2015 15:50

My 3 year old DS is having some toileting issues. Theyhave been going no for a year now and the frequency is worsening. I relly cannot cope with the five a day changes of clothes and he refuses to wear a pull up except at night.

It started Easter 2014 when we realised he was holding in his poo. He claimed he was a big boy and didn't need to poo. We verablly corrected this and praised him when he did one to no avail. So we started the potty training. It was going well with the wees, not so with the poos which I knew was normal. Lactulose didn't help and it was only because he was at the GPs for another issue when he had a toileting accident (skid marks due to holding, hiding and screaming when taken to the loo) did the GP prescribe movicol. All was okay for a few months - he would always try to hold it but would successfully go after a few days. Wee accidents were few and far between - not even a dribble.
Then autumn of last year, things gradually worsened. Wee accidents were more frequent and he was dribbling. No amount of bribery nor discussions about superheroes not having accidents worked. He was also still holding his poo which was also worsening.
Currently he hides when he needs a poo, refuses or denies needing to go until he poos his pants. He can go a whole week of holding it before an accident occurs. But he has started to wee more regularly now too.

Today he had a wee accident. He wanted to go outside to play in the garden and we told him yes but anymore accidents and he was straight in and no more going out for the day. He came in (his own choice seemingly) aftewr 15 minutes. He had had a poo - finished off in the loo! We painted and he wanted to go down the lane on his bike. I said yes but when he came back from the bathroom after washing his hands, he had had a wee!!! There have been occasions when I suspected he hasn't been to the loo desite saying he has. He insists on going himself except at dusk and night as he needs us to turn on the light. It is now getting to the point where we have up to 10 trousers and underwear to wash every weekend leaving him short on clothes. He refuses to go around the house in just underwear and refuses to wear pull ups except at night (when he puts a pair on he immdediately does a wee!).

I am at the end of my tether. I am out of options though will speak to HV about it on Tuesday. His baby sister was born 4 weeks ago so in some way I can understant if these problems presented themselves around that time but it has been a year now and worsened during the early autumn. I can't blame my pregnancy because he wasn't aware of it then!

Help!

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maskingtherealme · 28/03/2015 15:52

I will say these problems are mainly at home. Childminder and Nursery are either oblivious to it (wears baggy, dark trousers) or he uses the toilet when with them.
I am supposed to be taking him out for the day next week with friends of the same age but embarrassment and the worry of not being around toilets has changed my mind. I feel like I can't go anywhere with him for a significant amount of time anymore!

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IAmAPaleontologist · 28/03/2015 15:59

Sounds a lot like my ds1used to be. I'd go back to the gp for another chat, maybe without your ds. The wee thing is because of the pressure on his bladder from the poo, his bowel will be distended now and it takes a long time of being regular for it to get better. He probably has no idea when he is dribbling half the time. i have watched naked ds1 with wee dribbling down his leg totally oblivious.

definitely go back to gp. say it isn't working, ask to try something else. fwiw movicol types didn't work for us, ds would just end up trying to withhold liquid poo and get stressed. What did it for us was fybogel so it was a good, soft poo but it was bulked up so made sure he had good sensations of needing to go combined with senna to keep it moving. Once the poo was regular he had to relearn signals of needing a wee.

Fishandjam · 28/03/2015 16:02

I don't want to speculate on what it might be - but I can strongly recommend calling the ERIC helpline. Their website is here: www.eric.org.uk/. We found them incredibly helpful with DS's withholding/constipation/soiling/dribbling (all interlinked).

Fishandjam · 28/03/2015 16:06

PS DS needed Movicol, senna liquid and Bisacodyl suppositories for 6 months before he was sorted. I sympathize with your stress!

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