2.5yr old withholding poo

[Cupcakequeen18]

Has anyone had a similar experience with their LO's withholding their poo? My DS used to poo normally, even started to really nail the potty training too but over the last couple of months he just won't poo!?!
I've spoken to my Dr who prescribed suppositories which we have used a couple of times just to empty him out and he's watched 'poo goes to Pooland' and other similar things but just won't do a damn poo..
he just holds it in and I can tell he is in discomfort and his behaviour changes, he becomes withdrawn, sluggish and uninterested in his toys, playing etc. When we get his poo out he immediately returns to a lively happy little boy.
I just want some advice if anyone has any, what can I do? It's making me feel so low and stressed 😢

Movicol worked for us - my oldest son had a sachet every night for easily a year. It's not a laxative - it just stops the water in their poo being absorbed by their body so the poo can't get bigger and harder. I knew he was withholding but it wasn't really an issue until we started potty training.
Alongside movicol we had poo emoji stickers and bribes and tried to keep it all positive.
I thought we would never get it sorted but we did in the end.

I've heard of movicol and our Dr prescribed us something similar but my son wouldn't drink it and I tried it in water, squash, juice, yoghurts - he knew I'd spiked it with something and refused to take it, which is why we were given suppositories and told to give him lactulose by medicine syringe.
Did your LO just go back to normal in terms of stopping the withholding behaviour? I've heard kids can go through this and it can take a very long time for them to psychologically get past this stage

DS witheld poo and if I knew then what I knew now I would be on the movicol as soon as possible. I mixed it more dilutely in squash than the sachets instructed but it worked and DS drank it in squash without noticing. But my ds maybe had it more severely than some, whilst he could poo without pain after a relatively short time it took years (he's now 7 and only just about doing it now) to go for a poo without any anxiety about it.
I'd really recommend trying to find a way to get movicol in your ds as it's such a low stress way of getting them to poo as in the beginning they physically can't hold onto it and there's no hard lumps to cause pain.

The ERIC website has an excellent help line. I recommend you start there.
This is such a common problem and the ERIC people are experts.

I'll contact our Dr and ask for movicol, I'm at my wits end and just need some help with this. I don't know what's happened to cause him to withhold? If it's a psychological thing then I also want help to understand how to overcome this. It's become so stressful 😢

I'll check out the website too, thank you x

Yep, Movicol is great for this. Softens stools so they can’t withhold so easily, and also breaks the association of poo = pain so they’re less likely to want to withhold.

I always give Movicol on squash first thing in the morning. The thirstier they are, the more likely they are to drink it!

Yes I can second movicol (our GP now gives out Laxido instead but it's the same thing). DS age 3 never withheld until we potty trained, then he would and it got very stressful! The movicol has really helped. He's been trained for 6 months and goes through phases, some days he potters off to the toilet happily and poos voluntarily, other days he does the "poo dance" where he lies down and sort of twerks, trying to hold it in. And we then have to coax him on to the toilet.

We're currently weaning him off the movicol on the doc suggestion (every other day, and only half a dose on alternative days, so he's only having a total of about 3-4 sachets a week). What I've noticed has really helped is making sure he has plenty to drink, and upping his fibre. We give him a big cup of milk first thing like when he was much younger, and some days sprinkle flax seed on his cereal, give him dates etc. I've stopped giving crisps too which I know can cause constipation.

The doctor told me it's a very common issue.

It is stressful and watching your child go through it can be heart braking. Especially as it can take so long to put right. DS1 has now been on movicol for 3 years and I couldn't have dreamed it would take this long. As your child is so young, they will never be able to really tell you why. But there are lots of other parents out there going through the same thing for help and support.

It can go in any liquid, so I normally add to yoghurt drinks or mix with milk on cereal. You are supposed to mix with a set amount of water, but it has always worked fine for us dissolving in small amount of water then adding to other liquid. You could also try porridge or yoghurt etc as long as with a drink.

I had to take it during pregnancy and it is vile! I found fizzy orange disguised it best for me.

I'm going through the same thing. Very very stressful. Everything revolves around it. Ds is now on movicol.. Jyst starting that journey!
Putting it in the water and then putting it in the fudge for 4 hours takes a lit of the taste away! X