GD afraid to poo

Luckygirl is absolutely right here - please ask the GP to check for an obstruction. The child of a friend was soiling herself at school eventually, after months of similar struggles, and you can imagine the problems that caused. She had a large blockage which must have been painful and it had to be shifted with specific medication. Happens without any obvious reason it seems in some children.

Remove all foods from her diet which can clog her up like bread and sugary stuff for a while and, instead, give plenty of roughage and water and prune type fruit and veggie smoothies. She won't be able to stop herself going!

we had this with our 2 yr old GD and it broke my heart to see her in so much pain. Dr also prescribed Lactulose but agree it is getting them to overcome the psychological barrier after experiencing the pain. We found a sticker reward chart helped, after 5 stickers she gets a smartie, she gets a sticker no matter how small the poo is, which she has sussed on to and makes sure she does lots of little ones, to get more stickers to get a smartie, we don't mind , it is better than watching her suffer!

Our DGS did this from when he was a toddler in nappies. When he did go it was quite a performance poor lamb. I've never seen the unicorn but someone suggested a footstool to rest his feet when on the toilet so that his feet weren't swinging around which seemed to help. He did eventually get over it.

Your GD might be amused by this video demonstrating the advantage of a squatty potty. The unicorn uses one to help her 'go' comfortably. Lots of them for sale on Ebay and elsewhere.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q

Sometimes it's a good idea to have a stool chart in the bathroom with a star for each movement. It is best if the whole family fill one in. Your GC will then see most go every day or two and that is normal. Suggest a small surprise if she manages 5 times a week ( or 4 whatever is appropriate for her) Good luck. Encourage her to sit on the loo and have a story read to her to relax her.

I am afraid I remember doing this as a child. As far as I am aware no-one in my family noticed. I would sit on a wall on the way home from school so that I could keep it in. I seem to remember that the only place I could go was at home and so often the urge came when I was out so I held it in. I cannot remember when I got over it but I did all on my own.

Both my eldest son and his eldest daughter suffered like this - she was so bad she was hospitalised on a couple of occasions after starting school. It's pretty common and although it's distressing they usually grow out of it. Patience is the key which your son seems to have in abundance with your granddaughter and plenty of fluids and foods containing roughage then lots of praise when they finally go.

A friend's DGD had the same fear, the doctor arranged some child therapy, it took a little while but eventually she was able to overcome her fear and is now absolutely fine.

This is very common with young children. My son was severely constipated. We were sent to a "toilet training clinic". What we learned was to use a foot stall so that the body is in line and to bend over from the stomach. Blowing bubbles also helps while sat on the toilet.

Also rule out anything else that could be causing the pain. Don't just assume it is constipation. Does she have a fistula in the anal area? This can cause huge pain so resulting in not wanting to open bowels.

My dgs had this. The doctor gave him something stronger than lactulose which he took for quite a while before he got over his fear. He is ok now apparently.
Maybe your GD needs to go back to her GP or perhaps a more sympathetic one.
I hope she is better soon.

"an absolute river of poo" - I hope GP has felt her tummy/rectum. Sometimes loose stool can be passed when someone is constipated and it is flowing past a large solid immovable chunk.

Maybe you need some "magic cream" - doesn't much matter what it is as long as it is suitable for mucous membranes. Let her put it on her bum herself when it is poo time, telling her that this will make it more comfortable if there is a hard poo there.

This is quite a common fear after the child has had a problem. As your doctor says ensure she has plenty of fruit, veg and water. Drinking plenty of fluids is important. Then hard as this may be try not to make a big issue out of it, the more you stress about it the more fearful she will become. Exercise is also important to keep the system moving.