GD afraid to poo

Oh Day6, how awful ....glad you are back to 'normal' so to speak .

That is the best advice !

You can get natural flavoured Movicol and it can be disguised by juice. I know some parents give it in milkshake but ensure that their children drink plenty of water too.

supernanauanal a few thoughts come to mind.

Why are you waiting to speak to the school counselling service? Should that not be down to the parents?

You also mention that if the stool softener has a taste, she won't take it. Can it not be slipped into another drink? Perhaps even try a new fruit squash or milk shake etc.

Day6 you poor thing

I still have nightmares about this. I was that child. I'd sit on the kerb on the way to school to hold it in. No idea why. My siblings didn't have this need.

I still feel the course of treatment I had as a six year old was barbaric - enemas in hospital, twice a day (the smell of rubber tubing is still with me) and impatient nurses standing over me in the hospital toilet demanding I deliver..There were no angels back then or parents on the ward. I was just a naughty child, all alone, terrified, and this seemed like punishment. I'll never forget it. (I am crying recounting it...)

Thank goodness we do things differently now.

I also read somewhere on GN (but I don't think it is on this thread) that letting the child put her feet on a little stool helps - it's difficult to do a poo without your feet resting on the floor and, of course, they are too small for feet to touch the floor.

Perhaps they could see the practice nurse, because straining could cause problems such as an anal fissure which will make it even more difficult and worrying for her to try to pass a motion. The GP really needs to do more, sorry, that is not acceptable to suggest seeing the school nurse.

4 GC in the family had this " performance " which is what I called it. Both parents over-protective and over-fussy . Other parents in the family just got on with things with their children and didn't make them a focus or their toilet habits and as a consequence they all did what came naturally without any fuss and palava. 2 boys within the family later went on to suffer appendicitis.

It does seem to be a psychological thing going on with these children but getting to the root cause is the problem.

The problem is getting worse as time goes by. Now she will physically fight not to sit on the toilet. The pain she has is horrendous. At the moment it's eight days since her last poo. I have found out that her school has a counselling service so I'm waiting to speak to them. Trouble is, if the stool softener has any taste then she won't take it. Last night she howled in pain almost non-stop from 7pm until she fell asleep at 10.30pm. Then of course she was very tired this morning. The last GP she saw suggested the School Nurse but apparently the nurse only pops into the school now and again.

We're at our wits' end with this and I feel so sorry for her. She's obviously suffering badly but seems to have this mental block that she can't get past.

If only I could buy a magic wand!

If the child is in school the School Nurse may be a good contact. They are so much experience of dealing with children (obviously!) and will have more time than the GP.

If the child is under 5, the Health Visitor can prescribe Movicol.

Good post from icanholdthemback I found most GP's were reluctant to prescribe adequate softeners, and hardly any gave the correct information about how long treatment was require for - icanholdthem back is quite correct. Basically as things stand at the moment, if the child is able to still hold for four or five days, then the treatment (Lactulose) can be deemed ineffective. Find out which GP in your practice does paediatric developmental assessments and make an appointment with them.

My son had this when little. Would be so bad tempered whilst holding it all in. And the relief when he finally went! He also refused to go at all, despite desperate, while away from home. He did grow out of it.

Ask the GP for paediatric Movicol. Quite often when a child is frequently constipated, the bowel stretches which makes the bowel less effective at expelling poo. Then, it gets hard in the bowel so runny poo leaks past it. Movicol softens the hard stool so it will gradually get expelled. You keep using the Movicol for 6 months so the poo remains soft and the bowel then shrinks back and things return to normal. It doesn't cause stomach ache like laxatives can and it is tasteless so can be added to squash so it isn't unpleasant. Some children use up to 8 sachets a day in severe cases.
I don't know how a GP can make a sweeping statement that everything is ok. Without a Paediatrician doing a proper investigation, your GP cannot know whether she has slow gut motility which can cause this and cause much bigger problems if untreated.
I don't know how old your GD is but if she is "double-jointed", then digestive problems often occur because the connective tissue isn't as good as holding strong which is why the bowel is extra stretchy to cause this.

This is really common, the health visitor should be able to refer her to the appropriate support

Have a granddaughter with similar issues, can I recommend the ERIC website which gives lots of uptodate helpful advice for all sorts of issues like this- it is possible to get in touch with them directly.

Do you have a Continence Advisor in your area? It sounds as though he/she could help

This is indeed a very common problem!
During my nursing career, we found that gentle laxatives, combined with good diet would help the child’s constipation quite effectively, and the fear was managed by a visit from the ‘Poo Fairy’, who brought soothing cream and child-size glycerin suppositories to ease the discomfort.
This problem is horrid, but like the poo it soon passes !

I work with children who have this problem. I agree Lactulose isn't always the answer. May be best to get a Hospital appointment with a specialist. Then at least you will be confident it's nothing more problematic. There are some brilliant suggestions on here but please be aware that stubborn poos can become psychological as well as physical. Good luck. X

All my life I have found that if I eat eggs either boiled or in a omelette or drink too much milk, it makes my bowel movements harder the following day, so it might be a good idea to look hard at the child's diet. Remember that wholemeal bread contains more roughage than white bread made of refined wheat flour.

Would she be happier using a potty rather than the toilet? Probably not as she is five.

I agree with the 'magic cream' - something like Savlon could be very soothing.

sounds like you are doing all the right things.Unfortunately pooing hurts so she is resisting going for as long as possible! So keeping it soft is the way to go. Have you tried adding fresh mangoes to her diet, very high fibre and pleasant taste. Make sure the loo is nice and warm, let her rest her feet on a stool so that the pushing urge is helped. Reading a book with mum/dad all helps her to relax and think of it as an acceptable activity. Good luck.

This is my 5-year-old DGD too. It has been going on for a while and she has seen the doctor who gave her lactulose. She has seen a specialist at the hospital and is awaiting another appointment. The trouble is it affects her behaviour in a negative way. You can tell when she needs to go as she gets very stroppy but her mood changes the instant she has been. Also, she has had accidents at school which is very upsetting for her.

Homeopathy can work well for that and similar fears

With all these things it's important to keep calm and avoid any unnecessary fuss. If the child thinks all the adults are really concerned and upset that will make it worse. Just work through logically and in a matter of fact way and she'll be ok.

Dulcoease given with each meal would be better than lactulose, since lactulose forces water into the lower end of the colon and helps the current inhabitant out, but does nothing for its successor. Dulcoease will keep all its successors soft, too, as it helps to hold water in with the stool all through its journey. Also make sure of plenty of liquids of course. Lactulose is helpful when there is already a buildup to shift.