|
|||
|
Message Boards
|
|||
| Hi, thank you so much for replying yet again, it is such a relief to talk to someone who knows exactly what you are going thru. Can you tell me, what does "cleaning out" exactly involve??? I have suppositries here (just ones that I have bought over the counter). I have given him 2 or 3 of these over the last 3 years but find that it was so distressing for him and I thought I would just be making matters worse. I will be asking the hospital (when appointment comes thru) to test for Celiac as my brother has this condition. For me personally I want all health tests done to make sure there is NO medical reason for this, then I think I can start to move forward. I am at the stage now where I think the damage maybe done. For the first 2 years of this he would have a BM in in pants then it went onto leaking and getting to the toilet eventually after a few days of leaking to actually letting the BM fall onto the floor. Now we are at the stage of leaking happens for 2 or 3 days and he will evenutally go to the toilet and pass the biggest BM you have ever seen (im sure alot of you know what I mean). We do be shocked and could never understand how he passed them, but now I know its probably because all nerves/muscles etc are damaged. This is the bit that I cant cope with as if I had gone 2 year ago to the doctor maybe this stage would never have come. So could anyone tell me exactly what needs to be done in order to "clean" him out. I am at a loss now cause I know I have to not "stress" him out as none of this is his fault but I think suppositries etc are very distressing, but I am sure it has to be done. Any advice would be grateful, if there is any "over the counter" things I can get to get him cleaned out. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| When my daughter was so badly constipated, her pediatrician believed that it was imperative that the bowels be cleaned out. She prescribed 45 grams of MOVICOL each day. My daughter was hospitalized the first time, but since then if she needs a clean out I keep her home from school for a few days and clean her out. It can be a bit messy. The stool should be liquid brown with no solids when the bowels are empty. Can your Dr. help you to at least clean your son out until you see the pediatrician? |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lisa, Your story is just like ours (and like most others here on this site). Our daughter has been battling encopresis for 3-4 years. We went through the full gammet of tests, doctors - you name it we've seen it, done it or tried it. We still have the issue. Some simple things that have made a diference for us: A strict schedule in order to train her bodily functions to behave a certain times (such as no BM during school). She sits on the potty roughly the same times every day (seven days a week) around 7:00am. Again when she gets home from school at 3:30. Again after dinner around 7:00. We give her Mirolax the same time every day (after dinner). And it is for a minimum of 5 minutes. If she goes a day without a BM, we give her a Fleet laxative stimulant (over the counter) in addition to her Mirolax, but we will hold our for Friday night if possible, as we expect multiple trips to the bathroom and I don't want that to happen at school. We still see accidents every day although they are usually not very big. When we don't remind her or stay on top of her, the accidents start to creep back in. We expect her to do her part and she has come to accept that. When we are all following the routine, the accidents and anguish are minimal. I will tell you that it is very important that you treat this as no big deal to him. You getting all worked up in front of him makes it worse. I say that from experience. Once he understands that it is something that thousands of other kids have and that he has to do these things while his body is figuring out what to do, he will come to terms with it. Granted, it may take years, but there are a hell of a lot of worse things in the world. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We are 4 days now without a BM but no dirty underwear within them 4 days. I am sure it will start to "leak" again soon. Can anyone advise me of what I should be doing as it will be 2 months until hospital appointment comes thru. I am doing scheduled toilet sits, sometimes he is good other times very stubborn but with no BM. Movicol does not seem to be working at all as he has had 1 every night for the last 4 nights. I am so distraught and want to get the ball rolling my end to get this sorted. Maybe when the leaking starts that is the time to really get strong and MAKE him sit on the toilet. How do you all talk to your children, are you firm, do you ignore it when they refuse to sit on the loo or wont sit for too long. Do you talk to them calmly. I have tried all this but not sure if I am doing right or wrong. I feel so lost and alone at the moment. As far as friends etc, I have explained to a couple of my friends and they have looked at me oddly. I have made them sit and read about it on the net and that is when it really sinks in with them. My Son's mood is starting to change again now, moody, rude etc not surprising after 4 days of no BM but yet he never complains of any pains whatsoever??? Its the whole school think I am dreading, I can cope with anything at home but dont want to ever see my child distressed at school!!! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| helps take away the shame and guilt that I feel. Most people that I talk to have been supportive. They might not understand completely, but then does anyone really understand? We all take one day at a time and do the best we can. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi again, My daughter has been seeing a pediatrician for over 4 years. Actually she has seen 2 pediatricians. The first one for about a year, and then the second who supposedly specializes more in encopresis. Looking back the pediatriacan has been helpful in that she has focused primarily on the physical aspect of the condition and provided her expertise from a physical point of view. Keeping my daughter cleaned out has been the priority. At one point my daughter needed to be hospitalized, and the Dr. was able to act promptly to make that happen. Of course I have come to learn that in my daughter's case, encopresis is more than simply a physical problem...it is also a psychological and behavioral condition as well. The pediatrican was able to make a referral for us to a psychologist she works with, who also works closely with a psychiatrist and play therapist. Over the past 8 months, the team of professionals have provided our family with support from every aspect. The play therapist works one-on-one with my daughter and the psycholigist and psychiatrist have provided support to my husband and I as parents and counselled us on how to parent a child with encopresis. They have challenged us to parent together and not be as reactive. We have a younger daughter too who does not have encopresis but she too is affected by the family dynamics. Overall, every professional we've seen has provided us with support, all in different ways. No one has any specific answers, but they have provided us with Hope that the condition will improve. My daughter's school principal is also a Dr. in psychology so she completely understands the problem. She is not providing us with any counselling but the school staff have been more than supportive. I am so very grateful for all the professionals that we have been in contact with. I speak fairly openly about encopresis with my friends and my daughter's friend's parents. Educating them about the condition |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thank you so much for replying. Unfortunately I think Tuesday's BM after the movicol was a fluke. He has done nothing since. My son is 5, will be 6 in June and has this problem for nearly 3 years now. I am kicking myself I did not go to the doctor sooner. There was so many times I was going to go but then he would have a BM and I would think "ok all is good again". I just presumed it was a constapation problem. What made me do more research was the fact that he had not gone in 2 weeks and was not even complaining of pain which was odd. Now that I know what it is I can see a different pattern in his behaviour. He is the most loveable very well behaved little boy but once he has not been for a few days he gets very grumpy, tired, pale and rude. Once he has had a BM he is back to his loveable self. I never even noticed this pattern before (just presumed it was a typical 5 year old). He only just started school last September and there has only been a couple of times where his underwear has been a bit dirty so it has not been too bad and I think the kids are a bit young to notice yet. Since visiting the doctor I am keeping a diary and having regular sitting times at the toilet but of course to no avail. It can be a struggle to get him to sit but even when he does he wont sit for long. Then I keep asking myself, there cant be anything to come out yet cause with this condition dont they have to "re-fill" so to speak. At the moment I just feel so numb, guilty, angry etc. At least I know now what it is and I can keep calm when he has an episode etc. The amount of times I have given out to him over this, it just breaks my heart to think about it. Does anyone know what a peadetriction will actually do that I cant??? In saying that, if it is all to do with re-training I am definately going to need someone along side me as I have tried everything over the last 3 years (praise, correction, bribery etc) to try and solve this. Thanks again |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I believe that you are on the right track in terms of getting professional help...so you have started. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi lisarei57....Oh,I can sooo relate to where you are at. How old is your son? My daughter is 8, almost 9, and she was diagnosed at the age of 4 with encopresis. So it's been almost 5 years since we've been dealing with this issue. I want to acknoweldge how you're feeling. Unfortunately, there are NO quick cures for encopresis. Every child is different, so every cure will be different and every reason for encopresis will be different. I do believe though that with time, patience, Hope and Faith, it is curable. It's the support from others (friends and professionals) that gets me through each day. Hang in there. Take One Day at a Time. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi do you mind if I join in. My son has been suffering with this for the past 3 years and I have only just diagnosed what it was (stumbled across it on net). I knew it was strange but just presumed he would grow out of it. Anyway I am totally distressed over it all. My biggest fear is it being spotted at school, i.e. smell. Had my first doctors appointment to get the ball rolling, she gave me movicol and has forward a letter to the hospital to start the ball rolling with a peaditriction. I am inconsoleable at the moment and really need to talk to someone, hence joining here. The strange thing was, my son was given his first movical at 5pm this evening, I kept talking gentle to him to try and get him to sit on the toilet (knowing that it would not have worked that quick) but just to get everything off to a start. He refused for couple of hours and just as he was going off to bed he said "ok I will sit on the toilet" and low and behold he actually went, had a BM no bother whatsover, good sized but normal, I am more confused than ever now. Was it just a fluke or is this a very good sign??????? I just dont know where to start and I am so scared for my little boy as far as school etc. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is very positive to hear. My son is now 13, and has been dealing with this issue since 6. We now have a ped. gastrologist working with him and he is in the clean out mode. My dr. suggested mag. citraite follwed by 2 dulolax and repeat for 2 days. Then is mirlax for a while. His clean out has not been fun but I know we will get there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My son has had encopresis for 4 years and it has been a complete nightmare. Three months ago I found soiling solutions www.soilingsolutions.com. I wish I had started this years ago. It is amazing and has changed our lives. I know that sounds dramatic but it has been so good for us. It involves using enemas and suppository which we were reluctant to do at first but I believe it is the only answer to this problem. You purchase a manual and it will be the best money you ever spent!!! For anyone out there with a child with enco I can't tell you enough times that this will change your life. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4020572 This is the most positive study that I have found so far. Training, training, training!!!! With the use of other means to keep things flowing. Our son is 11 and a half. His problems only began about a year ago, but they are similar to what I have read in the posts. We use his sitting time as his reading time so that it is not adversly impacting his school work. He likes to read so that is a good thing. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I would be very interested in knowing what supplements you have been using for your son. We too are struggling with Miralax and would like to wean him off of it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wow it is surreal. We have a 7 year old who has soiling issues and has had since trying to toilet train. We're on the maintenance laxs, had washouts, xrays, transit studies, toilet times etc spent $$$ on stickers, rewards LOL and have got no further with it all and still have the classic symptoms of so many here. Hoping one day we'll be able to determine what the underlying cause is and make progress. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My son is 5 and we have been struggling with encopresis since as long as I can remember. It took us 3 years and a trip to the emergency room to get our family physician into getting us help with a pediatrician. I have yet another up coming appointment on Monday and I am not sure what will be done. He has been taking Peglyte daily up until 2 months ago. He now refuses to take it (it is horrible tasting) and I have also given up on it. He has been on it off and on for approx 1.5 yrs and still no resolution. There seems to be no follow up commitment from the doctor and my son is struggling in school as his classmates are starting to notice a smell coming from him due to accidents he is having. He has to wear a pull up every day as he can not control when he has a bowel movement. I feel that I am a failure as a Mother as I can not fix this problem for him. I really don't know what to do..... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My 2 year old daughter held her *** in for a year and a half. We tried everything from doctors, to a change in diet, to lax. Last year we moved to Costa Rica and within a week of being there she started going regularly everyday with no problem. We moved back to the United States this year and she started having problems within a week. The only familiar place for my kids in CR was a subway resturant in town. We ate there a few times a week, much more that in the states. My daughter always got lettuce and oil and vin. on her sandwiches, so I started getting shredded lettuce and putting a good bit of extra virgin olive oil on it with salt and pepper for seasoning. When she starts to hold it in I feed her just a few bites and she goes to the bathroom without any problem. I can feed her this while she is sitting on the toilet and it will come out right then. Hope this helps some of you. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| my son is 4 and half and has just been put on movicol for his encopresis, we have all suffered for 3 years with this ongoing problem and the doctor was givin us lactulose which i couldnt get him to take. he has been takin movicol for 4 days and stil hasnt pooed, not sure how much longer he can hang on.The school have found that it is effecting his ability to concentrate at school and he is falling behind. i'm at my wits end and really want to get him to poo without distress. mel |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HI just read your post, my son is 7 and we have been througha mixture of reactions for this frustration condition, but I think to give your child love and understanding, trying not to make a fuss when it happens, let them know that it will pass and just change them without a fuss, they are the ones with the difficult issue, not us(the parent). It will take a long time to recover from but preserving self esteem is vital at this stage in their life, I think it is a test to the difficulties having children can present and overall to deal with it wth love and compassion, always removing your own frustrations from your mind and focusing on protecting them and supporting them, keep practicing this and it will become easier to stage in a place of no-judgemnet when you have to get them changed(Again!). We have been through this for 4 years now, there has been improvemnets but it seems to be when there is no pressure. Those people who think they know best must be reminded that this is a young person who is experiencing a difficulty and to just send them love. Keep away from the negative at this time and support your child, and relax this is all we can do. "This to shall pass". | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hi "heatheragnew81".... My daughter is 8 she's been dealing enco for 4 years. Her pediatrician says that if the intestine is kept cleaned out, she will regain feeling again to go poo. She is currently taking a laxitive called "Polythylene glycol3350" (PEG). It is the exact ingredient that is in Movicol. Where we live the pharmicist doesn't have Movicol, but they have PEG. Anyway, it is a white powder and my daughter will take it with lemonaide. My daugher has a bowel movement everyday (sometimes big, sometimes small)...so it seems to be working. She still has some accidents, because she doesn't feel it coming, or chooses to not go to the toilet...I really don't know which. But I've quit trying to figure it out. The other thing that is helpful is for my daughter to sit on the toilet after each meal. This has always been a challenge, but recently she has been more willing to sit...which results in more stool in the toilet instead of her pants. She doesn't always have a stool after a meal, but sometimes she does. Every child is different, so what works will be different for every child. My daughter is also in play therapy right now (to support her to deal with encopresis) and on a low dose of medication for ADD. We dont' know if the ADD is linked to the encopresis, but her psychiatrist has seen children where the ADD or ADHD is addressed and the encopresis goes away. Probably because the child isn't listening to their bodily cues. Dealing effectively with my own range of feelings around this has also postively impacted my daughter. Not getting into power struggles with my daughter has helped a lot. I have to remind myself that I am the adult and she is the child, so if I don't want an argument....I don't argue with her. Not as simple as it sounds, but as a parent I need to get support to parent my child effectively....especially around the encopresis. This forum helps tremendously. Hang in there. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Heatheragnew81, my son is 10 and I just found out about this condition and the treatment options for it recently. We've had problems his BM habits since he was a toddler. Withholding, constipation, painful movement, ad infinitum. It was only recently that he started having soiling accidents though. A couple months ago he passed an incredibly large BM which I thought would be the end of the problem. It was actually the start of a worse one. He has been soiling daily since! Searching the Internet revealed that he is probably still impacted. We finally had a visit with the specialist a couple days ago. We now have to go through bowel cleansing followed by several months of retraining and healing. Once his system has been purged, soiling should be greatly reduced or completely eliminated. The gastroenterologist explained that the children don't even know they are soiling until it has already happened. The urge to go is caused by the stool expanding the rectum. If the rectum is fully distended due to impacted stool, there is no signal to the brain. Unformed stool leaks around the impaction and causes the soiling. Our doctor's treatment is to get rid of the blockage with a combination of enema followed by magnesium citrate until my son is passing fairly clear liquid with no solid mass. Once this has been accomplished, we are to give him 1.5 to 2x doses of Miralax a day to keep the BM extremely soft so the muscles have a chance to get back to normal size and normal muscle reflexes are established. This will probably take several months at which point we can start weaning him off the Miralax. My son also hides his underwear, lies about his movements, etc. He is a picky eater as well. But, we need to empower him to take responsibility for himself. We are giving him the tools he needs and the support he needs but ultimately, it is up to HIM to take action. Unless he wants to, I realize it will only become a power struggle with him as the loser. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My daughter is under the school district 504 plan. Which allows her to attend public school and the school must make exceptions for her medical condition Encopresis. A doctor had to provide medical information about her problem and our school had to develop a health plan for her which means she may leave class at anytime to change and use the bathroom. She is in 3rd grade and her teacher is to reminds her to go use the bathroom. Problem is she doesn't go use the bathroom but she does change when her teacher tells her to. The 504 plan just basically means she is allowed to go to school and the school has to make whatever adjustments are necessary for her to do so. I do not know if the 504 plan is a national things for all school districts of the United States but her doctor was the one that suggested we fill out paper work through our local school district. 504 is a plan for any child with a medical condition that protects them in away from being kicked out of school because of a medical problem. We do have a great school which understands her condition and works with us to help her. She was however kicked out of extended kindergarten because of her problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hey guys, unfortunately there wasn't really an official turning point for me, i think i just became old enough to realise that i had a problem and i had to help myself out. Puberty also definately helped as i was getting to know my body and what was actually hapenning inside me and also made me more self-concious about it. because my mum tried everything from accupuncture to a chiropracter, i also went to a masseuse and learnt how to massage my stomach in an anti- cllockwise direction to get everything moving a bit. If you post a comment to me feel free to call me Lucy cause i know my sign in name is a bit of a mouthful! i wish you all and your daughters/sons the best. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I could not find the rest of your story but am curious as our approaches have showed progress similar to yours. Looking for any support I can get as everyone has an opinion. My biggest recent challenge is that my son was kicked out of private school and now they are saying he would have to be special ed or emotionally disturbed to even get in. Is this right? I live in Hawaii and not many have heard of this condition. My son has one major roadblock that I just can't get past and would love to break that code. I'm a behaviorist so I should know what I'm doing but am not having a lot of success with my overly smart child. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I just stubbled across this site while trying to find some information about this. My daughter is 13 and I have been dealing with this for a few years now. It's nice to find out that I am not the only one. She has been to the specialist who didn't do much. I was told she had to eat more fiber but she is a picky eater. I was giving her a white powder mixed with water but it was a real struggle to get her to take it and then she started flushing it down the toilet. I have tried the positive re-enforcement but i don't understand how she doesn't smell it when she has an accident or doesn't know. She leaves her dirty underwear lying around and it is hard. I try to ask her on a daily basis if she has done a BM but it's hard to know if she is saying it to make me stop asking or if she really did one. The doctors keep saying that her bowel will reduce in size with regular movements but how are we suppose to get them to regular movements. Any suggestions or helpfull information would be greatly appreciated. She wants to do a student exchange next summer but I'm hestiant to do it because of this. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Pty Limited. All rights reserved. Advertise with Us - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Help |