[Mrs Optimus]

My DS went through this for about 2 years..

He did his first poo on the toilet at just over 6 years old (VERY proud moment here) and whilst he still occasionally has his moments and we do ned to remind him to go quite often he hardly ever has accidents anymore.

Like Electro's DS he has a great school who are VERY understanding of the issue (even now) and take great care of him - including an action plan that all his teachers and the office have to make it easier and less embarrassing for him if he does have an accident.

I know it doesn't seem like it now.. believe me - but there IS light at the end of the tunnel!

[susanclark]

My son hasn't had problems with leaking, but he has had huge build up of poo inside. I've known a few people with children who have experienced your child's problem.

My son is a fairly 'low tone' (on the low end of 'normal', I'd say) kid and we were told that was the cause... his bowel just expands sideways far easier than most. Nothing to do with deliberately 'holding it in'. As a significant portion of the population are low(er) tone it may be a common cause of the initial retention.

We were told that anything that does not have senna in it is ok, and to 'tackle it from both ends'. Duralax (not pessaries, the liquid you squirt in... easy to use), movicol and coloxyl have been our mainstay. As others have said, fibre is a good friend but not your 'best friend' in this. Actually fluid intake is most important. All best used regularly, to stop the build up in the first place, and so minimise overstretching of the colon in the first place.

Now my son is a teen (just!) and for some time he has been horrified at any talk of this (and has been for some time) and we find it really hard to know what is going on. Was much easier when he would let us in to the bathroom and answer any question we put to him! And because it is muscle tone related, we think this will always be a problem. So trying to get your child to establish a routine that manages things will help down the track. Good luck.

[Delayfish]

I have never heard of encopresis before but I'm reading this thread with horror as it describes exactly what my DS1 has been going through for the last 2 years No health professional has ever suggested encopresis to me, the doctors/mchn I have spoken to have said it's behavioural and he will grow out of it. He has often said he couldn't feel when he needed to go to the toilet. OMG I feel like the worst mother in the world right now. I have been blaming him for being lazy about toileting. We have tried movicol (thinking he may be somewhat constipated) with inconsistent results. Because I thought it was a behavioural thing, and because he is sometimes totally capable of using the toilet appropriately, I recently told him that if he didn't stop pooing in his undies I would put him back in nappies I can't tell you how awful I feel Having said all that, it has improved over the last few weeks, but there have still been a few accidents. He had terrible trouble with toilet training and was not completely toilet trained (wees) until he was 5yo.

Sorry to hijack your thread OP. What should I do now? Is it worth a trip to the doctor since he has been improving lately?

[Citizen V]

Don't feel bad Delayfish, I've said that to ds a couple of times too out of complete frustration (putting him back in nappies).

We have a big issue with holding on and then having accidents. We are working with a psych on the issue through a referral from our MCHN so I would suggest seeing your GP to rule out anything medical and then ask for a referral.

Dr Sears has some general information and tips too http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/disciplin...s/soiling-pants

[Milly Molly Mand...]

I saw this in most recent topics. My heart goes out to you all it is such a horrible thing to go through. I'm not sure where people are based but we saw a wonderful GP who runs a toileting clinic in Wollongong. Totally bulk billed and short waiting list. She is wonderful. If anyone wants her details send me a PM (on the off chance you live in Wollongong LOL)

[Delayfish]

Don't feel bad Delayfish, I've said that to ds a couple of times too out of complete frustration (putting him back in nappies).

We have a big issue with holding on and then having accidents. We are working with a psych on the issue through a referral from our MCHN so I would suggest seeing your GP to rule out anything medical and then ask for a referral.

Dr Sears has some general information and tips too http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/disciplin...s/soiling-pants

Thanks V&J, I'll make an appointment with our doctor and go from there.

[Arcee]

Oh I cant believe Ive just found this thread. Im currently going through this with my DS (7). Its only just started happening the last 2 to 3 weeks.

We have an appointment to see a Paed on the 14th November. DS has been on Parachoc for the last 2 weeks but it is actually making the issue worse for him. On Saturday he soiled himself at least 6 times and he is getting really upset by it all.

I try and make sure he drinks plenty of fluids, however its hard to police when they are at school all day. Ive also started making sure that he is getting plenty of fibre.

Hopefully the Paed will confirm that this is exactly what is going on with him and we can work towards a resolution.

I too have been guilty of threatening to put him back in nappies and its just from the sheer frustration of not knowing how to help him and fix the issue. But at least now I feel better that Im not the only one going through this.

[mum of JandC]

Hooley dooley...I could have written all these posts myself.....

My son is 5 1/2...we are currently going through the worst ever bout of encopresis ever.

i only figured it all out after 5hrs of intensive research today. Had been googling constipation over past year until today I finally googled leaky poos etc.

I was reading out the medical sites fact sheets on the condition to my husband and we both agreed we could have written all those word for word ourselves too

I'm in Perth and about to head back to Dr's as well. This time i shall be armed with all my diarised info on my son over the past 5yrs [he suffered constipation as baby too], print outs of Doc sites with questions to answer and my/our answers.

Luckily, we have been on the right track ourselves dealing with it aside from the times when you just have had enough and end up shouting "Can't you feel it??" at your poor child

Today I have sat Caleb down and told him what i have found out and profusely apologised to him for shouting at him. Both my DH and i feel so utterly horrid we have got so frustrated with it and thus him.
His 12yr old brother is very patient and supportive so at least Caleb has a good older brother in that regard too.

In my research today I've found a psychologist who specialises in encopresis and the ensuing emotional issues it creates here in Perth plus one of the Uni's school of psychology also has help for it too in group sessions and indivual.

Our son starts F/T pre school....so I'm kicking myself for not researching this a year ago when he was still at kindy !!!!!

Arrrrghhhh .... still better late than I suppose.

Hope the children of all of you are improving!!

[NicoleTQLD]

I've just stumbled across this topic, and a little lightbulb has gone off in my head!! My DD who is 6.5 has been soiling her underwear on and off for the past few months. She's always been lazy going to do a wee if she's playing etc but now that it's happening with poo's enough is enough. I thought she was just being even lazier, but perhaps not??
I didn't actually realise there could be more to it than just laziness, so I'm feeling pretty awful about yelling at her every time she does it and I too have threatened to buy her nappies.
I really don't know where to start with helping her, should I take her to the docs first or try to get to the bottom of it myself??? She did it last night while asleep, this afternoon while watching a movie, does it at school, at friends houses, there doesn't seem to be a pattern to it. Sometimes I can catch her in the act, she pops her bum in the air while squatting, I've actually noticed she spends a lot of time with her bum in the air?!?!
Does anyone elses child have the same thing with urinating, as she will hold and hold until I force her to the toilet. We will often have arguments about her going and she insists she doesn't need to even though her legs are crossed and she's walking odd or crouched down somewhere, only to sneak off a few minutes later and go
She has a good balanced diet but not sure of how much she drinks at school.
Is it worth letting her teachers know so they can try to get her to go at school when she needs to??
Sorry this is all jumbled, trying to get my head around this, I really want to help her solve this, especially before kids at school notice a smell and tease her
Thanks for any help!

[Mamabug]

You may want to check this thread as well!

I started it a few days ago as my DD is having sneaky poos.