Encopresis

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did the docs only do blood tests for celiacs or actually scope him? The blood results are not always accurate. Would be worth having him scoped by GI doctor if he hasn't been gluten free for too long.

They would never scope him. They always told us that was the 2nd step IF the bloodwork was positive.

[Anonymous]

So happy for you! No kid should suffer.

[Anonymous]

This is the article about Enuresis (night-wetting) being caused by mega-rectum:

http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/a-surprising-cause-of-bed-wetting

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for sharing your stories. It is so helpful to hear from others dealing with this. My daughter is only 6 but I am just learning about all this. Until now all doctors just said not to worry about her bedwetting and poop accidents because they were normal for some kids her age. Not until we saw a new pediatrician for her 6-yr checkup and he referred us to a urologist for her bedwetting did I discover her chronic constipation and megarectum, plus a deadened bladder that can hold 40 oz of urine before she feels the urge to go- unbelievable! I am appalled that I have allowed this to go on for three years out of plain ignorance and determined to treat it before it gets worse. I feel for you all who have dealt with this for a decade or more!

So we did a miralax super cleanout weekend, enemas for two weeks, daily physical therapy exercises to stretch the muscles, timed voids, etc. We've seen some improvement in symptoms but she still can't pee every two hours so I know we have a long way to go until she is healed.

Thank you for mentioning sugar and/or gluten and/or gut biome. I will work on her diet too. Anything that might help I will try. And it is so helpful to read your stories!

[Anonymous]

We had a doctor do a scope even though the bloodwork was normal. Dr. Bader at Children's.
Also -- someone may have already mentioned this -- but anyone reading this threat should check out the book "It's No Accident".

[Anonymous]

This post is a few months old, but I'm just finding in during my obsessive searching of all things encopresis! My 8yo dd has been dealing with it on and off for years. We are on our 2nd GI doctor. The first only dealt with enemas and suppositories which really traumatized her. This current GI is very compassionate and deals only in oral medicines. I just don't see an end in sight, however....we've never had bloodwork suggested. Going for that next week. Hearing from people with 'older' children who have/had this is so helpful. Any other people out there who have seen their elementary school aged kids move on from this? I think my biggest fear is the future -- will she ever NOT have this? We've listened to 100% of the advice we've been given. Life revolves around this -- ugh!!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried any dietary modifications yet? The two obvious things to try eliminating are dairy and gluten. If you haven't already, I would take both out of her diet for a minimum of 2 months and see if it makes any difference.

A friend cured her child's encopresis using Soiling Solutions, but that method relies on enemas and suppositories. It doesn't have to be traumatic, but if your daughter is already kind of freaked out by the bottom up approach, then you'll have some work to do to get her to try those methods again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried any dietary modifications yet? The two obvious things to try eliminating are dairy and gluten. If you haven't already, I would take both out of her diet for a minimum of 2 months and see if it makes any difference.

Please do not eliminate gluten and or dairy willy nilly. Yes, milk is a binder, so you can cut back on dairy but make sure they're getting other sources of calcium and Vitamin D. Also kids need fiber and gluten free diets are often lacking in fiber.

PP, encourage your kid to drink lots of water and have her sit on the toilet for 5-10 minutes after every meal to stimulate the elimination reflex.

Have you also explored the possible emotional causes of the constipation? Is your child anxious?

[Anonymous]

I would also read the book "It starts with food". It's not about this, not at all. And it's designed for adults. But for those who want to completely clear their system of all foods that might be causing various symptoms (pain in joints, diarrhea, constipation, malaise, general feeling of not being well, hard time sleeping, feeling tired a lot even though you sleep, etc. etc), doing the Whole 30 might be of help.

I did it and lived to tell it. (it's hard to give up sugar and all that jazz.)

fiber can be gotten through lots of veges and fruits. whole foods. doesn't need to be bread and bagels. but of course, your kid needs to be willing to eat veges, fruits, lettuce, and other greens. Before reading the book I might have scofffed a bit, after I read it and did the Whole 30 and have since added foods back in, I can tell you I felt 100% better while on the Whole 30. When I put dairy or wheat back in, I get the bloat, the diarrhea (mine is still urgent as an adult, although I don't have encopresis) and I don't sleep as well.

And remember, sugars are in everything. including places where you wouldn't think they would be.... ketchup, some pickles, pasta sauces - unless you make it homemade -, ham, etc.

Anyway, it's nice to know food could be a culprit and therefore a solution to such a horrible problem.

[Anonymous]

I think it's hard to get a good clean-out with just the oral medicines. The enemas work pretty good, and I find the trick is to use a ton of vaseline on them. Unfortunately, if she's really constipated, she's probably got anal fissures, which makes the enema insertion really painful. That's what we found, at least. If you can find a day that she doesn't look red down there, it might be worth giving it another shot.
Also, I think that the doctors can do a good clean-out under anethesia, if need be. It might be useful for you to do a full "reset" and then go back to the oral medicines to keep her on track.
Good luck. I know it's awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would also read the book "It starts with food". It's not about this, not at all. And it's designed for adults. But for those who want to completely clear their system of all foods that might be causing various symptoms (pain in joints, diarrhea, constipation, malaise, general feeling of not being well, hard time sleeping, feeling tired a lot even though you sleep, etc. etc), doing the Whole 30 might be of help.

I did it and lived to tell it. (it's hard to give up sugar and all that jazz.)

fiber can be gotten through lots of veges and fruits. whole foods. doesn't need to be bread and bagels. but of course, your kid needs to be willing to eat veges, fruits, lettuce, and other greens. Before reading the book I might have scofffed a bit, after I read it and did the Whole 30 and have since added foods back in, I can tell you I felt 100% better while on the Whole 30. When I put dairy or wheat back in, I get the bloat, the diarrhea (mine is still urgent as an adult, although I don't have encopresis) and I don't sleep as well.

And remember, sugars are in everything. including places where you wouldn't think they would be.... ketchup, some pickles, pasta sauces - unless you make it homemade -, ham, etc.

Anyway, it's nice to know food could be a culprit and therefore a solution to such a horrible problem.

The Whole 30 is a diet fad. Please stay off this forum b/c SN kids are in a fragile place in life. Parents with SN kids don't need the fat that you don't know how to follow a proper diet influence what they do.

Kids and adults with celiac disease often have serious B vitamin deficiencies. If you suspect you have celiac, get your blood tested. People have been following the Mediterranean for thousands of years. You don't need to go on these ridiculous diet extremes. Please educate yourself on what a complex carbohydrate is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3684452/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried any dietary modifications yet? The two obvious things to try eliminating are dairy and gluten. If you haven't already, I would take both out of her diet for a minimum of 2 months and see if it makes any difference.

Please do not eliminate gluten and or dairy willy nilly. Yes, milk is a binder, so you can cut back on dairy but make sure they're getting other sources of calcium and Vitamin D. Also kids need fiber and gluten free diets are often lacking in fiber.

PP, encourage your kid to drink lots of water and have her sit on the toilet for 5-10 minutes after every meal to stimulate the elimination reflex.

Have you also explored the possible emotional causes of the constipation? Is your child anxious?

With all due respect, drinking water and sitting on the toilet for 5-10 minutes after meals is not going to cure an 8 year old of encopresis. This is good advice for an occasional reluctant pooper, but by the time an 8 year old is soiling herself regularly, you have gone way beyond the usefulness of this advice.

No one is going to die or become malnourished by eliminating dairy and gluten for a few months. There are plenty of other foods to replace those nutrients, including supplements if needed. If you choose a calcium supplement, make sure it also has magnesium since calcium alone can be constipating.