Encopresis

[Anonymous]

Anyone dealt with this? Any success stories? Any recommendations on experts to consult? MD? OT?

[Anonymous]

YES!!!!!! For a few years in fact. We put our daughter on a a heavy dose of myrolax (NOTHING ELSE WORKED). This is not a drug that you become addicted to. It's not really considered a drug but more of a natural thing. We were very good about giving it to her the same time twice a day to start and then when she started going we reduced down to 1 time. We had her sit on the potty twice a day at least to try and poop. My daughter is 7 and kind of mature and we explained to her what her body is doing and why it is happening. How old is your child? We set up signals for her to let us know when she notices somethng in her pants. She is now at the age where she takes care of everything herself. In school I have let the teachers and nurse know. She keeps extra clothes and knock on wood has only needed it once. She is on the mend. We saw a faboulous dr from children's who said we were on our way but it still takes A LONG time to correct the colon. Thi started when she was 2 . We have dealt with anxieties with public restrooms, using a friends toilet, the whole nine yards. I am happy to email you privately as well. Depending on the age of your child you may need to deal with self-esteem issues as well.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much!!!! We're preschool age so just beginning. At what age did you start the Miralax and at what age did you start to not have accidents?

[Anonymous]

Do you mean self-esteem issues because they led to the problem or self-esteem issues due to the problem?

[Anonymous]

yes, my daughter starting having this problem around 2- 21/2 and as she got older she refused to poop. We used pull ups and lots of incentives. when she was 3 we started metamucil crackers. They helped some but she was still having "accidents". We used benefiber but it was still happening. We then went through a period where she was okay and every now and then she would have accidents. When she was 5 they came again with more frequency and that is when we sought the help of different specialists. we were really worried for her self-esteem and her health. She was given a formal diagnosis which helped us all. we started the mirolax and we had work with the dosage a bit. She is now 7 and has had 1 "accident" at school this year. She is more aware of her body and is careful about watching herself but she is 7 and we still need to be proactive with her. She still sits twice a day on the potty but she is doing it more on her own. She is now feeling when she has to go more which tells us her colon is shrinking. She has told a couple of her close friends about it which helps her deal with the self-esteem. She still sees a gastro dr. Maturation has helped her. It's a long process and it was frustrating for us. The one thing that was hard to understand was that they can't feel the "accidents" and they don't even know they even had one. I did not realize they could not even smell it. Let me know if you have more ? Good luck!!