Not Evacuating Bowels

One of my daycare children is going through the same issue (age 5). The dr of her told us that after she is completely cleaned out it will take 4-6 weeks to shrink back down to a normal size for her nerves to reconnect. It has already been over a month and no change. She had an xray done and she was backed up into her rib cage! They started with enema's then the put her on a powder substance that they told her she should take 2x per day and would probably would need to be on it for years since she has hard stools. Poor girl..good luck!

it's encopresis - check out WebMD for more details and how to help. My nephew has this too and it drives my sister crazy trying to second guess when to make him sit in the bathroom or even when to go out for a day. He's had it since potty training and is now 6, been hospitalised to help clear everything out etc but so far is not" cured". Make sure the school and teacher are aware of the situation as they may be able to help prompt bathroom visits during the day. I think you have a long process ahead of you - good luck...

Hi N.

My daughter had that problem when she was 6/7. I took her to the doctor for other issues (poor concentration, eczema, belly aches) and found - through food testing - that she was HIGHLY sensitive to wheat, dairy and egg. it blew me away because that was her entire diet , which makes sense why she was so sensitive. Anyhow, we went on a complete wheat/dairy/egg free diet (I did it with her because it was a lot to ask of her/it was not easy!) and although it did not completely help her concentration...her eczema and belly aches disappeared. It wasn't until someone on mamasource mentioned "accidents in underwear" one day that I remembered she used to have it every day...but was now gone!! Her old diet was causing those accidents/sneaking up on her too fast. Food sensitivities (not necessarily allergies) can cause SO many problems! We were able to get her back on all of those favorite foods after about 5-6 full months by SLOWLY introducing each food one at a time. Just recently she is starting to have a belly ache here and there again, so I should get her to lay off those foods for a bit since problems arise when the body is overloaded.
Just something to think about....because a conventional doctor would most likely never think about that food/diet related possibility. You would have to go to a holistic type doctor who does the food sensitivity testing. And by the way, they tested her blood against 115 foods, so it was very thorough and every persons profile of sensitivity is unique.

PS-I decided to remain wheat free because I feel so much healthier overall (never knew I wasn't feeling as great as I could be before the diet), and a lot of leg pain issues have disappeared and my face/complexion is more clear (although I do have the occasional piece of warm bread or pasta when i am out with friends ;)

something is wrong and milk of mag isn't going to sure it. I would find an integrated medicine facility and go over her diet. the body usually knows what to do and what goes in comes out... I would concentrate on her diet. I can refer you to a great integrated medicine place with a great doctor PHD iin nutrition if you want... fruits and veggies are probably the answer, not medicine to cover up the symptom. her body is telling her something. good luck. P.

I would instead purchase an intestinal cleanse rather than milk of magnesia. Magesium is tricky as it can sometimes have, let's just say, an 'explosive' result rather than normal bowels. Before you're ready to go, in other words, it comes out as the runs. I wouldn't do that to a kid's dignity and self esteem.
Realize tho also that the intestinal, bladder, and brain are all connected. All the nerves work for the common good. I've been dealing with incontinence for too long, myself, and getting the bladder area massaged, and having my neck and head worked on yesterday (and it was the most wonderful feeling) I have noticed results. Sometimes there just isn't enough connection between the intestines/bladder and the brain. Can't contract the muscles. Look into Healing in Motion, in Ann Arbor. Great place!

HI N.,

I'm not a doctor but I lived this life as a child and I'm completely healthy now. Nutrition is the key to healthy bowels and healthy bowels are a must for a healthy life. This solution may help but if diet does not change then it will come back. I was told my condition was a precursor of cancer. I now know why. It's because they were simply treating symptoms and not preventing the problem. Probiotics are great but they won't fix everything. Please get back to me and I can give you specifics. I would love to help!

God bless,

M.

N., You ask a great question. Preventing this from continuing means intentionally bringing health and strength to the bowel. And you are right on that the milk of magnesia is only a temporary solution. I help Mom's have the information they want to build healthy digestive systems for their kids...and have you ever heard that a lot of the immune protection is in the large bowel? So you are right to get this turned around. You are welcome to a couple of CDs I have that cover this situation.

warmly,
M.

My SIL's daughter had this. They had her on meds to make sure she would empty her bowels too. Once your bowels are stretched out in the wrong places it takes a very long time to get them back to where they should be. I think they started her on it when she was 5 and she is now 10 and finally free.
I would be hopeful that it will only take a week, but where it has been happening for so long, It might take longer, So be proactive, and patient. Eventually her body will heal, just don't be surprised if it takes a while.
Good luck
E.

It sounds like your dauther has encopresis - the resistance to pooping, basically.

What happens is that they tighten the anal sphinchter to prevent going to the bathroom, the liquid eventually leaks out, and the stool remaining is hard to pass making the situation worse.

We have this problem with our 22 month old following a bout of constipation. We have to retrain her to go to the bathroom. Our pediatrician has us giving her Miralax every day for 8 weeks, and then we'll re-evaluate how effective it has been.

When I was going through chemo, the meds made me horribly constipated, too, and I had to take senna every day to help me be less miserable. I'm really surprised your pediatrician didn't recommend Miralax - it is the laxative of choice from the standpoint of most pediatricians/family practitioners I've know professinally the past 10 years.

It might be worth a call to the pediatrician to see if they do recommend Miralax, fiber supplements, senna to help get her system moving more regularly again.

I don't have any experience with this but have heard of one child who was so incredibly backed up all the time that s/he gave off a very bad odor.

I've heard that by sitting on the toilet for an extended time at the same time every day, even when you don't have the urge, the body can be trained to go at regular times. Maybe try this a couple of times a day and also keep sitting after evacuation to see if an additional evacuation can occur. Might help.

Good luck with this.

We went through this with my now 4 year old. We had to use glycerin suppositories for a week to clean her out, along with Miralax daily for a few weeks. She would do really well for a while, but every so often she would start 'going' in her underwear again and not 'being able to go' on the toliet and at that point we would 'make' her sit and try to go. We would start the Miralax again to make sure she could go (that she wasn't too backed up) and would threaten the suppositories. Since she hated them, the threat was enough and she would go.

HTH
J.