Topic : 07/11 What’s Up, Doc?

I think that most of the rude comments were posted before the show aired.  Maybe if you read some more experiences of those who've been there (or still are), maybe you can at least find some empathy and emotional support if not some advice that might help.  Hopefully, your discussions with your doctors are moving you in the right direction.  Unfortunately, I'm finding my son's doctors not all that understanding or helpful at times.  Maybe we've approached this TOO much from the psychological/emotional angle and need to deal with the physical/medial side more.  We have been having some success with Miralax, though my husband was quite resistant since his research said that it was not meant for pediatric use.  Had no luck with lactulose some years ago.  All in all, the only hope is to get them cleaned out and keep them that way and let that normal bowel shape come back, no matter how long that takes (and some will tell you that long-term laxative use will result in dependency, but that doesn't seem to apply here.  Anyway, my daughter had leukemia and I was instructed to give her a tablespoon of MOM every day -- I did this for 3 or 4 years -- because her chemo would cause constipation and someone with low platelet counts can't afford to have hard stools -- and she suffered no ill effects from this and is now a happy, healthy 16 year old, thank goodness.)

Much luck to you in the incredible journey of raising children!

Did people not listen to the show? The problem is not that those poor boys weren't potty trained encoprisis is a health problem. My son is 7 years old and I figured out on my own when he was about 4 that he had a problem going poop. I had taken him to the pedeatrician several times for this problem and no one ever mentioned encoprisis until a friends mom mentioned to me that it is a common problem, especially for boys, that not many people know about or are educated about. Thank goodness I caught this early and was able to get it under control and help fix the problem. My point is....don't be rude and ignorant. Not once did anyone on the show say that the parents were neglecting their children or that the boys didn't care about their problem. They were obviously very embarrassed about the problem. It's very humiliating, especially when you don't know why it happens and how to fix it. It's also humiliating for the parent. Thank you Dr.Phil for trying to educate people on this very embarrasing health issue

My son is 10 and still has not pooped on the potty!  He is getting better about knowing when he has to go -- usually he has to be reminded that he needs to try.  If it's been a few days (sometimes he only goes twice a week, which is part of the original problem), telling him that we will give him a suppository unless he goes is usually enough motivation for him to get it out of him.

In any case, my opinion is that there is some chance that your daughter's refusal to poop in the toilet my be partly psychological.  I would think that she would be old enough for a psychological evaluation.  You might think of asking for a referral from her pediatrician.  She may have some very real fears and anxieties regarding the toilet that you need to work through.  I think that sometimes they get so used to having the assistance of gravity while standing to poop in a pull-up that they just don't have the urge once they sit on the toilet (I think it's both a physical matter of changing position and of not being relaxed enough due to the anxiety).  It was due to the toileting issues we were having with our son that we got a referral and a diagnosis for him at age 6 1/2 -- then the floodgates of assistance from various sources opened up.

I might be unpopular for saying this, but I'd go ahead and let her poop however she wants (in the pull-up) rather than let her go five days without a BM -- enough of that will really lead you to the problem of encopresis, and she'll get very backed up and probably need to get completely cleaned out before you can solve that problem, so better not to head in that direction in the first place. That is, for now -- keep her pooping regularly while still easing her away from doing it the pull-up and toward doing it in the potty.  I feel for you, as that is the point where we are now with a 10 year old.

Good luck to you!

The holding it (at school or when they're too involved in other things, like playing) is part of the CAUSE of the disorder.  All of that old backed-up poop gets hard in there, and the newer, softer stuff comes down the pike, so to speak, and sneaks around it without their knowledge (OR control) and seeps out.  So, it seems kind of like diarrhea when it's really severe constipation.  Part of what you say makes sense -- some parents of kids with the condition have had some success with getting them back on track with sitting on the toilet at regular intervals and pushing.  I'll agree that they can also be part of the clean-up efforts.  The show didn't state specifically that these two weren't, though I think that forcing them to do it as a "shaming" thing would be counterproductive -- fixing it and preventing it from recurring is the real solution.  Helping them to clean up until they can do it on their own would be productive if not done as a guilt thing -- I'm sure they're already feeling guilty enough.  And the situation with the nine year old leaking some poop onto the kitchen floor -- he probably wasn't even aware that he'd done it!  In any case, how much would you rely on a nine year old to do a really good job of cleaning up?  With mine, I would have to make sure he did a really good job of cleaning his hands after he was done and probably have to finish up the clean-up to make sure that it was up to my standards (then, that is MY own germophobia issue, which we should probably discuss on a message board about OCD instead!).  Sure, it's a learning process.

YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THIS YOU COULD REPLY BEFORE YOU SAW THE SHOW!!!!!!

ITS GOOD TO SEE YOU CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT A WOMAN NEEDS TO MAKE SURE SHE DOES NOT HAVE EXTRA SKIN IN HER BELLY (NOT THAT I DON'T FEEL FOR HER) BUT YOU HAVE NO COMPASSION FOR CHILDREN YOU CALL GROWN BOYS I WAS NOT INFORMED AS YOU SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THAT 9 YEARS OLD IS NOW GROWN. I CAN SEE YOU HAVE YOUR HEAD ON STRAIGHT. I JUST HOPE MY SON DOES NOT COME ACROSS YOUR DAUGHTER EITHER. JUST IN CASE SHE HAS YOUR BIG HEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!