Topic : 07/11 What’s Up, Doc?

Thank you Dr.Phil for doing a portion of your show on Encopresis, I have a son who also has this disorder. He is the most kind and loving child that I know, and he could never understand why people would not want to be around him. It has been very hard to deal with, I was glad to hear that his BM accidents where a medical reason and not him being lazy. He has accidents even today, but nothing like before we found out that he had encopresis.

I also what to say to some of the people that this has nothing to do with the fact that parents are lazy and not potty training there kids. I use to yell and scream at him and never could understand why he alway would poop his pants. I would love to see more shows on this. I think people need to understand that this is something that does happen and that the kids are just as stressed as the parents. My son could never understand why he could go pee in the toilet, but never could poop in the toilet. I felt very guilty when I found out that this was a medical disorder and could not say sorry to him enough.

I love my son very much and I would love for him to see he is not alone. That there are other kids out there just like him. I could totaly relate to what the parents where going through, but we never let encopresis stop us from going places, we discussed this with friends and family and they all have been the best support that I could ask for. The fact that I did discuss this with a friend she was able to help another parent who is going through this with her son.

Thank you again

So by your own admission, are you one of those that "... not only enjoy the feeling smell and sensation but also find it erotic and pleasurable?"

Explain to me sir how a 9 year old or a 15 year old know what "erotic" means.  You were the one that brought sexual innuendo into the conversation. 

My son is 4 years old and has had pooping issues since day 1.  We got it under control by using the formula his pediatrician recommended.  I would say ever since we started potty training, his problems with pooping have returned.  We have to give him enemas in order to get him to poop.  Once he poops his underwear remains clean for the next few days.  Its when we get to day 4 or 5 that he starts to soil his underwear. 

Its very frustrating and whether your child poops or not consumes your life.  I tend to keep track of his bowel movements on my calendar so that too many days don't pass without him passing a solid poop.

I understand everyones critical comments because until I saw this episode I was as disgusted, annoyed and embarrassed by our personal situation as well.  I really didnt know what was wrong with him.  I knew he had a very painful poop when we started the potty training process and since then he cries that he doesnt want to poop because it hurts too much, but that was it.  If you are not experiencing this situation then you can't fully comprehend it. 

Now that I know my son may have this condition, I am going to contact his pediatrition and come up with a game plan.  Up until now, we have tried, prescription stimulants, beneful powders, mineral oil and enemas.  I really do believe this is his problem and hopefully we will be able to resolve this sooner than later.  I do not want my son's life to be like the family on Dr. Phil's show. 

THANK YOU Dr. Phil for bringing this to the attention of parents like myself.

I am glad you caught the unprofessionalism of the doctor that said she didn't agree with the parents who are stunting the child's growth and development.  I think the OB said she would carry her son on her back over a mountain....what an insult parents who are dealing with this same problem.  Unless she has cared for a child with a severe disability and knows how physically and emotionally difficult it is on the entire family, she should not pass judgement on those parents.  I challenge that doctor or anyone else who is questioning the parents over this medical issue to trade places with them for just a week to see how difficult it is caring for that child.  I have an 8 year old daughter who has a rare chromosome abnormality.  She too is over 60 pounds and is unable to walk and needs maximum assistance with everything.  She has very low muscle tone and has always been in the 95% in height and weight.  I have thought about talking to her doctors about using some type of medicine to slow down her growth.  It seems to be socially acceptable for parents and doctors to 'play God' and give their children growth hormones to help them grow taller if the child's growth is stunted naturally.

I was sorry to see that you and your wife got trashed because you had the courage to come foward with a very challenging and embarassing issue with your boys.  Since I've taken in my niece's three small children over three years ago, I found the critics and the judges coming at me from all angles and this only makes my situation with raising these kids more of a challenge.  Not one of them is living in my shoes but that doesn't stop them from telling me I'm not parenting these kids right or there is something wrong with me.  Dr. Phil didn't really give you the time to portray your whole story, so what the viewers got was just pin hole view of your situation.  I think it left many of us wondering why the boys were not being more pro-active in their own treatment.  Yes, they seem to know they had a problem, but what were they doing to work through it?  My own birth kids started doing their own laundry by the time they were 9 (my son earlier because he was a bed wetter and we felt that he needed to learn to care for his own mess).  My seven year old adopted son wore a pull-up untill he was circumcised two months ago.  He was responcible for changing his pull-up in the morning and cleaning up the wet area.  He didn't always comply, but I still expected this of him and monitored him.  My youngest adopted son had this same issue with bowel control and I was sucessful in getting him to be more pro-active  in age appropriate ways and although I still have to monitor him, we seem to have nipped this issue before it got out of hand.  Maybe if your boys handled their own laundry and were put on a strict bathroom schedule--sign-in/sign-out policy and a check before the flush from a parent--keeping a written account of activity, they might have a better chance of getting control (I find that keeping wipies next to all the toilets works better for cleaning bottoms).  If they are not already cleaning up any messes they leave, they should be--even if you have to go back over them--I make my 7 and 4 years old boys wipe the toilet seat when they pee all over it (then I reclean it!).  I always expect my three to use the bathroom before we go anywhere--I feel silly saying "go potty before you get in the car" everytime before we head out the door, but it pays off.  Maybe it would help to better educate them on how their bodies work--if this hasn't already been done.  My little one has come a long way in a short amount of time. My son gets his "pooping" pills every day (fiber tablets) and now he reminds me if I forget to put them out.  Sometimes I use a small handful of cashues, when he becomes a litle irregular.  I found that the laxatives the doctor suggested seem to make things worse.  I find the diet plays a big role and I don't give him a lot of milk or cheese (which he does love).  Your boys may not metabolize some foods properly and if you haven't sat down with a nuitritionalist yet, that may be of great benefit to them.  We do very little TV and no video games in our house and lots of active play every day--I think this helps too.  All three kids drink water with at least one of their meals every day and I encourage water throughout the day.  These are only meant to be sugestions and not critisms.  I do wish you all the best.  Keep me posted on their progess

Been there