6 Year Old Is Constipated and Pooping Pants

my 6 year old, she has the same problem. we went to the top doctors in kansas city they all told me the same thing you are talking about. say it has been going on for 4 years it is going to take that long or so to get normal. they are afraid to go because it hurts. does he go and hide to poop? Keep using the medicine it will get him regular. My daughter takes a capful n half then i slowly take her to 1 capfull. if i miss a day then i give her an extra dose 1 in morning and 1 night.it does get better. my daughter is doing better, she does have some accidents.

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My son had this same issue. His started around the age of 4 and continued until just recently (he is now 7). He too was put on Miralax, and if it got too bad we had to give him a fleet or a stool softener. We too were at our wits end. He would come home from school smelling awful and didn't know he had an accident. There were times he was so constipated that he couldn't walk to the bathroom without hunching over. I don't really know what helped him, but it has been about 6 months and the problem has resolved itself. I would just recommend finding out more from your doctor. Maybe there is something else that will help or it could be a thing that will have to resolve itself. I know the frustration and I hope things work out for you. The ER Dr. told us if our son was constipated very badly it was best to start by administering something rectally (enema or Fleet) so the hard stuff would soften up and not hurt so bad to pass. After you have tried that, then give him Milk of Magnesia to help as well. He was also given the Miralax and some Baby lax. It is a powerful concoction and we were told to only give it to him when he hadn't gone for several days and was truly clogged up after about a week, we were told to then just give him his regular doses of Miralax for daily help.

I have 2 sons that have had lots of problems with the same issues!The miralax works but not if they are compacted.You need to clean him out and then figure out what dose works to keep him regular.And when you do DO NOT miss a dose.I missed because my son was having diarrea and he ended up in children's!Anyway the doc said you can cut the dose down but never miss,with him anyway.My oldest was pooping his pants at school even.They can't help it,if he is compacted the miralax will soften the poop that is behind it and therefore it will come out around the ball thats in there!We were very frustrated at our oldest son and didn't understand that.The one thing I found that got that ball out was an enema!No juice,laxative,anything has EVER cleaned my boys out!In fact when we arrived at children's (when my youngest wasn't even 2) he was so bad off he was throwing up and they could not clean him out in their ER after a few hours and had to admit him.Just a couple of days ago I thought we were going to have to make another trip and that's a road I NEVER want to travel again!And I was able to get him cleaned out with an enema.In the past it had worked on my older son but not my younger son so I guess it's a matter of not waiting too long.make a routine of sitting him on the toilet everyday at a certain time even if he says he doesn't have to go and make him sit for about 15 min.It teaches his body to get into a schedule.Also watch his routines,if he's not eating good he probably needs to poop,etc...maybe every night after dinner is a good time to sit on the toilet.Tell him when he's not pushing to relax,I think you are right it screws up the muscles,they need to retrain them!Also pay attention to his diet.Almost always it has something to do with food.If he had alot of dairy that week and you noticed he had more trouble than usual you might try cutting back on dairy for example.Please if you want to talk more message me!I'm sure there is alot I could mention that I'm not thinking of right now.

I would strongly recommend that you go right to the source, and make an appointment with a pediatric Gastroenterologist, someone who specializes with exactly what you are going through. From our personal experience, the pediatricians didn't necessarily give us bad advice, but it never fully resolved the issue for my son. It sounds as though your pediatrician is on the right track though. We finally ended up seeing a specialist (Dr. Kane) at Children's Mercy, but you could also ask your doctor for a referral. Hope this helps!

My son went through this once too. We were told to set him on the toilet for a set amount of time each day, trying to encourage it to happen. My son didn't want to take the time to stop and go, so we needed to make him sit long enough to get things to happen. They do loose that sensation, and leakage isn't their fault. We give our kids Metamucil apple cinnamon fiber cookies/wafers to get them extra fiber. It works, and they love it. My friend also puts nectar in their juice to make it easier. I was yelling at my son for leaking in his underwear, until the doctor explained it all to me, and that he couldn't help it at that point. It took a while, but it will work itself out.

My daughter is 4 yrs old, and does the same thing. We flushed her out with Miralax and Apple Juice. I am not sure what kind of milk he drinks, but our ped. told us to give her Soy or Lactaid. My daughter drinks Lactaid (she thinks it tastes better), and she is pooping in the potty. We dealt with this when she was 2 (with the constipation) we flushed her then and put her on Lactaid for about 6 months. Then she was doing fine so we put her on regular milk again, until 2 months ago when the constipation and pooping in her pants came back ! It is a frusterating process esp when they are older and in underwear !

Good Luck !

From someone who has a lot of experience with constipation (I wont go into details) it doesnt sound like constipation. I would get a second opinion!

I hope he is being accepted for who he is and not all
that 'woulda-coulda-shoulda-oughta' judgemental stuff. If thereis a good fiber enriched diet and nothing hereditary/medical then take him to the science center
and let him enjoy being a child-not a little man or his
father-just a precious unconditionally loved child.

For a unrelated laugh check out this 4 minute video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pqFVqlMX2o

My neice went through the same thing and she out grew it. They imagine the pain involved and try to hold it back for as long as possible. She was hospitalized for it when she was 5. She was I think 7 or 8 when it stopped.

I am having good results with my daughter on Reliv. Check out their website at Reliv.com on I can get you in touch with someone with personal experience with the problem and the results. They have children's formulas!

I don't have any real advice since my sister is the one who dealt with this. She's an RN and still had a difficult time with it. Both of her children dealt with this around the same ages. I thought it was stress related at first. But, then the second child did it too. HE was born with a club foot and a cousin had closed spina bifida. Since these are inherited, they said it was related. Bowel issues go along with spina bifida and its related conditions like club foot and other things. It may be good to know that if that is the case with your child. And, no it isn't a behavioral thing. Is he drinking enough? He may need to drink more than others. Just keep pressing the dr to help you with this. HTH a little.

I would try an all natural colon cleanse before you put him on a perscription. You can google colon cleanse and research it I can only tell you about the one i have used it is called colonix by Dr Natura he has one that is for children. The web site is DrNatura.com. Good luck

I haven't read the other posts, but could you try probiotics? In case you don't know, probiotics are the good, healthy bacteria in your gut that help with digestion and absorbing nutrients. You can get them in supplement form or Kefir (a yogurt drink) is a great source of them. It really helps my stomach feel more comfortable.

My little girl was put on a medication called sucrulose
( not sure on spelling) it was basically a natural stool softner that was non habit forming, the Dr described it as a simple sugar that the body didn't break down it just passed through. She was on this for a very long time before we no longer had any problems. For some children it becomes a "control" issue, for my little girl she had very hard, painful stools so she would "hold" them in because she was fearful of passing them. The hard stools would cause tears in that area called fissures. I know your son sounds like he has a slightly different problem but I would definitely ask if this medication could help in your sons case. I really felt good knowing I wasn't giving my daughter anything she would grow dependent on = )
Good luck!
B.