Stool Withholding Diet

My boys love "big raisins" (aka prunes). Just a couple of them and NO MORE. They taste good and soften and move the stool.

If you give him a ton of fiber, you can CREATE constipation, as the intestines fill up with indigestible fiber, they stretch. Particularly the rectum behind the anus, creating poops bigger than the anus. And the fiber doesn't absorb water, so they become dry & hard.

The BEST WITHHOLDING diet is a mostly liquid one. Push fluids, so that his body isn't pulling water from his poop (making them hard and dry). In fact, the way lacitives work is pretty much by shutting off the water-withdrawal system from poop. So the body just pushes the waste along without taking out all the water we're drinking. Its a bit of an oversimplification, but that's basically the mode of action.

Fiber is great for maintaining rhythm in an okay digestive system, but its bad news for withholders.

Doctors will often prescribe high fiber diets to this on lacitives so its not just pure acid diarrhea, and to get the body used to cycling through, but I can't emphasize enough that if he's withholding, adding a ton of fiber will make it worse.

With KIDS,

- their bodies usually TRY to hold on as long as possible (to extract every last bit of nutrition for growth). This also means they withdraw more liquid.

- Their bodies aren't used to pooping sitting down. They still squat (which is what we're designed to do). Try it. Next time you need to poop STAND. You can poop standing, but it will hurt. Because your muscles aren't strong in that direction and the poop will be pushing on part of your anus that you're not used to. (Conversely, squatting will be easier for you than sitting). Also, there will be a HUGE "don't do it!" Psych component because you aren't sitting where you usually do (ditto wetting your pants... Its reeeeally hard to pee your pants. In fact, its a torture methodology. Getting a person to break toilet training causes TONS of stress. Kids only have 2-4 years of diaper training, but the response is pretty identical. Most freak.). I just bring these things up, because grownups often get down on kids, when if you asked them to do the same thing, they'd have an equally difficult thing.

.... If you have him squat ON the toilet (feet standing on seat, then squatting, holding onto you for balance), you can get him used to the place, and then he'll gradually start sitting more than squatting.

- Boys don't lubricate their anuses by peeing on them before pooling like girls do. Try putting a smidge of Vaseline on his anus to help slide things along without hurting.

Only use Fleets brand ped laxative or a vegtable based lax. Rasins, purnes, etc are good too. NEVER use Miralax!! It is a man made chemical that is a base component for antifreeze!!

Just buy a bottle of magnesium sulfate. It costs about a dollar. For a young child, half a shot glass is enough to produce a bowel movement.

My daughter suffers SEVERE CHRONIC constipation, is on Mirilax every day, still has problems...but if she has more than five days without doing, I give her a shot of the mag. sulf. and she goes within an hour. In huge amounts.

I will warn you that it tastes like Sweet Tarts times 100, and it's very hard to mask the flavor. I put just literally about half an ounce in a 10 oz. cup of water and douse with MiO, and it's still super sour.

Prunes are another good option, if you can get him to eat them. Yummy! I love prunes. If not, you can make a tea out of them by boiling a bunch down in a pot with a stick of cinnamon and a bit of sugar, and have him drink it. Super yummy.

You REALLY need to stop and think about what you are doing. This sounds like toilet training boot camp. That's not appropriate when toilet training a child.

Please call your ped and tell him or her what you are planning on doing, specificially about the ex-lax. He or she may very well tell you that you could hurt your child by doing this.

Your child does not sound ready for this. Why are you pushing him? You can cause all kinds of problems with this. Please have a talk with your ped - be HONEST with him and listen to what he says about trying to force a child to toilet.

Dawn

My daughter did this for a year. She was pee pee trained and never messed her panties but would hold out for a diaper when she had to poo poo. It is a fear of sorts and she is quite shy about her poo poo. My husband spent two days with her in one room full of books a television and fun :) (Our room...haha) and just let her wait it out. He made it quite private when she would sit on her potty and it happened! It was an amazing moment for her! Quite liberating and all done!!!

Give your son time to be "ok" with the poo poo. Please check with your pediatrician about laxatives...they are not looked upon highly for adults so I would say to never give them to a little person....they do have baby enimas but once again, only when you talk to you predicatrician.

Best of luck to you....

~J.

Ex-lax is NOT good for kids, there are laxatives specifically made for children such as by Pedia-Lax.

Fiber One bars worked for my guy, he couldn't eat one without having to poop that day. And I just found out today they now make them for kids, though he loves the regular ones. Make sure as you increase fiber you also increase water intake, that's what helps move the fiber through his system, you want to avoid constipation or he'll really try to hold it and you'll have a major problem. Also make sure he gets lots of exercise, running, jumping, etc., to keep things moving. And check out this site for potty training refusers, it's what helped me motivate my guy to stop holding and go on the potty:

http://www.rogerknapp.com/medical/pottytrainingrefusals.htm

Small children should NOT be taking ex lax! And if you give too many foods that aid BM's your child will surely mess himself.

Try offering rewards, playing with a toy or reading a book while sitting on the potty. I found with my own experience that the more I pushed the issue the worse it got. It will turn into a control issue and that can cause you son future bowel problems.

No ex-lax! Check with your pedi about Benefiber or Mirelax if he is constipated.