FAQ • Encopresis

FAQ - Encopresis
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I have a meeting with the school principal tomorrow at 1PM. What are my rights? Read details....?

My son is under treatment for Encopresis & I called the school to ask about Home Bound. They told me that Home Bound was generally for kids who were so sick they could not leave the house. But I've heard from others that kids w/ Encopresis have been approved for Home Bound. (Encopresis is a condition where the bowels are so stretched out that he has bowel movements in his pants up to several times a day) I know they are going to try to convince me to send my son to school w/ this condition because the principal already told me he'd be willing (or the counselor or nurse) to change my sons pants. I do not want to put my son through this! I'm also considering Home Schooling for one more year until he's "cured." What are my rights or any other options available? They told me I will be meeting w/ the principal, school psychiatrist, person in charge of Home Bound and one other person, but I can't remember who.. I feel very intimidated to talk w/ this many people.
BTW, bringing my husband would not be much help either because he is not totally supportive of my decision, but is allowing me to do this.

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I am only slightly familiar with Encopresis, but I think I understand that a major contributing factor to the condition is difficulty with chronic constipation and the subsequent involuntary leaking of loose stool around an impaction. While this condition does have serious implications for possible embarrassment, it is not a critical condition requiring home-bound confinement. You do not have much time to prepare for the meeting, but I suggest that you contact the physician who is monitoring the treatment of your son. He/she will be able to give you accurate information useful in presenting your petition to have your son accepted into the Home Bound program. Additionally, if part of your son's treatment involves meeting with a therapist, speak with him/her to get their advise about this situation. Because the Home Bound Program is very expensive, there must be strict guidelines as to who is eligible for the program so there aren't abuses to the program. You need to be prepared that your son may not meet the criteria for acceptance. It would be helpful to ask your son what his opinion is. We always want what is best for our kids and sometimes we forget that our kids have thoughts on things, especially those that affect them directly. Children have gone to school successfully while dealing with Encopresis. Regardless if a child is dealing with this condition or not, the best way to have a positive school experience is for parents, teachers, staff, and administration to work together as a team to do what is best for the student. Maybe spend some time thinking about your motivation for wanting him not to attend school on a daily basis. Write down the pros and cons. Sometimes it helps to see it written down and can clarify your thoughts. Write down what is important to you for your son. Take those written thoughts to your meeting. While it is natural to want to do all we can to avoid putting our children in possibly embarrassing situations, the truth is, embarrassing things do happen no matter how hard we try. It may be empowering for him and in turn helpful in his treatment of Encopresis, for him to attend school with the help of concerned teachers, staff, and administration. When he has an episode of leakage, he knows there are people who will help him. It has been my experience that fellow students, if made aware that a child may have some special needs sometimes, are extremely compassionate and caring. In the end, you must decide what you feel is best for your son. If he is not eligible for Home Bound and you are admanat against him going to public school then homeschooling may very well be your best option. But, don't rule out a daily school experience especially if your son is willing and so is the school. It is understandable that you would feel intimidated meeting with so many people, I am pretty sure I would be as well. Try to remember that you are meeting to decide what is best for your son and that you are all on the same team and not enemies. (+ info)

I need help in convincing my mother-in-law AND my husband about my decision w/ my 6yr old son!!!?

Without going into detail (it's very detailed!) my son has a medical condition called encopresis, which causes him some days to poop his pants several times a day! Some days so much that he literally has to crawl to the bathroom to be washed off in the tub! So, I've decided to home school and home bound him until he's cured. They both insist that....
A) My husband pooped his pants once in a while & she sent him to school & he is fine!
B) Putting him in school later will be hard on him to adjust
C) He's not getting the socialization he deserves! (Although he is in different groups)
D) All kids get teased in school, it's just part of life!

I just don't see how he could concentrate with worrying about when he will have to "go" or how he smells or leaving the classroom so many times to change his pants! Also he is very shy & I could not see him having the courage to ask the teacher to go to the bathroom & then have the courage to walk stiff or bow legged all the way to bathroom?
I am getting treatment for my son but it is detailed and takes several months if not longer since we have had no success yet?

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Your MIL needs to mind her own business. This is between you your husband and your son. If you feel it would be best to home school and you have the means of doing so, then do it. You cna compromise with your husband and let him know you are willing to assess the need each summer. (+ info)

why does my 7 year old stepson defecate on himself?

My stepson just turned 7. Very bright and normal child thats been potty trained for some time now. For some reason he always defecates on himself, and it's getting really aggravating. What can be the problem? The doctors have checked him out via various tests and everything..and still no luck!

Any certain medications out there? I've already done some research on various foods, fruits, vegetables, fiber kids need to eat to solve this problem but still no luck.. is he too lazy to use the bathroom?? does too much candy, or too much of anything cause this problem??
Can he have "encopresis".. constipation??
This sucks because his mom always ends up screaming at him, which causes the child to feel even worse about himself.

Please advise.

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It sounds like encopresis. You need to get him started right away on a schedule of laxatives and trips to the bathroom every hour until he goes every day. Doctors will try to tell you to use mineral oil but I challenge you to put some on a teaspoon and ask yourself if you would want to swallow that. For my son I gave fiber pills at like 5x the recommended dosage and had him sit on the toilet every hour.

He should also be drinking lots of water and cutting down on candy and cheese and other things that will block him up.

If he has megacolon it might take up to a year of this daily routine and he should learn to clean himself up and have a change of clothes at school. Get with the school nurse and make sure he can have private bathroom space to clean up.

Also coordinate with his mother to make sure the routine continues at her house.

Good luck! It's not easy but it does get better. (+ info)

Quality of Life With Several Diagnosed Chronic Illnesses?

I am 48yrs.old. I have been diagnosed with several chronic disease and illnesses. Chronic Fibromyalgia, Chronic Ulcerative Colitis,Chronic Costal Chondritis. Borderline myleo megoblastic leukemia. Both my knees need replacing. Shoulders need calcium deposits removed. I fractured my L/ankle 1 1/2 yrs ago was never fixed right. Walk with crutches or cane. Chronic this and that. Depression/Manic. I take meds and therapy.
My mother is 73 tomorrow and the boys in the family expect me to do all of her care taking. No sisters nor many other living relatives. Just recently found out I have small brain tumour. I'm tired from all my meds and ready to give up. I'm not a whiner but I'm overwhwlmed. Now mom wants me to buy a car to take her places. I just feel no one cares what I need or want. Also, help take care of an 11 yr. old nephew with encopresis. My question is can anyone help me see light at the end of the tunnel or tell me please a fast and easy way to turn the lights off for good?
Also have COPD and first stage emphesyma.
No there's no one there for the child. My brother's say I'm just whiney and because I don't have to work or raise a family and I am the daughter it's my job to take care of these things. Thanks to the 1st person that answered. Tried to send you a thanks but it didn't go through.

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These two statements that you wrote are very telling and are the answer to your question:
You wrote:
"I'm overwhwlmed."
And you wrote:
" I just feel no one cares what I need or want."

First, there is good reason to feel overwhelmed, and there is nothing wrong with being overwhelmed-- it is how you cope with being overwhelmed that makes it either negative or positive. The key is communication. Please keep reading, and it will explain itself.
You feel as though nobody cares what you need or want. Listen, you are not Superman-- your needs and wants DO count for something. What is important though is this:
You have allowed yourself to take on more than you can manage successfully. You need to start expressing the need for help, and distribute the care of others around a little bit. I know, not an easy task to do, especially when you start receiving guilt trips from others, or get told that there is nobody else to help. But you must do this for yourself.

Set priorities:
Your own health should be your top priority. You seem like you are a person with a very generous heart, and are always trying to help others, and putting your own needs aside. With health conditions as you described, you need to risk hurting other's feelings and setting boundaries. YOUR health is in decline, and it is impossible to help others when you become unable to help yourself. Your rest and care for yourself needs to be your focus. Get yourself healthy and then you will be more able to help others.

But to do this, you must communicate how you feel to those around you. It is very easy, actually-- repeat over and over to yourself "No!", "No!", "No!". Once you are able to say no convincingly (since I believe NO is a word you are not accustomed to saying), then when someone says that you need to do this or that, you will be better able to say "No. That is not going to be possible." Now, when you say that to someone, do not end there. Suggest that you and this other person brainstorm together to come up with a solution that enables you to focus on your own health issues. So it is important to not just say NO, but also to help come up with another solution to the situation.

There really IS light at the end of the tunnel. But you have to make the commitment to yourself to make that possible. You should make resting and dealing with your own illnesses your top priority. If others do not fit in at this time with that, then other solutions for their problems need to be figured out. Go to the library, grab a good book, and take a little time to read and rest. The more stress you are under, the faster the other illnesses are going to set in, because our bodies and our minds both need time to rejuvinate themselves.

But the fact remains-- you have to start setting boundaries, and start allowing yourself to focus on you as your top priority.

My heart goes out to you, as you seem like a very strong person (and probably strong willed also), so you must start saying no, otherwise your own physical and mental health are going to start declining rapidly.

Do not give up, however-- at 48 years old, even with illnesses, you have ALOT of life yet to live, and it would be a real shame to not live it to the fullest. You have alot to contribute to this world-- but first you yourself have to get better.

Good luck, and hang on. Things WILL get better. And please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you ever need to just get things off of your chest, and get some feedback. (+ info)

Polyethylene Glycol for children?

My 5 year old son went to a pediatric gastronologist last week and was diagnoised with encopresis. The doctor put him on Polyethylene Glycol for his constipation. He is taking 17 grams daily. After taking my son to our family doctor for an unrelated problem, he showed concern about putting a child on this particular medication. Should I get a second opinion or is my family doctor just being overly cautious?

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I believe that this is the same as mira lax a popular over the counter laxative.This adds moisture to the bowls and keeps them lubricated.I don't believe it is harmful even with children (+ info)

can u be sent to mental assylum without ur permission if not then when? askin 4 generl knowledge?

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Yes you can if you're a danger to yourself or others.
What happened - did your medical dictionary have all the pages ripped out after it had got to the letter "E" != (+ info)

Read description below HUGGGEE PROOBBLEMMM!!!!!?

SO i have encopresis and some of my stool come out without me knowing it. It really smells and i have to go to school. Does anyone know any types of clothing which will block the smell out untill i get better? Will under armour work? Any suggestions.

Also, i am a 16 year old male.

PLEASE HELP

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I have an idea! Change! There, all you go. You could have just changed in the amount of time it took you to post this question. Have fun in school. (+ info)

WHY is my daughter is still soiling herself at 7?

My daughter will be 7 next month and is still soiling herself.
When she was 4 I thought it could be encopresis and did my research, kept diaries, saw consultants (who first told me to try regular toilet times, drinking pure juices) then about a year later another consultant prescribed Movicol, tried that, made it worse, completely uncontrolable, even with one sachet. Another year on the prescribed Movicol again, this time it did nothing what so ever, she just soiled herself as usual.
We're tried star charts, rewards, presents, days out, taking her favourite toys away, making her clean herself up, sending her to bed, not letting her out to play, no sweets, no TV, no DS.........the list is endless.
She is quite happy to sit/play in dirty clothes (the other day it was all up her back, up her front, down her legs and she didn't care), and if she needs a wee, she's go to the toilet completely ignoring the fact that she has soiled herself.
She is not constipated, she goes once a day, it's nice and soft (Number 4 on Bristol Stool chart) and it doesn't hurt when she goes.
When she does go on the toilet, I make a HUGE fuss, give her treats and extra long cuddles which she likes.
She has admitted to not going when she needs to, but why won't she just go?
Last week she was at my sisters all day whilst I was at work. I sent her each day in a skirt with no underwear on. She was clean all day and went to the toilet whenever she needed to go, cleaned herself and carried on playing. Today she had dance practice so obviously she had to wear underwear. When she got home she had a small mark in her underwear (indicating she didn't go straight away when she needed to go). The after she'd played outside for a while and had dinner I caught a smell of something..........she'd completely filled her undewear and it smelt like a farm - seriously. So I cleaned her up and sent her to bed.
One particular time I was sitting at the dinner table (writing) whilst she was colouring next to me and I smelt something. She was only stood there pooing and colouring at the same time.
She is a happy girl, has plenty of exercise (tap dancing, ballet, stagecraft, gymnastics, disco dancing, swimming) she loves PE at school, has LOADS of friends at school. She eats a very healthy diet, and drinks a lot squash/water.
Her little brother was clean and dry day and night at 2 yrs 4 months. Now 3, he has now begun to notice and comes up to me telling me that he can smell her.
One of my daughter's friends who we see outside of school always tells me that she thinks my daughter has soiled herself (and she's always right)
I'm worried that she'll have no friends before long as eveyone will notice she smells and what she does.

I get so frustrated 4 days being clean then as soon as she wears underwear she soils......she thinnks it's a nappy i'm sure. I've threatened nappies but it didn't work.

I've run out of ideas! Help!

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Dear Lisa,

My heart goes out to you, this is a terrible situation to have been dealing with for the last three years.

To try to look at this from your daughter's point of view, it seems that she has been soiling herself for so long now that it has become habitual for her. When she feels the need to poo it is as natural for her to do it in her pants as it is to do it in the toilet. She is so used to pooing her pants that she doesn't mind doing it standing right next to you. Being in dirty pants is now normal to her so she isn't bothered about playing or sitting in them. She's even happy to pull dirty pants back up on her body after going to the toilet for a wee.

She seems to see pooing her pants as an acceptable alternative to going to the toilet and I think it is going to be hard to break this belief. You seem to have tried a lot of things already that haven't worked, but here are just a few ideas:

- If she doesn't already know, point out to her that her brother and friend can tell when she has pooed her pants and that, if she continues, other people are likely to do so.

- Consider taking her to a public place, such as a local park, while she is still soiled so she has to experience the reaction of other people, including other children, around her. It may not bother her, but it could be worth a try.

- Make her responsible for cleaning herself up after she soils as well as cleaning up her pants and the bathroom. Make it clear that this will be a permanent arrangement until she uses the toilet properly.

- Tell her that if she come home from an activity, such as tap dancing or ballet, in dirty pants then she cannot do that activity the following week.

To look on the bright side you have a happy daughter with lots of friends, and that's something to be grateful for. Try not to let your love for her be affected by what she does in her pants - remember she will only by 7 once so make sure you enjoy your time with her.

My very best wishes to you both. (+ info)

How do I turn back the clock and take back how I chose to handle this?

Last night I found my 6 1/2 year old standing in the bathroom with her head in her hands, sobbing. I asked her what was wrong, and she replied...Nobody likes me...I asked why she felt that way...she replied...because everyone thinks I'm digusting...

I instantly began crying myself, took her into my arms and just held her. I explained to her she was not disgusting and that I loved her VERY much. I fear, the damage has already been done.

She was standing in the bathroom because she had had another accident in her pants and was cleaning up. About 2 months ago was diagnosed with a medical condition called Encopresis. Which basically means, she is way past toilet training age, and still has bowels in her pants. they are complete accidents, and most of the time she doesn't even know when she does it. Can't really even smell it.

I tryed everything to get her to stop...punishment, praise when she didn't, rewards (big prizes when she didn't), yelling...nothing worked and I soon began to wonder if she did it just to make me mad.

The worst part is, before I started researching to find out why she still did it, she went through years of me thinking she was just being lazy or difiant. Or maybe she was doing it for attention.

The hard part, I know it was me that made my baby girl feel that way. I didn't understand what was wrong with her, and in turn tried to stop her accidents by telling her it was very disgusting and little kids don't like you when you smell and poop your pants.

It has back fired on me. It was never her fault, caused by having constant costipation as an infant, and then progressed from there. I had never heard of anything like this, even after growing up in a house with 6 brothers and sisters, and also taking care of several cousins and other children.

No doctor had ever mentioned it after me always mentioning that she was still pooping in her pants.

It breaks my heart to think that I have distroyed her self confidence. She is a very sweet little girl, and has lots of friends at school. She gets along with everyone. Her teachers just love her. She is smart, bright, and artistic. But I fear she will always have in the back of her head that people won't like her because of something she can't help.

I love my kids with all my heart, and would go after anyone who ever tried to hurt or harm them. What do you do when it is you that has done wrong.

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(+ info)

Do you think an 11 year old is responsible enough to take their medication daily?

Or do they still need to be reminded? This is an ongoing issue between my husband and I. My son has been seeing a pediatric gastroenterologist for years,. He suffers from severe constipation and encopresis. When he does not follow his medicine procedure and scheduled toilet sittings he gets backed up to the point that we have to go back to square one which requires enemas and other things that are traumatic for both of us (me being the one to have to administer them).

He is then required to follow this regimen with increased fiber, 2 ten minute toilet sittings a day, and medicine nightly in an attempt to get him regular. If you do not stay on him EVERY day and night he eventually slacks off and even lies saying he took medicine when he did not and sat for ten minuted when he didn't.

My family makes me feel bad because I do not stay on top of him so when he becomes backed up, I get blamed. My husband says that it is crap because my son puts himself in this situation by not doing what is required of him. Do you think he is responsible enough to take care of these needs or that it is my fault for not staying on top of it?

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Mine can't even remember to put on his deodorant.

I dose medicine. And I'd want to continue to oversee medication well into teenage years. I would have him do an enema on his own, because he can, and for privacy sake. But I would dose it, ie., hand it to him. Lying about taking it is a no-win situation and kind of surprises me. He ends up constipated and in pain if he lies about it. (+ info)

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FAQ - Encopresis(Powered by Yahoo! Answers)

I have a meeting with the school principal tomorrow at 1PM. What are my rights? Read details....?

I need help in convincing my mother-in-law AND my husband about my decision w/ my 6yr old son!!!?

why does my 7 year old stepson defecate on himself?

Quality of Life With Several Diagnosed Chronic Illnesses?

Polyethylene Glycol for children?

can u be sent to mental assylum without ur permission if not then when? askin 4 generl knowledge?

Read description below HUGGGEE PROOBBLEMMM!!!!!?

WHY is my daughter is still soiling herself at 7?

How do I turn back the clock and take back how I chose to handle this?

Do you think an 11 year old is responsible enough to take their medication daily?

Leave a message about 'Encopresis'

FAQ - Encopresis
(Powered by Yahoo! Answers)