My daughter has SPD and can't "feel" when she needs to poop

by Julie
(Bixby, OK)

My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. She has SPD and whenever she has to poop, she goes in her panties. She can't "feel" when she has to go.




I don't know what to do (aside from scream on the inside). She doesn't understand that it's wrong (or gross!). On the random event that I can get her to the toilet in time I have done rewards and lots of praise.

The other thing about this is that she only poops once or twice a week. That can't be healthy can it? I've talked with her pediatrician and I've done the home remedies that he has recommended (i.e. prune juice, caro syrup, peaches...)

Has anyone else gone through this? How can I get her pooping regularly and in the toilet everytime??



Comments for My daughter has SPD and can't "feel" when she needs to poop

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starstarstarstarstar 		Doctor recommendations
by: Anonymous

To the poster who wrote, "Went to a Doctor who put him on short course of steroids and valtrex." Would you share which doctor that was? It sounds like that doctor knows something that many others do not. We have a pediatric GI but I'm not optimistic that he will know what to do since he didn't offer any useful information last time we saw him. Hoping that another doctor might have some terminology to point us in the right direction.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Tethered spinal cord
by: Anonymous

My son is 7 and has this problem too. His Dr did an MRI and found that he has a tethered spinal cord and that is probably why he can't feel it. He was very backed up and Dr put him in hospital for 2 days to clean him out and he has had to wear pull-ups ever since. We are seeing a neurosurgeon, gastroenterologist and renal Dr to try to figure this out. I hope this helps someone and good luck and God bless.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Me too!!!
by: JustJen

Wow I'm so surprise by how many other families are dealing with this.

My son's 5 and poops on the toilet *sometimes* but has to be told to go and its usually a fight at home.

I've tried so many thing, and have had alot of support from his school and daycare but nothing was helping so we started looking for a physiological cause. We tried stool softeners and enemas and all sorts of stuff like that, which did help.

Next, we looked for a blockage with an x-ray... which he doesn't have. However he is, literally, full of sh*t lol

We're now being refereed to a pediatric gastroenterology (my son calls him the poop doctor) and are going to being investigating the possibility that he just can't feel it, for which I've been told there are short-term medications that will treat this.

Its a super frustration situation, and I'm so tired of cleaning up poop and talking about poop and dealing with poop and basically just poop in general lol But I'm glad we're addressing it now, and getting closer to some answers.

My best advice is be patient, and advocate to your doctor to continue investigating until the cause is found. Good luck to everyone else dealing with this and I hope this maybe gave some one else some possible solutions :)
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starstarstarstarstar 		My Son Too
by: Anonymous

My son has had regular poop accidents his whole life and he’s 10 now. I can’t deal with soiled underwear and pants all day so he’s been back in diapers or pull-ups 24/7 since he was 5.

Some people may think that’s gross but it really helps a lot. He doesn’t get upset that his clothes are dirty or wet (many times when he poops he’ll pee too). Staying clean and dry is huge. It didn’t take long for him to adapt to wearing a diaper again and being changed and it has lessened the tension and stress between us. If it’s going to happen, be smart and minimize the damage.

Millions of children and adults wear diapers or protection. He may get teased about wearing diapers but he got teased more by kids for peeing and pooping in his pants. Also he’s not ruining all of our furniture and bedding. The diaper keeps everything contained. Trust me. Try it. It’s been a life changer in a bad situation.

Older kid and teen diapers are available on line at many places.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Help me please
by: Anonymous

I know what it feels now but Im not a mother but I have a boyfriend that has had this problem since he was little and still has it and I want to help him.

I love him alot and not because of his problem or that Im going to leave him. no, I want to help him get better because its not normal and he struggles. A lot people call him names and he has accidents and I help him but I want him to get better or something that makes him go to the bathroom and not do it in his pants.

Yes, I am a teenager and he has had it for 16 years and its way harder since we are in high school and everyone tells him that he smells and that gets me mad. A lot even his own friends bully him and its not right.

I love him and I want to help him not have this problem and for him to have a normal life cause its tuff to deal with this problem. One thing Im thankful for is that he trusts me and is honest with me. I couldn't have a better boyfriend and I love him and I want to help him, so please if you can help me how to help my boyfriend to get better or help me know what to do to help him or recommend anything we will appreciate it.

God bless everyone.
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starstarstarstarstar 		poop problem
by: Anonymous

my son deals with the pooping issue, I give him Smooth Move by Traditional Medicinals. It works. I don't know what to do either. He holds it until he gets home.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Son didn’t know he needed to poop until...
by: Anonymous

Went to a Doctor who put him on short course of steroids and valtrex. He said there is a nerve that lets you know when you need to poop and his was demyelinated by a virus (like when people get shingles). Within a month, he was pooping in the toilet EVERY time.
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starstarstarstarstar 		so frustrated
by: Anonymous

My 12 year old still has problems with this. We have seen GI specialists and nothing helps. I am beyond frustrated and he doesn't care that he has poop in his pants all of the time. I am sick of having poop balls all over. They are in his bathroom, in his bed, in the shower. I can hardly ever get him in the shower! SO FRUSTRATED!!!!!
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starstarstarstarstar 		It's No Accident
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for suggesting the book "It's No Accident". I'm only on chapter 2 and I've already learned so much!

This Is such an informative book and already has answered many questions I had. I have located a gastroenterologist near me for the bowel management this lady mentioned in the comments. I have asked my pediatricians about this and they can't seem to tell me why she has accidents all the time. I'm taking a lot of notes from this book and I'm going in next time prepared with all this info. This is a God send. Thank you again so much!
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starstarstarstarstar 		Bowel management
by: Anonymous

Have any of you heard of Bowel Management. They are only a few states that have them. They are the top doctors in the whole US. Please research under "Bowel Management."
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starstarstarstarstar 		My 7 year old cant feel when he has to poop
by: Susan

If your child is having this issue and You feel defeated and at the point that you don't know what else to do. I strongly recommend reading the book, "It's No Accident", it has helped me and my family understand and address this issue. We are still battling with this, my son is 7 now and have been dealing with this for 2 years at least. But Now I am armed with a ton of information thanks to this book.

I only say read the book bc it explains what is mostly the issue and how to address it much better than I can explain it to you.

My son was potty trained and doing fine and then these accidents started happening everyday. Start with bed wetting, then wetting the pants to soiling them everyday. At first I thought he was doing to be lazy, for attention and/or bc of the new baby. I blamed him then myself. It was crazy. I had no answers, the doctors where telling me he will grow out of it, but it was getting worse and he was fully potty trained prior to this happening. Needless to say I was defeated.

I thank god for this book and I had no Idea there was a whole community out there going through the same thing and supporting each other.

I know this was posted a while back but I am all about passing on information to other mom's that can benefit from it. I saw someone else responded with very good information regarding encopresis. Please read this book, I know this frustration all too well. We have been battling this with my son for over 2 years. I have cried, yelled, screamed and god knows everything.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Need answers too
by: Anonymous

My daughter who is turning 7 in the next couple of weeks has SPD. She poops everyday in the toilet, but the problem is, most of the time she doesn't feel that she has to go poop or pee until she has already soiled her panties a little. I go through so many underwear in one day because of this.

I don't know if there is anything I can do to remedy this. It happens so much, that everywhere she goes, she's making sure I bring a few pairs of panties. Is there anything I can do to make her Feel or be aware of when she has to go Before she actually goes?
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starstarstarstarstar 		What is SPD and I wonder if my son might have this.
by: Anonymous

I have a 8 year old boy and taken him to several doctors and they don't know what it could be. I was once told that he was just being lazy. But I know that is not true cause I send him every 1 hour. I need help so I can help him.
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starstarstarstarstar 		y does my daughter poop in her panties
by: Anonymous

My daughter is almost 6 years old and she will pee in toilet but she soils her panties 4 or 5 times a day what is wrong
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starstarstarstarstar 		Encopresis
by: Anonymous

Check out this article. http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/06/child-feel-poops.html
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starstarstarstarstar 		Reply to Anonymous
by: Julie

I feel your frustration. I have been their with my daughter for a long time. I originally wrote this posting about my little girl Ellie.
She is now 10. She FINALLY This year began to poop on her own- by her own will- in the toilet- not her pants.

It has been such a gift.

However---she will only poop once a week. 😣
The doctor says her body has acclimated to this routine.

My hope is as she matures she relaxes and allows nature to take its course.

My advice: just let your son develop on his own. It's more work for you to watch and encourage pooping. But keep the entire experience positive.

I wish you the best.
😃julie.
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starstarstarstarstar 		6 yr old boy wont poop
by: Anonymous

I have the same problem with my 6 yr old. He will, poop on the potty if I make him. He will not poop on his own. He doesn't seem to know when he has to poop. He does know when his underwear is messy because he doesn't want me to check.

Rewards, punishments..nothing has worked to self initiate. I make him try at bedtime every night. Or when ever I can tell his poop is ready. But no matter what I do he wont go poop on his own. It is like his butt and his brain cant communicate.
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starstarstarstarstar 		son can't feel when he has to poop
by: Karen

I am about to cry (once again). My daughter is 15 and going to be evaluated next month for SPD. She was diagnosed with ADHD when she was 2 1/2 yes old.

As I looked at this page I found the problems people are having with their kids not feeling the urge to poop. My 7 year old son has been having bowel issues since he was 10 months old!!! Not that I want my kids to have SPD, but it would be great to have a diagnosis after all this time and get OT that they need and I don't have to feel like I about to lose it all the time!!!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Poop
by: Anonymous

What I did is just put them back in diapers no remedies that worked only thing that can be done it has worked and the ONLY thing that can be done
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starstarstarstarstar 		help
by: Anonymous

i have the same problem with my son he is 6 and has had bowel problems for years and noone knows what is wrong with him he is on laxatives and tons of miralax and still only goes 1 a week or 1 every 2 weeks he hasn't been officially diagnosed with spd but im working on it he has 110 characteristics off of the spd checklist if you find out anything on how to fix this let me know please my email is rosebud5975@yahoo.com
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starstarstarstarstar 		Can't poop
by: Anonymous

I have a 4 yr old daughter who isn't potty trained. The only way we can keep her regular is go to the park everyday. Sounds crazy, but it works. She goes down the slide a couple of times and she poops. Never fails! The days we don't go to the park, she doesn't poop. I'm not trying to be funny! I am serious!
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starstarstarstarstar 		Thank you
by: julie

I have read your responses to my question/situation and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I have seriously considered what you wrote to me and we are on a better toileting system now. My daughters success and gone up and she and I are both happier because of it.

Thank you for your support and well wishes. It's nice to know others are out there with my same situation and we can help each other.

God bless these little ones and the parents that are doing everything they can to make their world seem "normal".
Julie : )
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starstarstarstarstar 		My Daughter has SPD and can't feel when she needs to poop
by: Annette

I, too, have a daughter who is 6 and soils her pants periodically. She started off constipated after the potty training (age 3 1/2).

After going to several doctors, they all agreed that she had encopresis (where her colon is stretched from the large stool and normal sized stool falls right out) and they put her on Miralax (a stool softener/laxative).

Now she has regular bowel movements, however, some of them she can make it to the toilet and other times she soils her pants and doesn't even realize it. She doesn't do anything about it even when she's sitting in it. She says she can't smell it either. If I take her off the Miralax, she's immediately plugged up again. It's very frustrating.

She did start going to an OT recently and she's on listening therapy and I have to brush her skin every day to help stimulate the touch. They hope that will help her, although the therapist wasn't that sure in the beginning about the relationship between SPD and toileting. I'm willing to give ANYTHING a try.

I know your frustration and am living it all the time. Try not to get mad at your child and try to be supportive. It's so hard but we just don't know how their little bodies differ from ours. Hang in there. There's bound to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep praying and good luck finding help through a sensory diet.
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starstarstarstarstar 		My daughter has SPD and can't
by: Deirdre

Hi, i have a six year old son (soon to be seven)who also has SPD. One day, I noticed he hadn't pooped in three or four days, and when he did, he would go in his pants and would be surprised that he did (it was like he wasn't feeling it come out).

When I took him to the doctor they said he was impacted, and was diagnosed with Encopresis. I know my son is impacted, because of his diet due to his sensory issues. His favorite food is dairy. He's was given a prescription for MiraLAX which he's been taking for the past year. Maybe you could mention this to your doctor to see if this is what your daughter could be dealing with. Good Luck

GERBIL
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starstarstar 		Poop
by: Anonymous

I have poop come out and don't know until I wipe grom front to back when I urinate. Please help!

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