OCD: Withholding poop

[Ellen18]

My PANDAS 5-y.o. son's OCD manifests itself by him withholding poop for several days. Very irregular poop timing - sometimes can go several days in a row, and other times, will withhold for several days. When he withholds, he is (even) less attentive in school, and won't participate, or communicate... will sit on the toilet for hours, and protest (vigorously) an enema. Using Miralax, which seems to do little to nothing, and same with Inositol these days. It's wasting so much time and driving me batty!! Any suggestions? Talking this through w/him feels like talking to a wall.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Have you tried mineral oil? You can spread it on bread, under butter or peanut butter, and it has next to no taste but can be an effective laxative for younger kids.

 

I don't know that talking with him is going to help . . . ever. While reasoning with a five-year-old may be possible occasionally ( ), reasoning with OCD is a non-starter. What might be more effective, however, is getting at the root of his withholding. As in, what is he afraid of? Afraid of contamination because poop is dirty? Doesn't want to let go of something that is part of himself (a sort of "hoarding" behavior)? If you can get him to identify and verbalize the underlying fear, then you (or a good therapist) should be able to design some exposure-response-prevention (ERP) exercises that will help him get past it. Is he receiving therapy for the OCD?

[warrior_mom]

Please look up Encopresis, if you haven't already.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/encopresis/DS00885