Amazingly, River seems to have given up his "fear of the poo". Some kids get this, some kids don't. Both our kids have had it at various times. It can be very stressful for everyone involved. It usually begins with a bout of constipation and a painful BM. Following that the child becomes scared to poo and attempts to hold it. From there a vicious cycle of constipation and fear begins. River has had this fear on and off since he was a baby. In fact, I remember an extremely stressful plane flight back from England when he was about 7 months old and I had taken him for a visit . He was constipated and every attempt at poo seemed an agony. He cried for 5 hours of the 9 hour flight. I can remember laying him down in the airplane toilet changing table trying to encourage him to poo. He was purple in the face from constant screaming and I was at my wits end. Back at my seat I stood up occasionally to help soothe him and caught the looks of my fellow passengers; some offered looks of sympathy, while others had clear murderous intent. I remember there was a point in which I felt a fear for River's life! Then at one point in my desperation, I caught the eye of a man sitting two rows back. He gave me a look that was full of sympathy and understanding and I had to sit down as tears sprang to my eyes. But that expression of empathy helped me to cope with the rest of the flight. River's fear lasted many more months after that and since then it comes and goes.
River's latest bout began just before Halloween. Since Halloween he has screamed, cried, and trembled every time he has felt the need to poo. We took him to the doctor, we tried all kinds of remedies, prune juice (yuk), various laxatives (didn't work), suppositories (don't ask), lots of physical activity. Nothing worked. He wasn't constipated...just terrified. Day in and day out he had an anguished screaming fit every time he felt the need to poo. He would cry, "Mummy, Mummy, cuddle" and cling to me. He hasn't been able to communicate what is actually bothering him, nor understand what he needs to do. We've postponed many trips because of it and come home early from others. He's often been anxious and unable to concentrate or enjoy things the way he usually would. It's been stressful for the whole family. We were told he would grow out of it...but by Christmas we were doubtful. So he screamed on Boxing day and then the following days. Then on New Year's Eve he was playing around and I briefly heard him say, "It's okay, let it out" then he carried on playing. Later on Mark said, "Has River got a poo?" My response was that I hadn't heard him start screaming, so no I didn't think he had. Mark said he smelled something and lo and behold...he'd done a poo without screaming! And it has been that way for a week now. Why, the sudden shift? We have absolutely no idea. It is the most amazing thing and it feels like a big weight has been lifted. We wonder if it's part of being on the spectrum, but it's hard to say. I'm not sure how long it will last...but we're enjoying having our happy boy back.
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