My daughter is 16 years old and has suffered with encopresis since age 2. It started out as constipation from being on Soy milk as a baby. I finally had her diagnosed at age 12. At age 10 I took her off of all Milk and we still restrict dairy. She takes calcium supplements. From age 8 until about 14 she would get backed up even while on laxative therapy and would vomit and have severe abdominal pain. Her colon of course became enlarged and the problem worsened to the point of the involuntary soiling. I am not sure if the Soiling solutions manual is any good. What I do know now that my daughter is 16 and we can talk about the problem and that the soiling is still involuntary. This is not a behavioral issue. I had to begin homeschooling her in 7th grade. She is now in 11th grade. She is no longer constipated. No longer needs laxatives. Never has abdominal pain. Sadly the incontinence has never resolved. I have accepted that this problem may be lifelong for her and we have worked together in training her how to keep clean etc. This is much easier done when she has total access to a potty. For example, an 6 to 8 hour day at school is NO GOOD for her. She has good self confidence now that she understands that this is a true medical issue and NOT HER FAULT. Homeschooling has ended up being a blessing for us and I believe it is GREAT for any family with or without health issues. I have read many articles on encopresis and I do know that there are lots of success stories about encopresis spontaneously getting better. Keep up the laxatives and try to keep the colon from enlarging. Don't worry about the soiling until you have cured the encopresis and/or constipation. My doctor said that once the constipation and any stool withholding is healed that the last thing to resolve would be the soiling. Hang in there, don't get mad, try not to blame yourself or your child and love your child. Pray often and the Lord certainly cares for you and your son. Good luck.

Mindy

Thank you so much for your kind response, Mindy. I have spent hours on my knees, looking for direction and begging for patience as we struggle through this. This little boy is a true light in our family, and the last baby I was able to have. He is affectionate and loving, I really just adore him. Until it's poop time.

I know I'm not alone in this struggle ... many others are in the same boat. Some days I feel hopeless, that it will not go away, and other days I feel that if I can just stay calm it will work itself out with the right help.

Thanks again for listening