Encopresis

Well, at least now we have a name for it.  All the pooping.  A couple weeks ago, i spent pretty much an entire afternoon, in every spare moment i had, searching the web for anything that could explain what was going on with Ian.  Now i know, now i can help him.  If you want to know what it is, there's a pretty good explanation here http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/encopresis.html
For the past couple weeks, i've done some of the things with Ian that have helped a rare number of kids- removing dairy from his diet, giving him a daily probiotic supplement, increasing his fiber and water intake.  I have even taken him in for a few chiropractic appointments hoping that would help.  None of these things have changed anything.  I think he's really blocked up in there and it's going to take a long time of cleaning out before his body will go back to normal.  I feel so bad for him, and i have to admit, i feel bad for me too.  This really sucks, there's no other way to say it.  I am so sick of smelling poop, of hosing him down, giving him baths, washing out underwear, spending time with him on the toilet, having to ignore my other two kids for large amounts of time.  It's just so depressing, doing this routine day in and day out.  But i do have hope, i do believe that God is going to heal him from this and he will get to be a regular kid who can poop normally and have a social life.  I have done A TON of reading on this subject at this point and cannot believe how many parents out there have been dealing with this for YEARS, and are at their wits end on how to handle it.  Most of them have just been prescribed Miralax and their kids have been laxative dependent for most of their young life.  For some people it has worked great, others it seemed to in the beginning, only to rear its ugly head again a couple years later.  Still others have seen no results other than just increasing the messes that happen because of diarrhea, and the child's body never learns how to regain control over its bowel movements.  The ones that make me want to cry are the parents who write about how they've watched their fun, outgoing children turn into shy, insecure little people who are made fun of and are not able to enjoy things they used to anymore.  That is NOT going to be my kid, i can tell you that right now.  I am going to fight for my little guy, and get this solved before he gets old enough to even remember he ever had a problem with it.  He stayed home with me and Oliver last night instead of going to AWANA's with his daddy and brother, said he didn't like it anymore.  Honestly, joe and i think he's already changed a bit.  He used to be my on-the-go guy, always wanting to get out the door, didn't matter where we were going, but he wanted to go too.  Now he wants to stay home, and i have to talk him into going to play outside or go for a walk.  He just doesn't seem very HAPPY.  And that bums me out like you wouldn't believe.  Tomorrow he has his 3 yr. appt. and i will be talking to his dr. about all this.  I'll be really surprised if they have a plan for me to try, instead of just suggesting medication, but we'll see.  I've already recorded every ounce of food he's consumed the last couple weeks and documented every single poo activity that's occurred in that time span as well, so they can't brush me off with any vague advice like add more fiber, drink more water, blah blah blah.  I love doctors, really i do, i'm not as annoyed with them as i'm sure i come across.  I'm hoping they'll recommend an x-ray, do a rectal exam, all that's necessary to rule out first any physical reasons for the cause of this, then i can move on to a plan of action.  How sad for parents who have dealt with this for years, honestly i would have lost my mind.  I read from one woman who said her family just didn't understand, didn't think it was that big of a deal, thought her daughter was just being lazy, and why doesn't she just let her daughter grow out of it.  No one really understands how frustrating and exhausting this can be unless they're dealing with it as well.  I just keep telling Ian that he's a good boy, he's doing the best he can, and we're going to fix it together.
This has been a really trying week.  I've been sick with sore throat, cough, sinus yuckiness, Joey had some really bad ear pain (and i can now say i've dripped cooked onion juice in my child's ear, and might actually do it again if need be), and Oliver just might have been mildly affected by salmonella poisoning or something like that.  While i was at a chiro appt. with ian and picking up joey from school, joe had let O "help" him with loading the dishwasher, which had raw chicken dripped all over from the bowl that i had in there which the four pieces of chicken had thawed out in.  He had already had a little cold at the time but by the next day he was having massive diarrhea poops and was a little lethargic, and i was actually having to encourage him to breastfeed because he wasn't feeding as vigorously as is normal for him.  By the next day he had only one diaper full of diarrhea instead of three, and was starting to get some energy back, although he wouldn't take an afternoon nap and was incredibly cranky.  Last night he slept in our bed because he was so fussy, and my night time was divided between frequent feedings for comfort and listening to the raspy breathing of a 20 pound sack of potatoes sprawled across my belly.  He seemed to be a little better today, still too uncomfortable to take a real nap in the afternoon, and it's too early to tell how he's going to sleep tonight.  I should head to bed now, tomorrow's a long day, and i'm weary beyond weary.  But i'm alive, i have a place to sleep, food on my table, family to love.  I have all i need, and i will choose to be content.  Thank you Lord, for your healing, and your faithfulness.