I understand that it might not be everybody’s dream but recently I was absolutely delighted when a child called me the Pooh Queen. Over the years I’ve often been called the Pooh Lady but now I’m very proud to have been crowned the Queen of Pooh!
Before you get completely the wrong idea I should tell you that I have helped several severely constipated children who for various reasons have been withholding their pooh.
Children with this withholding problem can really suffer in many different ways. Firstly there is the feeling that can begin as discomfort but over time it can develop into real pain … pain in their tummies as they get fuller and fuller with impacted stools. Later still they can experience excruciating pain coupled with frightening bleeding when eventually they try to expel it. Sometimes two or three weeks’ worth!
I saw a teenager once who would often withhold for four weeks at a time!
You might imagine that severe constipation simply means that they don’t produce pooh as often as other people. However what happens is that, once it becomes a problem, the doctor will usually prescribe lactulose to loosen the stools so they can be passed.
So, inside the child’s colon is a mass of really, really, really hard faeces. This builds up and backs higher and higher up the intestines. The latest waste matter begins to liquefy with the help of the laxative and this liquid matter begins to slide down the sides of the hardened mass of faeces inside and slip out into the child’s underwear. It’s known as seepage or leakage and is beyond the control of the child but of course makes them dirty and smelly as well as uncomfortable.
Of course this adds to their misery and quite often teachers don’t really understand the problem either and are sometimes not as sympathetic as they might be. They can be impatient and blaming of the parents as well as the children. This of course doesn’t help as the parents are distressed enough anyway and don’t know which way to turn! (And before I upset anyone, of course I know that some teachers are absolutely marvellous and really kind once they fully understand the problem).
Amazingly it can! As with everything I can’t say it will help 100% of the time. It depends on the receptivity of the child, the reason for the constipation in the first place and also the reason for the continuing constipation, the approach of the parents (and sometimes teachers).
It also depends on the knowledge and approach of the hypnotherapist.
It is vitally important that if you decide that you want to use hypnotherapy with your child that you see a hypnotherapist who is well experienced in working with children and one who fully understands about the witholding problem itself.
Once again it depends upon the severity of the problem and the response of the individual child but it could be between two and six over a period of several weeks /months.
At the beginning of the summer I saw a delightful eight-year-old girl who had been constipated and then withholding since birth! You can probably imagine the frustration and distress this caused everyone on a daily basis.
She had seen several gastroenterology specialists … been passed from pillar to post! The last one told the mother that he thought there was nothing more he could do for her and that it was possible that the child had damaged her anal sphincter and that she might have to live with this problem (and lactulose) forever!
Mum came to me in desperation as someone had suggested I might be able to help. She said I was her last resort! I told her honestly that although I had helped many other children with this problem but could never give a promise that it would be the final answer. And I said she would undoubtedly need several sessions.
So to cut a long story short I saw the little girl for one appointment and I made her a hypnotherapy audio to listen to at home every night. Soon afterwards they went away for the summer and I didn’t hear anything from them for several weeks. I had been wondering how she was getting on and contacted them for an update.
Mum told me that for the very first time in her life her child had been wearing a swimming costume and swimming in the pool with no protection whatsoever! She had seemingly miraculously been ‘poohing’ normally as if she’d been doing it all her life! Not sure who was most delighted her mum or me! I am pleased to say that the little girl herself was immensely proud of herself.
I’m definitely not saying it is the norm that one session would be sufficient for this apparent miracle … it would generally take several sessions. But I am saying that many a parent has told me that they have brought their child for hypnotherapy as a last resort and because of the amazing results their child has achieved they really wished they had done it as a first resort!
If your child has similar problems, you might like to contact me to see if I can help either in person or via tailor made audio . 020 8402 1928
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