7 yo son still goes in his pants | ADHD Information

The advise on getting a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist is a good one. I'm sure your ped thinks he knows, but this is a specialty.

My son did this constantly until 9 years old,and is now doing it infrequently at 11. It was a nightmare.

He had encropresis. This is when they SOIL the underpants -- the big smears, not the intact BM. The colon stretches, and then they cannot feel when they need to go. then it leaks out. I personally think that it stemmed from attention issues. He felt it, ignored it, and then it "went away." He took Miralax and fiber pills, and had to sit on the toliet twenty minutes following breakfast and dinner.

The urination thing completely irritated me, and when he hit 7 I was done, and made him wear a bed alarm from the time he got home from school until he woke up the next morning and 100% of the weekends. So when liquid hit the underwear the thing vibrated, flashed and made horrible alarms sounds that could be heard from a good distance. Needless to say, the urination ended within a week. Jessica N40435.932650463My son was doing that in 1st grade. We found out that
most adhd kids hold their poop and our son did until his
colon was distended, causing bladder spasms and then
wetting accidents. We put him on Miralax, the problem
stopped. When it reappeared in 2nd grade, we started the
med again and it took care of the problem. In the mean
time, I put him in Goodnight's at school, very discrete
and no one could tell if he had an accident. He wears
his shirts long and outside of his clothes at all times
now even though he is in 4th grade out of habit and I
have to admit, I feel better, just in case. I also keep
a record of when he poops and how much. If he goes more
than a few days, we restart the med's.

You are all so helpful! I am encouraged by your advice,comments and support...Thank You! Like your son, Longsally, my son also wears a Pull-Up to school during the day. We try to keep it discreet, but it seems that the other kids all know that he goes in his pants and that he wears a diaper. We tried it without and it just got worse. He basically "leaks" all day long and if I don't put him in training pants, he will have a pee ring on his pants. I try and get him in underwear when he's home and near the bathroom and I am constantly reminding him to go. Most of the time it'sa power struggle...He doesn't want to go and makes up his mind not to, then will end up going in his pants.

I try to get him to tellme when he's had an accident, but he avoids me and even hides when he's got dirty pants.

Still at a loss and am pulling my hair out. I appreciate evryones help and concern, though!

This has been an awful week! He didn't want to go to school at all on Tuesday after the holiday. Of course, I made him go and he wet his pants in the car on the way. He has wet at school every day this week.

He pooped in his pants while we were at Target yesterday and told me (and the rest of the store) about it while we were at checkout...embarrassing!

Nothing I do seems to work....I am pulling my hair out!

My son turned 7 this month and is still wetting and messing his pants. He is very stubborn and very immature and just won't stop what he's doing to use the bathroom.

He attended a private school for Kindergarten last year and had problems at school, too. He wore Pull-ups every day and would generally have accidents during the school day. He will attend 1st grade at public school this year.

I began potty training him after he turned three, but backed off and he was almost five before I started putting him in underwear. The last two years have been a constant struggle. I have tried charts, rewards, grounding and none of it seems to work. Our ped. finds nothing physically wrong.

Have any of you had this problem with your ADHD child? I would love some help, I am at wits end...........

Janet

Thank You! It is maddening and especially after he sits there and goes in his pants right after reminding him. My son wets the bed, too and it doesn't matter if I withhold drinks at night or not.Sounds like hyperfocusing. My son did that while playing video games for
quite a while.

ADHD kids just don't recognize their bodies' physical cues as well. They're
too distracted by everything else.

The cure - remind him. Often. Like once an hour. Get his attention (I know
- not always that easy!) and ask him if he needs to go. Eventually he will be
able to do it on his own. It took my son 3 or 4 months to stop. And the
frustrating thing with him was that he never ever wet the bed - he only did it
when he was awake. Maddening! My first question is whether or not you have addressed the issue w/your Doc?  Maybe there is something physically wrong w/him.  Otherwise, it totally is an ADHD trait.  Our DS7 holds it until he can't hold it anymore & barely makes it to the bathroom.  We don't have accidents, thank goodness...but we come very close sometimes.  We are constantly telling him to go to the bathroom and most times he argues, saying he doesn't have to go but we just insist he do it and amazingly enough he has to go!  I kind of think it's a boy thing too tho...our DS4 (who does not have ADHD) also does the same thing, they just can't interrupt play time to go!  Frustrating!I would strongly suggest that you see a pediatric gastroenterologist. There are a number of medical conditions that can cause this and they are very difficult to diagnose.My daughter had this very same issue.  Wet the bed, usually more than once, until almost 7.  Then still had accidents during the day, even a few times at school in 1st, 2nd and even 3rd grade.  Had to remind each teacher that they had to let her go immediately if she asked.  I would ask if she had to go, she'd say no, then have an accident soon after.  Sometimes I could tell she had to go, but she would say "the feelings gone away" so in her mind she no longer had to go.  Of course, the next time the feeling came, she maybe couldn't make it to the bathroom.  Now, at age 8, if she does wet it's a very small amount.  So, there is hope.  I remember always having to bring extra pants and undies, which seemed ridicules for a 7 yr old, but that's they way it was.  She even had extra clothes in her school locker and with the nurse.  I guess I can relate to where she's coming from.  I've had the urge to go come on quite suddenly myself and was a bedwetter until age 8, so maybe it's genetic you outgrow.  From what I remember, but please research this yourself in case my memory has failed me, is some tests so see what's wrong are invasive so I chose to wait it out, and like I said, it has gotten much better. 

I agree with cleo,  it would be wise to see a specialist so you could weigh your options.

We have had him thoroughly checked by our pediatrician. The doctor finds nothing physicaly wrong, which is great, but still leaves me looking for answers. I do know that this has to be connected to ADHD in some way, the hyperfocusing is a good possibility.

Like you, mamamia, I take two extra sets of clothes to the school along with a package of Pampers Easy-Ups and wipes. It has gotten quite costly keeping a 7 year old in disposables (He wears a diaper to bed) and ridiculous that he still pees and poops in his pants like a 3 year old.

My ds is 11 years old and while he doesn't have accidents, if you ask him if he needs to go he will always say no.  Instead of asking if he needs to go, we just tell him he has to go, it's the "rules".  You always go before you leave the house. You always go before bedtime.  You always go before meals.  And so on.  Make up whatever "rules" work for your son.

Good Luck.