A LITTLE boy turned green and started vomiting his own poo after being misdiagnosed with constipation and prescribed Gaviscon for years.
When Fletcher Gale was just six months old, he started not feeding properly and wasn’t able to poo.
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His mum Hannah Johnson, 30, took him to the doctors but was told it was likely acid reflux and to use Gaviscon.
When he continued to struggle doctors said it was mild constipation.
But when Fletcher started looking green and vomiting up his own faeces aged four, Hannah became more concerned.
She pushed for a scan which revealed his bowel was impacted and had been stretched because of the build up of his poo and Fletcher was left unable to control his bowel movements.
Read more on bowel conditions
Fletcher was eventually diagnosed with slow transit constipation – a rare condition which occurs when the large intestine moves waste too slowly.
Doctors are now trying to manage five-year-old Fletcher’s condition and despite his pain, the little boy has raised £1,000 for ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity.
Hannah, who runs her own cleaning business, from Corsham, Wiltshire, said: “When he got to four he started to look green.
“He vomited faeces from the mouth.
“It was horrible. We just didn’t know what to do, where to turn.
“Fletcher would often ask why this is happening to him, why he couldn’t go to the toilet like everybody else.”
Hannah noticed Fletcher wasn’t feeding when he was just six months old.
She said: “We went to the doctors but they said at first it was acid reflux and to just use Gaviscon.
“We kept going back and they said it was mild constipation.
“It went on like that for years.”
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But when Fletcher was four he began vomiting his poo and was in significant pain.
Hannah said: “He was rolling around screaming.”
The mum had to push for doctors to do an X-ray which revealed his bowel was impacted – when dry hard stool gets stuck in the rectum – in August 2023.
Doctors tried to remove the blockage using an nasogastric tube, but the tube was fitted permanently after Fletcher continued experiencing pain.
He now has laxatives put down the tube to try and ease his pain – but Fletcher is still incontinent.
Long-awaited diagnosis
Hannah turned to charity ERIC to try and get support and researched bowel conditions – she then stumbled across slow transit constipation.
She said: “He had every single symptom listed.”
Hannah told the doctors what she thought it was and they performed a slow transit constipation study test.
She said: “It involved swallowing counters.
“On day five they see if they can find them in the body.”
What is slow transit constipation?
Slow transit constipation (STC) is when the large intestine has reduced motility, caused by abnormalities in the enteric nerves.
This causes unusually slow passage of waste through the large intestine, leading to chronic problems, such as constipation and uncontrollable soiling.
There is no cure.
The most common symptoms include:
- Having infrequent poos
- Constipation
- Uncontrollable soiling
- Abdominal pains
- Nausea
- Poor appetite
Less common symptoms include:
- Blood in poo
- Haemorrhoids
- Diarrhoea
Source: Better Health
The counters were still in the body which meant doctors could diagnose Fletcher with the condition around Christmas 2023.
Hannah said: “No day is the same.
“You never know what you are going to get.
“You might get 10 throw ups in one day or nothing.
“He’s never fully recovered from it.”
Raising awareness
Despite it all Fletcher has taken on a number of fundraising activities for ERIC – including selling poo emoji keyrings at school and a litter pick – and has raised almost £1,000.
Hannah said: “Despite everything he gets up and tries everyday.
“Despite everything, he still gets up every day with a smile. He still tries his best at everything. He is super amazing.”
Fletcher is currently back in hospital for more tests, as he still can’t get a formed stool.
Hannah said: “We’re about to reach him being six and it’s been a long time.
“He’s not showing any signs of regaining his bowel.”
Hannah hopes to raise awareness to get more people talking about their bowel movements.
She said: “People don’t talk about poo.”
ERIC have launched a Christmas charity appeal to support families struggling with bowel and bladder issues.
Juliette Rayner, CEO of ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity said: “It shouldn’t be left to charities like ours to pick up the pieces once the problem has become unmanageable, but unfortunately that’s exactly what is happening.
“There are families who are struggling with extremely distressing symptoms, who are unable to access support or even feel able to talk about it, because discussing wee and poo is taboo.
“For 35 years, ERIC has been supporting families and helping to break down the stigma around these issues so that children and young people can access the support they desperately need. Like many other charities, however, the cost of living crisis is impacting us.
“We rely on the support of donors to run our free helpline and provide online resources which act as lifelines for families who have nowhere else to turn. Our costs have gone up, but donations are much harder to secure at a time when people have less to give.
“It costs around £40 for a continence expert to provide 30 minutes’ telephone support to a young person, so to keep offering that service, as well as all the online support we offer, we really need people to spread the word and donate.”
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