A Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Michelle Wruck, from a large Pediatric Group, the Peconics Pediatric Group on Long Island, frequently offers pro bono advice to “newbies” on the Soiling Solutions (SS) email list. She is called the “Poop Whisperer” and now parents are calling in to request an appointment with her using that very name. Here is an example of her response to a newbie on our forum who wanted to simplify the SS protocol by skipping the suppository step altogether and go to strictly relying on daily enemas. Many parents do not recognize the role of associative learning in the SS protocol, and naively believe that all is required is a daily mechanical clean out. Many physicians do not understand this feature of Soiling Solutions (DrC).
A Shout-Out from the “Poop Whisperer”:
Yes, you need to follow the protocol exactly as designed because the suppository is a weaker rectal trigger than the enema. Their brain and body need to associate the rectal triggers for what they are: weak versus stronger. Once they defecate (poop) with the stronger trigger (enema) they may begin to recognize the urge after the weaker trigger (suppository). The program’s success is based upon the mind-body associations to the rectal triggers if they don’t respond to their own body clues without triggers in the first 2 sits. Each step in the SS protocol ratchets up the trigger intensity until their mind and body reconnect the pathways of associations to achieve the desired result: self-initiation of defecation (pooping on their own). There is a process which has been reinforced over and over by their years of “holding” called DYSNERGIA whereby their mind (will) has learned to ignore the signals or clues to defecation urges: passing gas, gastro-colic reflex (they misinterpret this as belly pain), mechanical pressure of the solid material (stool) knocking on their anal sphincter (door) telling them to get to the toilet to relax & release maybe w/some “gentle” push pressure.
Be a “Drone” Parent:
I teach my parent-child dyads that I loathe “helicopter” parenting whereby some parents perpetually hover, thus are over-controlling, looking for any excuse to repel down and rescue the child from any number of untoward situations (this robs the child of learning through trial & error). I ask them to be “drone” parents whereby they are hidden, off to the side – like a drone, analyzing behavior, looking for clues to untoward behavior (holding) then using a bullhorn to remind them of what they MUST do but aren’t yet mature enough to self-regulate/initiate. The daily clean-out is the magic to shrinking the over-stretched, floppy colon with the gastro-colic reflex muscles which should propel the stool mass to the recto-sigmoid (holding chamber) in preparation for a DAILY defecation (emptying) on cue and on schedule Power Hour (PH). Follow the program design as advised. No skipping steps. Consult the archives for details but you may want to invest in a bag-enema system.
