So I started with 1 "capful" of Miralax last night and this morning, I still had a really hard stool - it was painful to get it out but towards the end of the stool it was a little 'softer'. Definitely not like when I was taking a lot of colace and it was just a unformed mush.
I'm wonder if it's just my body needs a little longer to get used to the Miralax? I should be taking it morning and night?
I'm sick of these "hard in the beginning" stools - i think it's the cause of the fissure anyways. The funny thing is that before the fissure happened, I was eating so normally (read: everything) and my stools were always fine, had regular BMs, etc. Not sure why in the last few months, no matter how much water I drink, my stools are not soft. I honestly average about 10-15 glasses of water a day, constantly am urinating "white clear" urine, etc... should some of that water be going into my colon!!?!?
Frustrated... would love some expert advice or links to previous discussions where someone had experienced this.

I haven't started on Miralax yet (sitting waiting in my bathroom cupboard), but have been taking Milk of Magnesia for about seven years...
I have it the opposite from you, in that it is soft at the beginning, and then the next time, more solid. (Oh the wonders of talking about this :roll: ).
I drink just enough to keep the urine very pale. Don't want to overdo it. I think I drink about five cups in a day, but also have milk and a little coffee. I also do not overdo the fibre, though make sure that I have enough. I take an eighth of a peri-colace tablet. Still, have problems feeling that all is out of me of a morning. Very difficult to find the happy medium as who knows what the happy medium is.
Hope it works out for you with the Miralax. Do keep talking about it, and how it goes for you. Am very interested to hear.

I am not sure what I think about the hard at first stools. Someone else on here mentioned that she or he wondered if they are the result of the spasms of the internal sphincter and I wonder that myself. Since LIS I have not had that, even now that I am off all stool softeners. In the past, other than on Miralax, I still had that issue with fiber supplements or Colace. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Do those hard tip stools cause a fissure or do we tend to have those happen more once a fissure is present and our body reacts to it?
Bambi

I used to have this same problem back in my really bad fissure days. I was drinking a ton of water and wondering what was going on.
I finally figured it out. I was not starting to drink water soon enough in the day. I used to get up, have breakfast with a 1/2 cup of coffee, then head to work. Once at work I would start pounding the water. Now I drink either a big glass of water or milk at breakfast. This solved the issue for me.

I never had consistently hard stools before this all happened to me. Everything went through easily. Now everything is a struggle to get out, and there are not many days where do not have the sensation of still needing to "go" or not being able to complete everything. Consequently with pushing I may have done damage to other parts of that area. Worrying about that and going to see an OB/GYN to hopefully relieve THAT worry. Em

ss and sav/em,
I take Miralax twice daily. Taking it this way obviously gives me more lattitude in dosing. I would suggest this method to both of you. I think one of the hardest things in healing an AF is this: a person usually wants to heal very BADLY and is emotionally drawn into analyzing BM's and trying to get the "perfect stool" every day which can contribute to more anxiety and stress, which then challenges the digestive system to work properly, and this becomes a vicious cycle.
For what it's worth--I drink 8-9 glasses of water daily. In summary, ALWAYS keep things soft , don't strain, and try to relax and be positive (which is sometimes difficult to do). Lastly, squatting puts less pressure on the rectum. That helps some people also. Good luck!!

Single dose of Miralax isn't doing it for me. I think I need to do 2 colace tonight, I've had way hard stools still that leaves me with 6 hours of spasms and pain. I need my stool to be as soft as possible at this point....
Extremely frustrated with the 6 hours of pain post BM. How is anything supposed to heal??!?
Nitro works for a little bit but doesn't seem to completely stop spasms after about 1 HR of application. Luckily I do not get headaches with it... Maybe my ointment is not mixed well?
I tried dilitizem last time and gave me crazy heart rate.

I use Miralax & stool softeners and stay well hydrated and it has worked really well for me.

I am having a bad day with hard stools too. I have been told by my OBGYN that I have a Cystocele (bladder prolapse) but have no idea if that contributes to the passage of a BM like a RECTOCELE does. So frustrating. I think I shall have to try the Miralax, though am terrified (silly) that it will be too much and make everything worse. Anyway, trials trials trials. I should not push, but do, as cannot stand the feeling of something still stuck inside and not comin g through, not to mention that it hurts. :(