No,

Thanks everyone for the info!
Lecia - I do want to try the All Bran buds but I can't stand to have any more gas then I already do now. Maybe I'll try little bowls. When did you take the Miralax....breakfast, lunch, before bed? I have AM BM's, so what do you think??
BG - I'm having issues with my electrolye balance (issue of the week) so I'd be hesitant to try the mineral oil or MOM.

I take Miralax in the AM and am an AM Bowel mover too. It can take a few days to work so it isn't like you will be surprised by a bowel movement at an odd time I don't think.
I think if you supplement with acidophilis you will find you have less intestinal discomfort with fiber. I would also recommend you use soy milk instead of dairy since dairy is harder to digest.
Is the gas uncomfortable or are you just worried about tooting all day at work?

Tooting all day at work....
I've been struggling with what feels like a steady decline in my health for the last couple of months and have stopped all supplements to see if any of those are having an adverse effect on me. Once I'm in the clear, I plan on giving that acidophils a try.

Sorry to hear you're feeling ill on top of the pain inthe rear.

I want to mention that one of my other reasons for switching to mineral oil when I do is to stave off electrolyte imbalance. When I feel that coming on (as a result of many things including riding my bike or walking around campus during our 110 degree summer days in SoCal.), I drink tons of gatorade (like 3 glasses a day) and switch to mineral oil.
Chris, I wonder if you are drinking too much water. Too much water will wash electrolytes out of your body and give you hard stools (because the intestine is working to get nourishment out of the mass of food so it sucks out tons of water and you pee, or at least I have found this to be my case), just as too little water will not allow food to be digersted properly and hence dehydration and electrlyte imbalance. some runners/triathletes have actually died from "dehydration"--even though they were drinking galllons of water, they did not have enough electrolytes and they went into shock....
so my two basic points: 1. drink gatorade 2. mineral oil will not dehydrate or cause electrolyte imbalance, though MOM can.

chris,
can you possibly go to the doctor and take a simple chemistry blood draw where they can look at all your electrolyes and chemistry in the blood? that way you can get a good idea if anything is really going on badly or simply just to get a baseline going?
i think it would help if you do feel that you are having a tough time lately.

Chris,
I take acidopholius, I drink lot of water and I have gatorade like Buttgirl. I am not having problems with constipation, but I do take 1 colace at night to help along everything in the morning. I also drink prune juice, organic cranberry juice, and Gerbers baby pear juice to get other nutirents. I also take a Flax seed supplement 3 times a day along with garlic. But you have to try things that will work best for you. Be careful of mineral oil though and not to use too much of it. All bran buds are good but start out with a little bowl like you mentioned. My doctor told me to gradually add fiber then your body will get use to it.
Take Care
Patty
:snn:

i'm 5'10 and 145 lbs and i've been taking 4 - 100mg pills of docusate sodium (same thing as colace) every day for 6 months now. i've never noticed any side effects or problems from it, and it seems to be helping keep thing soft (although i use a lot of other supplements too).
i'm scared to ever stop taking it, but my dr's reassured me that it's ok to take it as long as you want. stool softeners aren't habit forming or anything.
it's interesting that drinking too much water may harden your stools...i always drink a few liters a day. i wonder if i should actually cut back...

juney, in macrobiotics they state that you only drink as much as like 4 glasses of green tea per day! and that is all the fluid you need because of the food that you eat macrobiotically is dense with fluids as well. like miso soup, all the grains you cook have water, fruits, etc.
so i could see that drinking too much water can have either a positive or negative effect on your stools. but i also think it has to be judged on a person to person case.

I drink about a gallon and half of water a day, and I am using the bathroom all day long. Maybe I'll try cutting back some on the water. I know that my decline in health started roughly one month after getting "extreme" on my anal fissure diet. I read up on too much water and most of the stuff I read swears that a gallon and a half is not too much, but at this point, I have to find out one way or another.
Thanks everyone!