Hi Kim,
Well, I've been sticking to what had been working. I'm a big vegetable eater, so I have vegetables at virtually two meals a day. I've also been eating prunes, apricots, pineapples, and drinking prune juice. I'm also eating a bit of healthy cereal dry in the morning. I've been drinking a lot of water throughout the day, too. When things are going right for months, you hate to vary it much, do you know what I mean? I eat chicken or fish, hardly ever red meat. I'm also trying an acidophilus supplement plus flax and fish oil. Strangely, the stools can be hard to evacuate, but can be mushy, and not seem as hard as you would expect. I'm really confused, and I set up an appointment with the clinic that emphasizes natural intervention. That had been my plan, but I wanted to start on nitro, have a physical and such before I looked into it. I'm having several bowel movements a day, so I don't understand how things can be so hard to evacuate. Thanks for the reply, and thanks, Juney, too.

I'm wondering if the fact that you are having so many BMs in a day is related at all to the difficulting in passing the stools.
You sure sound like you're doing everything right diet-wise. Give the mineral oil a try for a few days, but avoid using it long term (like more than 1 or 2 weeks).
If you are going more than four times, see if you can hold it during one or two of the "episodes" and try to go just 2 or 3 times that day. Maybe there is not enough stool volume at each BM for the muscles to "activate" and push things through?

Do you feel like you have to go during those times or do you just think you should go? I have a small internal hemmie that sometimes gets irritated and makes me feel like I have to go even though nothng is there. Perhaps, as Kim says, just waiting until it is ready to evacuate itself would be best. I know taht straining can cause a fissure.
If you try this and become constipated, you can always give yourself a water enema. That will soften things up and make them come out.

try milk of magnesia at night before bed. try 2 tablespoons at first, this should do the job. first thing in the morning, drink a glass of warm water and i'm sure that'll flush everything out. this works for me every single day. the MOM will make things soft and you shouldn't have to strain at all. it's a saline laxative, which causes all the liquid to collect in your bowels, making them much easier to evacuate.
stool softeners will not make your stool hard, in fact they will do just the opposite. you shouldn't worry about taking them for too long, i've taken up to 500 mg of a colace-type stool softener for one year now. i don't know anything about surfak, but if it's mainly for people with diahrea it probably isn't what you need. stool softeners (b/w 200-500 mg per day), along with milk of magnesia, and plenty of healthy, fibrous food should be enough.
train yourself to go once every morning if possible. hopefully once you find the right balance of supplements, MOM, etc you will find things come out much easier. don't force yourself to go just because you feel like you might need to. if you really have to go, it should come right out w/o effort.
just my two cents on this...

Hi Juney, BG, and Kim,
So, it's okay to take MOM with another stool softener? Is it okay to take mineral oil a couple of hours after taking a stool softener? Sorry for all the questions.
I notice that when bms are hard, you don't have the same urge to go to the bathroom. I act on the urge that I do sense, but the bms are hard enough that I have to really strain. I would never be able to get anything out otherwise - seriously. My head even hurts a bit from the straining. Strangely, I rarely have fissure pain when I am in a mode like this, but I am very sore in the area.
My bowel movements are daily, but don't occur at the same time. Usually, lunch and maybe dinner triggers a bm. The amount of bms varies from day to day, so it's hard to get a set time, you know what I mean. They have volume, too, so I really think I should clear them out when there is the urge. At any rate, I'm increasing fiber intake through foods to see what will happen. Hopefully, that plus the MOM and some mineral oil at the beginning will do the trick. Thanks.

I wouldn't combine things. MOM will work better than the stoll softner, so I would cut the softner out. Also, I would not take Mineral Oil at the same time, no need to double up. You could substitute a good fish or flax oil though.
Also, you may consider eating less per sitting. I note that has an effect on the volume and consistency of my poo. I think it takes more water to digest larger amounts, but at the same time your intestines ae pullin water out. I note that when I overeat even a little, my bm are harder no matter how much water I drink. So perhaps have small meals with a good snack, like almond butter on celery or popcorn, in between.

Hey QOP,

It is fine to take stool softeners with MOM but I doubt you will need to. The Miralax can take a few days to kick in. My MIL who is a nurse practitioner said that Miralax is more to prevent constipation and MOM is more to treat acute constipation which it sounds like you have.

I don't know how to recommend using the mineral oil as I don't have experience with it. I do like to take a supplement called Digestive Advantage for Chronic Constipation. It is glucomman ( a fiber but it makes the stools soft not bulky) and acidophilis.

Maybe in the am you can drink some hot water with lemon. I have heard that can stimulate the bowels. When I drank coffee, that sure did the trick.

Well, i can tell you that the MOM certainly worked for me awhile back, actually too well!! I would definitely try it, that will soften everything up and really help you to go, take it before bed and you should go first thing in the morning...DON'T TAKE TOO MUCH!!!!

you shoud NOT be straining like that, no matter how much or how little pain you have at the time. straining could lead to other problems like hemorrhoids, not to mention worsening your fissure. you should train yourself to go around the same time every day, that's what i've read on a lot of websites and that's also what works for me. i think you'll notice a difference with the MOM. take it at night and you'll go in the morning for sure. it should clear you out enough to not have to go again that day.
i take stool softeners (docusate sodium) along with the MOM everyday and i've never had problems with the interaction. i've never tried mineral oil. i take my stool softeners with breakfast and dinner, and then i take the MOM before bed - around 10 every night. as soon as i wake up in the morning i drink a glass of hot water and that usually sets things in motion. that's the only bm i have everyday , unless i've eaten more than usual. try this routine and see if it works for you! it's been KEY to my pain free days for the past month :)

Juney : ), while you are "here" I have to hijack the thread again - sorry buddies - I have app. tomorrow with "the guy" so I have to be ready with questions.
Did you use any creams or suppositories after LIS to help yourself with pain or any discomfort? Also, for how long did you have discharge, or blood on TP after LIS ?
Thank you so much in advance XOXO
PS: I never was constipated but had to make my poop soft while trying to heal fissure. I used metamucil ( small glass with every meal - half tsp of metamucil), one tablespoon of mineral oil in the morning . Before the bed time I would take one tbsp of mineral oil and 2 tsp of MOM. Mineral oil should not be combined with Colace - why I don't know - it s just what is printed on Colace box. Mineral oil made poop slide out - kind of lubricant ; ).
Good luck !!!