Miralax friend or foe?

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Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Fissuretraveler » 29 May 2018, 21:05

Was wondering if anyone has had this experience. About a month ago I started on miralax, everything was going great until the end of the second week. On this particular day I couldn’t get out of the bathroom, going to the bathroom multiple times. After consulting with doctor we decided to lower dose to 3/4 of a teaspoon and that was okay. But my bottom continued to stay very irritated from my adventure in the bathroom the week before. I was also having some “leakage”. I got to the point that my bum often felt like it was burning. So I decided to stop the miralax. Things have gotten better but it is still irritated at the fissure cite and I still have the burning sensation especially after a BM. Keep in mind that this fissure was cauterized back in February when I had the SAD procedure. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby patience_and_healing » 05 Jun 2018, 00:18

It's possible the acid content of loose BMs plus the miralax have irritated the tissue that was trying to heal. It's a good thing you're able to stay regular without it. If your doctor thinks it's ok, perhaps you could apply a barrier internally before having a BM, perhaps Vaseline or coconut oil. Then you could see if that will help with the burning.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Deleted User 7114 » 05 Jun 2018, 02:55

I am having this exact problem with Miralax. I can't take even 7g of the stuff without having diarrhea and running to the bathroom multiple times a day (minimum suggested dose here is 10g). I am also suffering from burning and feel like my fissure is about to re-tear. I'm trying to solve my stool consistency problem with diet alone, but it takes discipline. The recipe that is working for me at the moment is an oat-based smoothie in the morning, a salad at lunch time and either fish, chicken or vegetarian meal in the evening. I also find that eating 6-8 prunes a day and drinking a LOT of water is helping with stool consistency better than miralax. I just struggle from time to time with the first part of the stool being a little too dry and constipated. 90% of the stool is perfect consistency otherwise. I've eliminated all dairy (because I'm intolerant) and for constipation reasons I've also eliminated red meat and pasta, and reduced rice to a minimum. It does help me personally, but it is restrictive.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Fissuretraveler » 05 Jun 2018, 17:06

Thanks for your reply’s. I do use a barrier ointment before a BM. I wouldn’t say that I’m regular without the miralax or something. I have started taking Milk of Magnesia again before bed, most of the time it is very helpful and other times I just won’t go the next day. Then I go into panic mode, yesterday I didn’t go, I went today and it wasn’t too delightful. It’s weird because my diet is very consistent. Things definitely aren’t good back there, they just feel raw and irritated. Starting back on the nifedipine in hopes that it quiets things down back there.

Hedgehogbum- what do you put in your smoothie? Pretty sure 6-8 prunes a day would kill me but maybe I should try a few. Not convinced that Milk of Magnesia is the answer either.

Once again thanks for your input and sharing your stories with me.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Deleted User 7114 » 07 Jun 2018, 08:06

Hi FissureTraveler,

My smoothie is 3/4 cup oats (I am greedy!) with a spoon or two of frozen red fruits, a ripe banana (apparently unripe bananas make constipation worse, but ripe ones are ok), 1.5 tsp ground flaxseed (for smooth BMs) and whizz it all up with either coconut milk or almond milk (because I am dairy intolerant). It keeps me full all morning. I eat 2-3 prunes with every meal and I swear by them now. I have always been somewhat regular but this is taking it to another level. Same time like clockwork every single day! I just find that the combination of at least 6 prunes with 1.5l of mineral water per day keeps BMs really smooth and my digestive system running like clockwork.

Oh, and just a random observation about me that might help you. My digestive system can get out of whack and I may not go if I get out of a fairly strict routine, for example if I lie in at the weekend. If I get up and get on with my day in the same way as I do during the week, I always have a BM at the same time each morning. If I laze about in the morning, sometimes I don't go. It's an inconvenience but I've learnt to work with it. I get up at roughly the same time on weekends as I do during the week, and get dressed and have breakfast as on a workday. Then, like magic, I have a BM and after that I can have a lazy morning.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Fissuretraveler » 07 Jun 2018, 20:22

Thanks for your reply. I might try adding the oats right to my smoothie. I have started having a small bowl of oatmeal before work and then take my smoothie with me. I’m hungry all the time! Do you use Quaker Oats or something else? What about flax seed? I think I should probably try the flax seed as well. This is not the first time I have heard positive things about them. Clearly I need to try manage this with diet because nothing else seems to be working for me.

I do try to get up on the weekends and eat something around the regular time to get things moving, sometimes it works other times it doesn’t. Everyday seems to be a new adventure!
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Deleted User 7114 » 11 Jun 2018, 15:00

I just eat supermarket brand organic steel-cut oats. Because I blend them up, it doesn’t matter which ones I use. I have also used Quaker Oats. There doesn’t seem to be any difference from what I can tell. The flaxseed I buy from the health store and I have a nutribullet (I think! Or is it a Tribest?) which has a special attachment for grinding the seeds into powder form. I use it every day so get my money’s worth out of the investment.
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Kingfish » 19 Jun 2018, 07:53

I've noticed that it's really a delicate balance between BM's that are too soft or too hard. I call it the Goldilocks effect.

I too have been having some pretty bad burning after BM's and I felt it may be due to the Nifedipine or Cortisone I was prescribed. I stopped both for about a week to see if I could see a difference and only applied Coconut oil during that time. The burning was ever so slightly less but still there after any BM.

I cut down the Miralax from a full dose every day to half a dose since I often get watery stools. I also started to take a probiotic after a course of antibiotics I was prescribed. I may have over done it as my stools were sometimes very watery and having more than one BM a day was hell for me.

I am now thinking of alternating 1 probiotic pill and one half dose of Miralax every other day and eventually ween myself off of the Miralax to see how it goes.

My goal is to reduce the burning as much as possible as it is the biggest cause of pain for me right now. I still seem to get some relief from the Nifedipine when burning is not an issue but if I already have burning it seems to make it worst.

Here is the funny thing. When the pain from the re-tear started it was on and off pain. A few good days followed by one to two bad days. Now that I have started to follow my Dr's advice with the standard creams etc. I have pain every single day!
Nifedipine over 2 months
Hot Sitz Bath
Cortisone cream
Lidocaine cream
Zinc Oxide cream
Coconut Oil
Doctor Butler's Hemorrhoid & Fissure Ointment
Manual Self Dilation
Mirolax
Metamucil
Pro-biotic
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby mike1971 » 19 Jun 2018, 13:08

I understand Restoralax is the same thing as Miralax.

I take one capful every other day but it doesn't seem to be effective.

I go every other day lately and when I do its difficult to get it going ( I have to strain some ) and they are thick, firm and long.

If I double up on the dose is it possible I would get runny and / or multiple stools per day ( want to avoid that)?
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Re: Miralax friend or foe?

Postby Fissuretraveler » 19 Jun 2018, 20:10

Kingfish I have come to the conclusion that Miralax is evil, at least for my body. Once I eliminated the miralax completely the burning stopped. It took awhile for things to get right back there after stopping the miralax but almost immediately I noticed an improvement with the burning. I still take Milk of Magnesia (probably always will) and I have added more soluable fiber to my diet and things have improved. Good luck.
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