. As a child and a teenager I cannot remember going to the bathroom on a daily basis and for that matter I cannot ever really remember having a stool that was 'ideal' according to the bristol scale.
As long as you have a fissure, it will be, or seem, impossible. As soon as I healed, wham, back to nice #4's every day...

Brendan,
Finding one's dietary sweep spot is quite a challenge. Good luck! I was taking in 35-40 grams a fiber about a year ago and was still constipated. For me the increased fiber was not the answer. You are well over the recommended amount (as I was) for daily fiber. I think it is about 25 gm/daily. Have you tried Miralax/Movicol or MOM or Metamucil for your digestive tract?
Cheryl

I've tried metamucil and it did virtually nothing for me. I've tried fiber supplements too and that was a dead-end. It's like my colon is slow to move.
I need to get this sorted, although I am quite painstaking and somewhat methodical I hope. Colorectal problems run strongly on the paternal side of my bloodline and its very prominent. I'm hoping that such a gene has been somewhat recessive in my case although I cannot attribute all my problems to something that may or may not be congenital.
I'm sure that with the right formula I can revive a spring in my step again. I won't be beat anyway!

Brendan,
I like your picture. Do you have the US flag even though you are in the UK? Do you follow US politics?
I think I have a slow moving colon also. That is one reason that I might have some additional tests. I keep a food diary, but that does get somewhat bothersome at times.
Cheryl

That isn't actually a flag, its a beach towel, although I do possess one that is hung gracefully on my wall, field of stars to the left and far from touching the ground.
I am from the UK but I lived and studied in Buffalo, NY for a year and have alot of fond friends and memories from the area and hope to go back soon to do my Ph.D, successful completion of this year and acceptance pending. As such, I do follow US politics and I am looking forward to a 2 week break to upstate NY in August.
I was 118lbs upon my arrival in the US, and a modest 140 lbs leaving. Upstate has doughiest pizza and I had my fair share of it I think its fair to say. This was in the pre-fissure days!
Good times!!

I wanted to mention if slow peristalsis is your thing you might try eating a prune or two or a small glass of prune juice. Sometimes more fiber isn't the answer.

I'm sure that if the timing worked out correct then a modest dose of Fybogel wouldn't do me any harm, but its a risk I'm not willing to take

Yes its tricky
Overload of fibre is what i have just now i think, its no good
If there is one thing that has helped my fissure it is using the movicol!
Nice Photo

I also think that going overboard with fiber should not be the goal. I take total of 10 gr of it from Metamucil and the rest from food ( I have 2-3 apricots a day and handful of cherries and one to two servings of veggies and some chicken, or fish, or lamb. For breakfast I have about one cup of cooked oatmeal with goat milk mixed with black cherry preserve and I have about 6 cups of tea a day and my poop is more than regular and soft. Yesterday I had a lot of green salad and poop was just perfect ( oh my God - I somebody told me a year ago that I would compliment a poop I would laugh my sox off !!!!). Anyway, Brendan, as you can see, we are all different and unfortunately we all have to experiment until we find the perfect combo.
I agree with Lecia - if you need to speed up the guts try some prunes or dried apricots - for me they are too stimulating, but for you they might be great solution.
Best of luck !!!!

Well what I am trying to do as a secondary approach is a more divide and conquer method, in that if I disperse my food over the entire day, by eating a little often, then that ought to naturally keep the motion I desire in some round-about form.
I really dislike prunes and apricots, although if this method fails me then prunes and apricots I shall try!

Brendon,
I see now that it is a beach towel!! In what field of interest will you be working for a PhD? My friend's son just rec'd his PhD from the U of Minnesota in molecular biology and genetics and is going to work this fall at UCLA (in Los Angeles, CA) doing autism research. He is about 30 years old, and we are all very proud of him!!
Cheryl
Dried apricots aren't too bad and prune juice can go down quickly in a few gulps (I had my share of prune juice even as a child.)