Cheryl -
The benefiber does not bulk up the stool as much as the metamucil. The is 3 grams of soluable fiber in it and no insoluable fiber. Metamucil had 2 grans of soluable fiber as well as 1 gram insoluable fiber. I really like the Benefiber. It makes the stool formed, soft, but not too bulky. Since I have used it, my stool is perfect! I am going to try metamucil again soon as I think the bulk is a good thing, just not when you are healing from LIS. I will be on either the benefiber or the metamucil for the rest of my life.
Juney - What time of day are you taking the benefiber? I take about 2 tsp total all day and have a little with breakfast lunch & dinner. I would like to take it all at once, but I am afraid I will have a hard tipped poo or something. Is 1/2 tsp enought to make things perfect? I would love to cut back. The bottle says you can take up to 6 or 9 (I can't remember) tsp a day - which is way too much in my opinion.

Jen,
Thanks for the info. I think that you are going to make a wonderful nurse, by the way.
Cheryl

Thanks Cheryl!!!
When do you start your pelvic therapy???

jen - i take 1/2 tsp in the early evening, usually by 5. i take 1000mg vitamin c and a multivitamin at lunchtime. with dinner, by 7, i take 2 stool softeners and 250 magnesium. that daily routine seems to keep things soft the following morning. i drink some water as soon as i wake up and then go.
but i've been having a problem lately with going twice a day...which is wrecking havoc on my surgery wound. the 2nd time is sooo painful for some reason. i'm not sure what's causing the 2nd bm. i'm tweaking my vitamin c intake a little. i've heard that can cause loose stools. does anyone have any ideas of what might cause you to go more than once?? maybe i should change something else up? i feel like i need to just be going once so i have the next 24 hours to heal up..... jen - with 2 tsp do you go once a day or more?

I go 3 times a day, sometimes 4 and it is because I eat so much fiber and take one Colace after the dinner. The more fiber it has and the more soft it is - the faster "it " travels lol ! Since I went usually 2-3 times a day in pre fissure days - now I go 3-4 due to extra "doughy" poop. If you want to slow things down , you will have to ease on softeners and fiber which can work BUT, the consequence can be a
constipation and that can do much more damage in my opinion.
I tried making less BM moves by eating only once a day , and of course it was working , but I started loosing weight and decided to stop with it.
Hope you will find what works for you the best

I go 2 or 3 times a day.

Juney -
I go once a day most the time. About 2 times a week, I end up going twice. I have been like this even prior to the Benefiber. The Benefiber made my BM's softer, but did not effect my frequency at all.

Jen,
I probably won't be able to get into the pelvic floor retraining class until next year as all classes are full for the rest of this year.

Juney,good to know you are healing.Even i go 2-3 times a day.stool softeners can make you go more than once.I agree with Fissy that constipation can do you more harm.Which stool softener are you taking?maybe you can slowly cut down on stool softeners and see the effects.i was taking movicol twice a day and i ended up pooping 6-7 times a day which was frustrating.now i take only once.

I too poop 2-3 times a day. This has always me think this is bad for the fissure. How can something heal when you constant poo? I would rather go once in 2 days but no matter what I do a have to poo many times a day :)