Sunshinehope or anyone on the forum:
What is Miralax?? Colace works for me, but I have to be careful in combination with what I eat during the day, sometimes my BM comes out like water. I might switch to prune juice. I have been bleeding since Friday. I had a couple hard BMs the only thing different I ate were blueberries. MY BMs are sort of formed and soft in the beginning and very loose in the end and I am still bleeding. How can I get them soft without getting diahrea? I am not sure what Miralax will do, is it a laxative or softner??
Patty

Miralax (I have the bottle sitting in front of me) is polyethylene Glycol 3350 - it lists its purpose as a laxative - relieves occasional constipation and softens stool. I have always heard that this and Colace were non habit-forming and safe to use long-term. Miralax tended to be a little rough on my stomach. I take Colace 200-300 mg a day along with my fiber and 80-90 ounces of water and sometimes it comes out like mush, but its better than hard and bleeding!!!

Hi, my daughters pediatrician put her on Miralax for chronic constipation, she is only 3 years old. I give her half of the recommended dose. I figure if it is safe for long-term use in a child it must be pretty good. Her bm's have been soft with no cramps.

Hi Patty,
Miralax is a stool softener that brings water to the stool to make it softer. Like what's been mentioned above, I've heard that it's non habit forming so it's safe to use for a while. Using this, I don't have that initial pain during BMs. Infact, until I started using Miralax, I almost forgot what a painless BM felt like. Without a stool softener, I tried so hard to change my diet but almost always still had pain, unless I tried REALLY REALLY hard and spent my entire day drinking water. When I started taking Miralax I was actually shocked that I didn't have any pain during my BMs anymore. It has really really helped me a lot.
It's not even available in Canada but I make a special effort to have my family members bring it - the first time I needed it, Lecia sent it to me (kind, eh?). Now I'm going to go south again to pick more up.
Also Patty, be careful with the prune juice. It works like a charm and I love it so much too, but it can cause super watery BMs if you drink too much. Prune juice has also helped me a lot though in keeping the stool soft. Good luck to you!!

Sunshinehope,
Thanks for the response. It is so hard to find a nice balance. I have to be careful on all that stuff cause I can have a BM that can come out like water. You are right prune juice is a little tricky. I drink a smal juice glass at night and thats all. I will wait a couple more days then switch to that. I have totally changed my diet. Fruits,cooked veggies, wheat bread, oatmeal, All bran buds beans and rice and lots of water. No junk at all! So far since May 18 I have lost about 19 ponnds I am gonna be real careful for a long time. I never want to go thru this pain again. Thanks again..
Patty

Hey Patty, I totally know what you mean! I've lost weight cause of the fissure too but I kind of appreciate that because I'm unable to work out until this heals or starts feeling dramatically better. I was scared of putting on too much fat but that doesn't really happen when you're drinking so much water, having mostly fruits/veggies, and no gross fatty foods. I feel a lot healthier after changing my diet, and actually have more energy than I did before.
I also hope I'll keep up with this healthy diet for as long as possible.