Basically I am also asking a Benefiber vs Citrucel question. In fact, I'm going to ask my questions and then the rest is background if someone wants it. Otherwise it overwhelms even me to read it! So what is the advantage really to bulking up stools? As opposed to just softening, like with Miralax alone? I don't quite understand why being "bulky" is better- does it make things move along more as a whole and not come out in fits and starts in several times over the day? In other words, does it "regulate" by decreasing frequency? And it seems a lot of people on here have found good success with Benefiber, something I have not tried. I started using Metamucil months ago in the progress of things and it just really tore up my digestive system and didn't work well for me. Then I tried Citrucel for quite a while but had a lot of frequency (5-6 times a day). It didn't seem to bother me as much and maybe I blamed it for some things going on that didn't have to do with it. That said, when I took it last week for a few days, I really had that awful gassy, I may have to go at any moment that I associated with it before. I was really trying way too many things at once months ago, including magnesium and flax oil (which I later have seemed to realize through trial and error really cause some digestive issues for me that are not pleasant). I was taking only Miralax pre LIS a couple of weeks ago with a good balance only taking 1-2 tsps a night in warm water. I was usually going 2- 3 times a day, which I would have liked to change to 1-2, but was afraid to drop it out. Since the surgery, I started taking Citrucel again and then added Colace and upped my Miralax to 3-4 tsps a night (4 tsps is a capful-adult dose). This was because of the advice of the surgery center. My CRS's printed material recommended fiber supplement plus Colace but he was ok with me doing what had worked for me. But because I definitely took Vicodin for a few days, I wanted to offset that. And it was pretty ok for that while I was taking the pain meds. I dropped the Citrucel last Friday because I was going 4- times a day and had gas. I kept the Colace and have gradually decreased the Miralax. So the last couple of days have just been 1 Colace + 3 tsps Miralax.
Today I had a probably too soft BM to start things and during breakfast had a very sudden, didn't quite make it to the bathroom watery poop. TMI alert- could almost see the gel like texture that I assume is the Miralax.
I decided to add 1/2 a dose of the Citrucel in this morning and to drop the Colace tonight and reduce the Miralax by 1/2 tsp down to 2 1/2 tsps.
So that's my plan- hopefully to achieve some balance again and avoid any more alarming and scary urgency. I am not getting too upset by that as I think my ability to hold anything in right now is still impacted by my external muscle just being bruised and confused and maybe still a little swelling down there.

I prefer to bulk up the stool so to get rid of a larger amount in one go rather than 4-5 visits which causes irritation and burning, I've found that doing it this way is much less harsh on the old arse and has eased the vast majority of my discomfort, I couldn't imagine going back to Movicol and the 6,7,8...10 Times a day sloppy poops that sting like hell.
Bulking up the stools also prevents stenosis which can be caused by the long term use of laxatives, I'm not saying anyone will get stenosis but I certainly don't like the risk

So I am sure I am not alone in having a conception of "bulking" meaning too big and hard to come out. I actually don't know if I have just gotten a bit of a bug, having just had stomach cramps and watery stools again.
I would really enjoy getting back into a habit of once a day, yet still soft to not wreck anything! Still not 2 weeks out from surgery yet. So do you use Benefiber?
Bambi

Bulking doesn't mean that the stool is hard, it means that it could be long and sometimes big but well formed and not too sloppy.
I only take Fybogel, never tried Benefiber

Hey Bambi,
I just take the miralax and eat a fair amount of fiber. I have well formed stools with the miralax, nothing runny and go 1-2 x's a day. I've not tried the benefiber yet but plan to in a couple of months when I stop the miralax.
I used the metamucil when I first got my fissure and it made my bm's huge, like nothing I've ever seen before. I actually felt my fissure rip more when I took it. I'm deathly afraid to ever try it again. I'm hoping and praying I don't mess anything up when I stop the miralax!
It's crazy how different things work on everyone! I can see how Steves healing could have been delayed by so many bm's and runny at that. I would be worried about stenosis for sure if they weren't formed for a long amount of time.
If you are already eating lots of fiber then the supplements may be causing too many bm's.

oops! Had to delete. It posted twice!

Well, Benefiber doesn't make for a bigger poop, at least not for me. Actually it's effects are so subtle, I don't find it to be worth the money at all. Lately I've been taking the Digestive Advantage Chronic Constipation formula--they're fiber pills with an added probiotic. I like them.
Metamucil definitely caused me to rip more, but maybe after LIS that won't be the case. Other than that, I liked the stuff--nice predictable BM's in the morning and it didn't seem to cause me any gas.
But, eating some nice roasted asparagus or a soft pear will also regulate me, so I guess I prefer healthy diet to supplements at this point.
If you have any further trouble with leakage/not making it to the bathroom, you could consider upping the Colace and decreasing the Miralax.
I don't like Miralax, I think it makes my stomach hurt. But, it is effective. If I take it consistently I won't tear the fissure. And it's a cheap supplement for me since I can only take half to one teaspoon per day without getting diarrhea.
What you don't want is a lot of diarrhea...I know surgeons hesitate to do LIS on people who have IBS-d, because the odds of incontinence are higher with lots of diarrhea. If you are getting diarrhea, I say back off the Miralax.

I did back off the Miralax last night by just 1/2 a teaspoon so now I am back to 2 1/2 teaspoons. I know what you mean Alpine. I think it was NG I talked about this with before but when I first tried Miralax it really made me feel odd. So I kindof hate that I feel the need to take it all the time, but like Dawn, it scares me to not take it and now is certainly not the time for me to be thinking of that yet. But I was also very sensitive to upping it by even a small amount and for quite a while I was only taking about a teaspoon a night. It was only post-surgery that I increased it because of the Vicodin. So far today I had just one, fairly small in amount and diameter, yet very soft BM (like the size of a dime around). I thought about taking the 1/2 tablespoon of Citrucel I took yesterday, but I think I may just wait another day and see. I am afraid of getting things too big right now. Maybe I'll see what happens after dinner... It is such an individual thing, isn't it? I have dreams of lovely days of one BM a day each morning that is formed, soft and never hurts! The good old days will return!

Bambi, I know exactly what you mean...now whenever I reflect upon my past, I'm always thinking of it in terms of how great things were before my butt went haywire. It's like my life is divided into two chapters--Before Butt Trouble and After Butt Trouble.
I really hate Miralax, I do, but it's a necessary evil right now. Colace has less side effects, but unfortunately it works very inconsistently. Miralax seems to decrease the diameter of the poo for me as well, but right now that's a good thing since I will tear so easily if it's any larger. I tried taking Magnesium and really screwed up my system with that...it's better to just stick to the Miralax and try to eat some fruits and veggies each day.
My CRS didn't seem to mind me taking the Miralax at all. The gastro doctor looked at me like I was nuts when I said I needed a stool softener every day. She started telling me horror stories of all the things that could be wrong with me if I had hard stools. I don't think she understood fissures at all, really. The stools I have without softeners wouldn't be considered hard stools by most people...you know what I mean. I hated the gastro doc...I could see she wasn't going to help me fix the problem, she just wanted to bully me into getting a colonoscopy done. At my age, with my family history, and the reason why I have the fissure (childbirth), it just seems like common sense to me that the odds are pretty slim of a colonoscopy finding anything.
Sorry for the ramble! It helps to ramble once in awhile though, very cathartic. I'm glad you're doing better. Just remember, Miralax is pretty harmless stuff and even though it can make you feel weird, it's better than a sore butt!

I agree about it being better than the sore butt! And even though today has been a day of so far two very soft BMs, the first one somehow felt like it was big and maybe hard on the way down. So I woke up scared by that (I have this tendency now to wake up and immediately have to go), but the later one was virtually painless . Tomorrow will be two weeks out from LIS for me so I will probably stay with my 2 1/2 tsps a few more days and then maybe go down by a tiny tiny bit and see what happens.
I found magnesium to really be hard on my system as well. And I also had a not great experience with a GI doc- although at my age it did make sense to check things out a year ahead of schedule with a colonoscopy. Still, my PCP was thinking of it as a way for someone to get a better look at the fissure and give some advice and he was not at all helpful that way- discouraging and now I realize he doesn't really "get it" at all. Seems surprising that a GI doc wouldn't , but seems like that is often the case.