I need some advice on miralax.

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I need some advice on miralax.

Postby frustrated » 15 Mar 2011, 12:01

My BMs are still occasionally too firm.
Can I bulid up a tolerance to Miralax?
Is there a "best way" to take the dose? Split it up? AM or PM?
I was taking it in the AM, but the beginning of my stool the next morning was firm and that caused pain. Now I take it around dinnertime and I have less problems, but it's still not always soft.
I am eating a high fiber, vegan diet (only eating beans, fruit, veggies, & whole grains)and lots of H2O...why won't it stay soft???????? My GI doc says I could start taking more, but when does that stop?
I tried Cheryl's recipe (prune juice. apple sauce, and oat bran) but no difference. Food doesn't seem to be the problem...????
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby Elphie » 15 Mar 2011, 14:57

I've only been using it since Friday, started with half dose around 2pm then half at bedtime but now I've upped my bedtime dose to full. So far so good. I was definately building a resistance to the docusate sodium but I've not heard on here of anyone having to increase it over time.
Miralax, that is...
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby NeuropathicGuy » 15 Mar 2011, 15:19

I think your body can potentially get accustomed to Miralax over time. Pretty much like most other drugs out there. I can't say that I have any firsthand experience here, though, as I've never tried stopping Miralax personally. Maybe one day, but for the time being I'm happy to leave well enough alone. There are folks taking lifelong drugs for all kinds of conditions, and if my list stops at Miralax (which it doesn't unfortunately), I can't say I'd be unhappy...
For what it's worth, most medical studies I've seen suggest that Miralax is perfectly safe for long term use. The flip side of that coin is that there are very, very, very few studies on this.
As far as dosing, I tried doing it all kinds of different ways in the beginning: split doses, morning doses, evening doses, etc. You name it, I tried it. I eventually settled on taking it immediately after dinner in a single dose (full 17 grams). That seems to work the best for me. Drinking lots of water is critical for efficacy, so make sure you do that (drink to the point where your urine is clear and you'll know it's enough for sure).
As far as stool softness, Miralax beats any diet you could ever concoct IMO. Doctors will tell you to keep eating more and more fiber, but IMO that isn't always effective. Maybe if it was all from fruit but then you'd probably get diarrhea. At one point I was eating upwards of 50 grams of fiber a day and my bowel movements were still too hard for the fissure's liking. Miralax was the single thing that did the most for getting it under control.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby sphinctersaurus » 15 Mar 2011, 15:35

Ditto NG,
At one point I was eating more than 50 grams of fibre, taking Metamucil, Fibresure and taking a full three sachets (13.8 grams each) of Movicol/Miralax and STILL getting hard BMs. It seems that if you are getting too much fibre, you will need a lot of laxative/softener ... At least, that's how it was for me! Also ... That much fibre and laxative will have you spending most of every day in the smallest room in the house!
Frustrated - Maybe you are eating too much fibre?
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby frustrated » 15 Mar 2011, 21:24

Thanks for the info...I am also starting to think that more fiber is not the answer...I must be, at least, at 40 grams. I'm so afraid to eat anything without fiber.
I think that I'll stick to taking the Miralax at dinnertime for awhile. Maybe take a bump before bed too.
NG...I am willing to stay on it for the rest of my life if I have to...My doc told me he has lots of patients that have taken it for years. At this point if someone told me it would shorten my life...I'd still take it.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby NeuropathicGuy » 16 Mar 2011, 14:24

frustrated wrote:NG...I am willing to stay on it for the rest of my life if I have to...My doc told me he has lots of patients that have taken it for years. At this point if someone told me it would shorten my life...I'd still take it.

Yup I feel the same, and my doc agreed. Maybe we even have the same docs or something (I used to live in West LA but now live in the SF Bay area) :)
Anyway I'm a fan of dinnertime Miralax myself. So you and I will be on the same "regimen." I sometimes lower the dose a tad (say only 3/4 of the full dose) if it's been a veggie-heavy day, and give it a slight bump (say a heaping capful rather than flat capful) if it's been a junk food-heavy day.
I wouldn't get overly obsessed with the fiber thing. It's good to keep your fiber intake up and be aware of what you're eating, but don't get too crazy about it. I know what that's like and it doesn't help IMO. For months during my fissure's youth, I was eating ONLY things that had at least 4-6 grams of fiber. Any less and I wouldn't touch it. That led to an extremely unbalanced diet, lots of flatulence, and enormous, frequent turds. Not cool. I'd say to shoot for 20-25 grams a day if possible but don't sweat it if you miss the target. Try Miralax with lots and lots of water and I'd be surprised if it didn't make a big difference for you after a couple days.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby frustrated » 17 Mar 2011, 12:37

Thanks for the advice again!
NG- I live in Northern Cal too...we are almost neighbors.
I am having the same issues you had in your "fissure youth"...I won't eat anything without at least 3 grams of fiber. And YES my BMs are giant....I guess its true that fiber adds bulk. I am going to try to balance my diet. Last night I had a small amount of meat and a little dessert for the first time in 5 months. I bumped up my miralax for the evening too. So far so good. I am a sugar "addict" though, so I think I'll still stay away from that, since it may have been a major cause of my constipation/fissure. I am now shooting for 100 ounces of water and have given up coffee (dehydrater). It's so dry here that I have to drink extra water everyday.
Last edited by frustrated on 25 Mar 2011, 12:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby magnesium » 21 Mar 2011, 20:41

Hi frustrated i use to be a vegetarian heaps of fibre i would eat prunes in larges amounts i was always constipated.i changed to eating low carbohydrate high protein,fat diet and my constipation was better and that is meat at 3/4 of my meals,i still eat this way and don't have many problems[2 years] i even once tried eating only meat for 2 weeks to see what would happen and i did not get constipated,strange i would have to agree.what i have learnt is general health and mineral deficiencies i think cause constipation it will not matter what you eat.i do no drinking lots of water does make a fair difference .and lots of sugar as you stated is the worse thing you can do i no it is with me.interestingly and i don't want to offend anyone but since going away from being a vegetarian my health has improved out of sight aways heaps of energy.consider doing a hair mineral analysis test it will give you a good idea of your general health i get mine done at www.traceelements.com they are really good hope this helps.
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby suzyljank » 25 Mar 2011, 10:29

Hi, I've taken miralax for a few years now and what I've learned is that no matter what you eat eventually your bms will be a little different. For me it seems like once a month things start to firm up a little too much so I just adjust my dose of miralax when that happens. It usually lasts a few days and then I readjust it down. I've had LIS a few years ago and it helped some but I have stenosis so I still have to maintain soft, small bms. I still get small tears now and then and the area can get very sore if I have too many bms, or even diarrhea but I'm better off than I was before the surgery. There is another surgery I could have for the stenosis but at this moment in time I don't want anymore cutting to that particular area of my body and there is a chance it wouldn't work. If you think you need to take a little more miralax than the regular dose it's alright, drink more liquid too, that helps alot. Suzy
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Re: I need some advice on miralax.

Postby frustrated » 02 Apr 2011, 16:40

Thanks for the advice...reducing my fiber intake has helped and I am now eating poultry and fish again. I am having usually one BM a day and they are not gigantic anymore...YAY. I am also taking a teaspoon more of miralax before bed to add to my full dinner dose. I hope this positive response keeps up. I am not as scared in the morning now and able to relax a bit.
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