by 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.