I'm trying to get off the Colace and the Metamucil. I'm getting plenty of fiber and water (35+ grams and atleast 4 liters of water). Does anyone just use a natural diet instead of all these recommended supplements?
Thanks!

Well, you might consider dropping the metamucil if you are getting plenty of fiber in your diet. But the colace works to keep your stools hydrated, so I don't think stoppping that is a great idea.

I know, but I never felt like I was getting anything from it. Plus, I think I'm having an electrolyte imbalance issue and I read on a few sights that long term use of Colace can cause this.
What's really frustrating is that my BM's generally tend to be soft and not too large and I still get bleeding.

Are you healed yet? If not, I too would keep taking the colace. Getting off it before you are completely healed-and-then-some could cause reinjury. I know well the desire to get of the stool softener/laxatie products, but I also know that makes the stool less reliably soft, for me at least.

Chris, are you having to strain any, or are you going more than once a day. I think both those things can contribute to bleeding.
Really, though, for most of us, the bleeding will always occur until the AF is healed. No matter what you do or change, most likely you will still get some bleeding.
I agree with BG, what if you do fine for a week then suddenly had a single hard BM that causes you major pain again?

What you both are saying makes alot of sense. But after doing some research on Colace, its effect begins to deminish over time. I never felt like I was getting anything from it, but I'm now up to 4 pills a day. I've been using it for 4 months now as well.
I actually find a cup of hot tea in the morning takes care of getting things moving.
I just came off nearly 6 weeks of no bleeding and then had two days of frequent BM's and then WHAM, blood today. I wanted to cry, but I knew it was coming. The thing is, the BM was small and soft. What a nightmare!

Colace didn't do much for me. Maybe you can try miralax or milk of magnesia or just supplementing with magnesium.
When you find something that works for you I would stick with it. If that means I have to be on a supplement to do that I will. It is a quality of life issue.

I totally agree witht he quality of life thing. do you think the effects have perhaps diminshed because of the electrolye imalance? Perhaps pediasure or gatorade would help with that.

what exactly is an electrolyte imbalance? can you fix that with vitamins or drinking more water? obviously gatorade would help since it has electrolytes in it...
i've been taking docusate sodium (i think that's the same as colace) for 8 months. in the past 4 months i've taken 500mg a day. i've never thought it made much difference, especially since i take lots of oil supplements also. i take it just for reassurance i guess.
has anyone heard of medically proven drawbacks to long term use?

I haven't heard of any medical complications. I used to be so anti-medicine to my detriment. I did not take stool softeners when I should because I thought they could be harmful and made my situation worse. For me any potential risks are weighed out by keeping my stools manageable so that I can have a better day. If that means taking fiber, probiotics, EFAs, stool softeners then so be it. I can't risk reinjuring my butt again. It takes too long to heal and I can't have a normal life.