We are all proud of our newest AFSF grad! Way to go, Kate!
Kim

Awwwww thank you so much Lecia and Kim. I am happy! I have one more year to go to get my masters degree, and then its out into the real world with me. A bit scary but exciting too!
xo
kate

hello kate...how are you with your recovery,i havent read anything bout it in awhile[maybe i missed it..] just curious...oh yea,congrats on your graduation!!

Hey Dano,
So far so good. I found my magic number of fiber (25 grams a day) and I try to drink a lot of water. It seems that if i stick to this then I am fine. If I dont, then I feel it within a day. Otherwise though, things are great. I still have one tender spot down there that I am careful not to rub with really tough toilet paper, but other than that, I really have no complaints! The surgery was totally worth it.

congrats kate. i can't wait to graduate, just a few months left, then onto masters and like you said, the real world
i was wondering, to those of you who take miralax or other laxatives/softeners, do you take them regularly? I was reading the label and it says you shouldn't take it for more than a week at a time, but I've heard of some people taking it regularly for months or even years. Wouldn't this make you dependent on the medicine or on having some type of medicine in order to have a soft BM?
I don't think I've ever had to take any sort of laxative or softener prior to this problem, so I'm a bit confused about how much I should take or how frequently - I wouldn't want to depend on stool softeners in the long-run... I was hoping to have soft BM's just from my diet (increased fibre, water, etc.) but it wasn't really working so I had to use the softener. Does anyone have any advice on that?
Thank you all

i asked my doc all these questions about miralax and he said miralax is fine for long term use. he said it is so safe that the drug is prescribed for children too.
about being dependent - what else can you do? u cannot risk another fissure.
i'm taking miralax regularly. it is not like i cannot have a bowel movement without it. but with it the BM is more predictable and softer. hope this helps.

I would not be concerned about dependency on stool softeners. I took them for seven months and when I finally stopped, I could tell no difference. All the information I could gather always indicated this.

main reason miralax is not over the counter is that if someone uses too much of it, it will result into electrolyte imbalance which is not a good thing.
i used colace for about 8 months and then stopped without much problem.

A good friend here is a doctor and has had me on this on and off for 4 years as needed.
She told me her 9 year old daughter had taken it regularly for several years when she had problems with constipation.
I have never had problems with weaning off though I would do it slowly. Take less and less as you need it less and less and start out with just a little bit to see how your system handles it to begin with. A full dose could make it too watery.
Miralax is not a stimulant like some other laxatives that work on the nerves in the intestines so your bowels will not become dependent on it. It is simply a mechanism for absorbing water into the stool to soften it up.
Maybe just start with 1/4 of the dose and see how it does you.
Good luck!

Thank you all. Some good news Lecia, today was my first 'fluffy' /completely painless BM since the one I had on my trip... It's thanks to the miralax, aloe vera juice, loads of water, and loads of fibre. I didn't even think it'd be possible for me to have a painless BM until now :p . I hope Im healing..
I was wondering about the Miralax because it says you shouldn't take it for longer than 7 days. I don't think my doctor knows about it because very few people here know about Miralax and it's not sold here, but I will ask her anyway. Thank you all