Has anyone ever tried taking a Tbs of Olive Oil as a stool softener/lubricant? If so, what were the results? Beginning this week, along with my usual gallon of water and at least 40g of fiber and one dose of Miralax, I've started taking one Tbs of Olive Oil in the evening and one colace tablet before bed. I think I may be overdoing it a bit and might need to stop the colace, but it seems, at least for now, that my stools have been softer. Not sure if this will last though as I've tried other things in the past that helped for a few days and then stopped. Anyone know if taking Olive Oil is safe, long term?

I have taken olive oil at one point. I'm not sure if it really helped or not. I don't think it can hurt to take it long term.
It's safe. I believe the back of the bottle says something about health advantages of having 2 tbs. a day.

I added extra olive oil to my diet at one point. I also don't know how much it helped. It was hard to tell if something made a difference for me after a while because I was already doing a ton of things to try to soften things up. Water, fruits, veggies, laxatives, fiber supplements, stool softners....the list just kept growing. Unless something gave me diarrhea, I couldn't tell. Now 2+ weeks post LIS I only use Metamucil and 2 colace a day and my CRS is going to have me stop the colace soon. I still drink tons of water but I'm already easing up on my diet. I've actually already had pizza and a hamburger...only one time for each though but no problems.
Olive oil is perfectly safe to take daily. I read somewhere that the average italian citizen consumes 15-20 liters of olive oil a year. That's a little more than a tablespoon or two a day.
Good luck. Hope the olive oil helps.

Olive oil is good for people (nutritionally and for cholesterol).

I assumed that it would be safe, but I guess you never know. I have tried SO MANY things over the years and nothing seems to work, long term. Often times I notice a difference initially and then the effects taper off over time. Miralax alone doesn't conistently help so I need something more. Of course, I could just do LIS and maybe that would solve my problems, but I'm still a chicken about that :) Last week I had three days in a row where my bm's were literally like giving birth, even though my stool was not large or dry. Just couldn't get things to relax enough to go without straining. SO now, I'm starting to feel alot of pain that I fear is external hermorrhod pain and possible blood clot. BUT, this week, I have taken 1 Tbs of olive oil each evening and my bms have been very soft and easy to pass. I'm expecting any day to have a relapse, but I'm crossing my fingers anyway.

How long have you had your fissure mm92599?
I know LIS is scary. I'm having it done on Tuesday w/skin tag removal and I'm very scared.
I hope things work out for you and you get better but I just want to say that this is no way to live for years. I've had my fissure almost 8 months now and there's no way I could live like this for years.
Think of it this way- we can spend years or a lifetime living in fear of bm's , tearing and healing over and over or spend a few weeks to a few months healing from a surgery that has been proven to work on the majority of society.
This is the scariest choice I've ever had to make in my life,yet and it sucks that we have too, but this could be and most likely will be the best choice I've ever made to get my life back to normal.
I live in a very small town, everybody knows everybody and just mentioning to a few people that I have a fissure and will be having the surgery, I have found out about 3 other people who have had LIS. They all healed and have normal lives now. One actually had it 25 years ago and has no incontinence, he said it was the best thing he'd ever did.
Good luck with whatever choice you make. I hope you feel better soon.

LIS can be scary. I waited for months until I couldn't take it any longer. My CRS told me that he performs about 4-5 a month and has for several years. He has only had 2 patients have recurring fissures in that time and has not seen any long term incontinence problems with any. I think the important factor in this decision is to find the best CRS you can.
I had very little time to stress over my decision. I went to my CRS on a Wednesday and he performed it on that Friday. It's still early for me but I'm not regretting my decision one bit. The last 3 weeks (as of tomorrow) have been sheer heaven compared to where I was before. I only wish I would have decided earlier. I could have had a more pleasant summer.
Here's hoping you heal soon.

I would definitely have already had LIS if I knew that it would relieve the underlying issue that I have, which is difficulty with bowel evacuation. Unlike most of the posters on here, my rectal problems did not begin with the development of an anal fissure. My rectal problems began long before I ever developed my first fissure and the fissures are the result of the chronic pelvic floor tension that I have suffered from for many years. If I knew that LIS would absolutely loosen up the muscles enough to allow for strain-free bowel movements, then I'd be on board 100%. Because, even if my recurring fissures are cured with LIS, I will still have problems if the underlying issues are not dealt with. I think that is why I am so wishy-washy most of the time. I may just need to take the risk and do the surgery and hope that, at the very least, it relieves some of my underlying issues.
On another note, has anyone had issues with taking in too much iron? I've heard that too much iron can cause constipation, but it seems that all the good foods that are high in fiber are also high in iron content. Any ideas of how to find balance with fiber and iron? I wonder if maybe part of my problem with diet is that the foods I eat, such as beans, whole grain bread/cereal, salads, etc. cause me to take in to much iron. Just curious.

It is practically impossible for you to get "too much iron" from food !!!!!
Taking Iron supplements is another story and one has to be very careful not to exceed recommended amount since it is highly toxic.
Olive oil - can do you only good , no matter how much you take internally. I use only Olive and Canola oil for cooking and salad dressing.
I used to use Olive oil on my anus any time it was irritated and it worked wonders for me LOL
Best of luck with it all : )))