Hello all,
I had surgery 3 weeks ago for three things: very large and deep anal fissure up high, close to my vagina, anal abcess and hemorrhoidectomy. I go back to work in two weeks. I drink tons of water and eat lots of soluble and insoluble fiber. I take only two hydromorphone for pain in a 24 hour period fearing the constipation that might ensue because of them. I was at the max dose of Senekot (8 per day) and over the last three weeks weaned myself down to zero. My doc doesn't want me going the Miralax or Mineral oil route just yet. While excrutiating, my bowel movements were 4 - 6 a day (too many per the doctor) thus the reduction in Senekot. I still take 3 servings of Metamucil powder with water a day, drink lots of water and eat lots of fiber. This past week I added rice and a total of 3 ounces of chicken in tiny increments. I had trouble this morning going to the bathroom. I wouldn't say I am constipated but the bowel movement is much thicker and it only comes out a little bit at a time. I am down to one bowel movement a day and terrified of getting constipated. Should I stick to only very high fiber foods, forget the rice and of course any chicken? I haven't eaten meat for a month now, nor dairy. I want to go back on the Senekot but fear getting dependent on it for bowel movements. Please help me. Any advice?

Hi u may want to read this http://anal-fissure.org/t3555-my-success-story?highlight=Success+story
Especially on the fiber intake portion. Raise questions if any.

GET SOME MIRALAX!!
Sorry, I don't mean to yell, and I usually never do, but if you look around this board, you'll see how many of us Miralax has helped. Senokot does not seem like a safe choice because of dependency issues. Most docs recommend Colace but that is pretty inconsistently effective.
I have no idea what your doc is thinking saying no to Miralax...it is very safe stuff, pediatricians even recommend it for little babies! Sheesh. Well, plenty of us have been given bad advice by various doctors, and I think the most important thing is to find what works for you--it's YOUR body, not the doctor's. You've had a LOT of work done and it wouldn't be out of the question to consider taking Miralax for 6 months to a year or more. Miralax is safe for this kind of long term use, Senokot is NOT.
Best wishes!

Thank you dwarfs 8 and alpinestrawberry! I appreciate the feedback. I agree about the fiber and appreciate the link dwarfs 8. This is definitely a learning experience and I am eager to learn. Thank you!
Alpinestrawberry... don't worry about the yelling (ha). I sense your passion and desire to help with my situation. I will definitely be learning more about Miralax and reading more of the posts here about Miralax. Thank you for the guidance and for putting me in a position to feel I have a direction to head towards in this process. One last thing..... can I take Miralax while taking Metamucil 3 times a day? Metamucil seems to help and would like to keep taking it. If I can combine the two, it might solve my problem. Thank you SO much for your suggestion. Will begin investigating and learning as much as I can about Miralax ASAP. Much appreciated! Rosebud...

Yes, u will be able to. I have been taking 1/2 dose of Miralax AM+PM and metamucil 2 times a day. You just have to adjust Miralax as needed for your body. I am two weeks out from LIS and going to try just 1/2 dose of Miralax at night. Metamicuil , guess I will take that forever.

I have a great CRS btw and he too when I asked about Miralax said no, it's a laxative. I am not sure but I think Dr only think it a laxative , but in smaller doses it is a stool softener. I think that's why he said no. But I have had better success with it instead of colace and have not had "laxative" effect. That being said, you will have to adjust dose up or down depending on your body.

i also have taken mirlax when i had constipation and it works really good for me. i would take it every day if i could but my pattern is alternating between diarrhea and constipation and i never know what i am going to have. i guess this is ibs.

Hi Tony and Jenny, Thank you so much for the help. I have a bottle of Miralax I bought recently and read up on it. Not sure why the doctor thinks Miralax needs to wait but maybe it is what you were saying Tony... that it depends on the dosage and the laxative/stool softener difference. Things get better day by day but my gosh it has been four weeks and this sure is a slow recovery. I can't wait to be free of it but realize that I never truly will be because I will always need to make sure I am eating fiber, drinking water and watching my body and its responses a lot better than before, acting hoping to prevent the problem in the first place. In my case it was a bout of food poisoning that brought all this on. Thanks so much and I am Miralax ready.... :) Rosebud

I'm not a massive fan of Movicol but recently have started taking it again, it does exactly what it says on the tin (bottle,sachet) it cures constipation, I was having major issues with constipation for the last few months and have had to start back on the Movicol, alas though it's too late as I've had a re-tear, I can only hope that smooth BM's will help with the healing!
BTW Movicol/Miralax is definitely safe for long term use and I will take it forever if I have to.