So unlike many my fissure was likely not caused by a constipation...i think it was a long term loose stool issue with other contributing factors.

Of late (last 3 weeks) I have found that while my pain level has dropped to a 0.5 or 1 out of 10...my bowels are acting up again and I am concerned about this.

Alert....I am now going to describe my bowel habits...sorry folks

I go to the loo like clockwork after i wake up. According to the Bristol Stool Chart I start out at a 5 and then finish off at a 6. Again, very minimal pain if at all these days. I then eat breakfast and my bowels are activated again...about 20/30 mins after breakfast i need to head to the bathroom and I am at a 7 according to the chart....basically water.

I have tried reducing the magnesium i am taking to 300mg from 450mg/day, i do not take a softener, i have tried adding in more carbs (granola...even some bread!), i have taken out eggs and dairy in case they are causing some irritation...nothing really seems to help.

Has anyone dealt with this sort of thing...any suggestions. I am all ears.

Thanks again for reading this.

Best to all,
Canadabum

What time of day do you take your magnesium, Canada?

I take one at breakfast (6:30 am) and one at around 5:30pm.

In past it was one with each meal.

Well, I dunno, but I was wondering if the magnesium citrate taken on an empty stomach is rushing through your system and drawing water into the intestines when there's essentially no stool to mix it with. Maybe it then stimulates a watery bowel movement.

I have never taken magnesium so I don't know how quickly it generally works. This is just a thought.

Interesting thought. I will adjust a bit and see what happens. Great out of the box thinking Scientist.

Scientist - are you totally symptom free now? Was also wondering if you remember how long you spent at the .5/1 pain or annoyance level before you fully healed.

I take 450 to 600 mg mag citrate daily, half in the morning other half at dinner

No diarrhea here, but everyone is different

Hi Canadabum. Did you get my PM? If not, I'll copy and paste it here. Let me know.

Chachacha...for some reason I didn't get it...thanks for following up...much appreciated.

How long................about a year I'd say.
I recently updated my thread to say that using topical oestrogen for about 2 months finally cured me completely. At least, I think that's what did it. Now I can have a harder stool, or get a bit stressed, without having a couple of days of pain.

It's funny how my memories of "how much pain" and "for how long" are fading quite quickly. Look at my thread if you want an accurate account!
a-one-person-experiment-on-af-drugs-t7231.html

I just went to copy the PM I sent you yesterday, and can't find it, so I guess that I'll try to remember what I said and start again, lol (no wonder you didn't get it, if I didn't send it properly!).

I had chronic diarrhea for about 2 years, and tried altering my diet in many ways, including adding fiber and lessening how much of it I ate and by eliminating other foods like dairy. I also tried 4 different (and very expensive!) probiotics and nothing helped at all.

Before LIS, I used to sit at my computer every morning and check my emails and forums and would always have a cup and a half of coffee. After the surgery though, because I couldn't sit for the first couple of weeks, I decided to have tea instead, because lying on the couch with coffee just seemed "wrong". I did not have one teaspoon of diarrhea after the surgery, and the only conclusion I could draw was that it was a result of this change. I then read up on tea and discovered that it is an astringent that could help cure diarrhea. I had also read that coffee could cause diarrhea, but because I'd been drinking it my entire adult life (I'm mid-50's now) and only had a cup and a half a day, I thought that that couldn't possibly be the problem. Looks like I was wrong.

Another possibility, raised by my CRS, was bile acid diarrhea, and he said that he'd help me investigate that after the surgery, and that could easily have been treated by a drug (Questran) that was used for high cholesterol before the advent of statins like Lipitor. That clearly wasn't my issue, but perhaps it's something that you could look into.

I definitely wouldn't be taking Magnesium though, if you already have stools that are too soft, because that could make the problem worse.

I hope that things improve for you very soon