Laxative or stool softener? (TMI Post)

Ok so, my BM are regular but they are hard and they really hurt. I have to strain, and I know I'm not supposed to. Especially since right after I had my baby girl, I've had probs with hemorrhoids. (I think, the doc said he didn't see any, but they could still be there, and this was a bit after I had the baby. She's 2 now.) But I have the symptoms of them, like pain, itching, burning, and bright red blood in or after BM.

Sorry for the TMI... but I trust there are some vets here who know of good ways to solve this...

miralax. that is the only thing that works for me. 

Laxative - makes my muscle cramp.. and they are addictive.  they can cause dependency. Most of them would not change the consistency of the BM.   Miralx in my morning coffee.. magnesium at night. and lots of liquids during the day 

A capful of Miralax ( or the store brand equivalent) mixed into my morning coffee, drinking lots of water, and getting plenty of fat ( healthy fat ) in my diet works for me. 

I also take carbonyl iron, which is much less likely to cause constipation than ferrous sulfate. ( not sure what, or if, you take. ) 

You need something more.  I use benefiber in my yogurt once or twice a week.  I do not need it every day.  Find out what works best for you.  You are right, straining is not good.

if you are able to go you might not need a laxative regularly. 

I had had good luck with stool softeners taken every night. 

With my dr approval, I took as many gel caps a night as necessary to get a soft stool. 

At one point, that was 6 caps a night. At another point it was 12 caps a nite, when I had to take a med also known for causing constipation. 

Two caps prob won't do a thing for so they can be upped 

I would suggest going the natural route and having a kiwi fruit or 2 a day. These can be mashed, added to yoghurt, smoothies or just nibbled on as you feel up to it (no skin obviously). They are super high in fibre and vitamin c and really help keep you regular and soften the stool.

Good luck

Even if I've eaten several prunes a day for 3 days and that still doesn't help? Is Kiwi better than prunes? If so, I see a trip to the store for some kiwi, lol. But I think I am gonna have to try the Miralax if that doesn't work. 

I've found kiwi really good (better than prunes) but you could start with the miralax and also incorporate kiwi into your diet to keep things working.

There's a product called kiwi crush which has little ice blocks of kiwi, found in frozen foods here and I'm pretty sure it's exported or you can find something similar. This was a life saver for me but literally will clean your whole system out so tread carefully ;-)

Even 5 years out I still take one stool softener daily. I eat so much protein is what I'm told by Dr. that it can be a common problem. When my system is really bad I up it until I get "cleaned out" then go back to and STICK with one per day.

I take a probiotic every day since surgery and have no problems at all