miralax, M.O.M. and fiber??? i'm so confused!

Ok, I went to the store last nigth to find somehting that i could take daily for constipation that was non habit forming.  I read several posts about Miralax.  It was terribly expensive at walmart where i was so i thought of getting an alternative and remember MOM.  I did find a sugar free one and brought it home.  OMG!  it made me puke.  there is no way that can be part of my daily routine and trust me...there has been all kinds of things that tasted horible since rny last year but this is just not something i can stomach.  Then i thought about the other suggestions of getting more fiber from my food intake.  I do we with my protein, water & fat but if i add oatmeal or other fiberous food then my carb count goes to high.   So here i am confused.  Is there a pill version of miralax comparison that can be taken daily without becoming a habit? Is there a food that i can eat that is high fiber that will help keep regular that wont throw off my carb count for the day?   thanks in advance for everyones help. 

You can buy Miralax at Sam's Club much cheaper than at Walmart - I recently bought 2 large bottles there for about $25. Since then, I found out that there is a generic version - but it's only available by prescription. My insurance covers this and for me it's even cheaper than the Sam's price. You might talk to your pharmacist about how much it costs then get your doc to write you a prescription. I also take Colace once a day, also cheaper at Sam's than Walmart, and cheaper again as a generic prescription, even more so if you can get your doc to write for a large number at one time. As far as fiber goes, you do need some carbs in your diet to keep you going. No carbs, no energy. I can't eat cereal with milk (dump big time) but most days I eat a half cup of Fiber One as an afternoon snack. To me it tastes OK, and gives me some healthy crunch instead of reaching for something less healthy. Also, try Activia yogurt (the light kind). Several people I know say that it really helps. Yes it has carbs, but again it 's the good kind. Another thing is to be sure that you are getting in all your water EVERY day. Even missing my total for one day can seriously mess things up for me.  Good luck.

thank you so very much for all your help.  i will email my doctor now to see if he can write me a prescription.  i love the people on this board.  they are so wonderful!

M.O.M. is a laxative - you don't want to take that everyday!  Benefiber helps me - it is a white powder that dissolves completely in liquid, no taste, I take 6 tsp a day, 2 in each of three 16-oz bottles of water or crystal lite.  I also try to eat Fiber One, but I just don't have room after making sure I get my protein, veggies and fluids in.  I also take 3 stool softeners (generic Colace) a day to keep me going.  Constipation is a miserable problem so keep trying till you find something that works for you.  Good luck!

My suggestion here would be to get yourself some Benefiber.  It is wheat dextrin -- no gluten.  Miralax is made from a chemical that is very similar to antifreeze.  They say it has no side effects, but if you read up on the internet you will see that they notice effects in children you use it.  I would say that, over the long haul, this is probably not a good product to take.  MOM is gross.  I can't puke anymore and I gagged for the longest time after swallowing it.  I will never take it again.  Metamucil is made of psyllium husks and can cause painful gas, other laxatives are chemicals that will cause spasms in your digestive system and you don't want that.  I find Benefiber is the very best thing.  I put it in my protein drinks or in my morning coffee or in soup -- you can't taste it -- and I'm usually good to GO!!  Linda

> Miralax is made from a chemical that is very similar to antifreeze. Ethylene glycol is antifreeze and is extremely toxic.  Polyethylene glycol (long, long chains of ethylene glycol of a particular length and molecular weight) doesn't break down into ethylene glycol or anything else.  It's like comparing cellulose to glucose: cellulose might be composed of chains of glucose, but their properties are completely different.  Or comparing "wheat dextrin" to glucose, for that matter!  > They say it has no side effects, but if you read up on the internet > you will see that they notice effects in children you use it. News to me, since MiraLax is touted as being extremely safe for children, even infants. > I would say that, over the long haul, this is probably not a good product to take.  There's nothing wrong with being cautious, especially since there are lots of options.  IMHO, the biggest argument against MiraLax is its expense!  It has many good qualities: it's tasteless, easily dissolved in just about anything, and it's a super powerful stool softener.  Every other day keeps me all set! As far as MoM goes, have you tried the cherry flavor?  I still have a Pavlovian reaction to unflavored MoM dating back to them I was a kid.  I retched and still retech like you wouldn't believe.  But the cherry flavor is sweetened with saccharin and actually tastes rather pleasant. Metamucil also makes a non-psyllium fiber product, Fibersure, which contains yet another glucose polymer, inulin.  Inulin is extracted from chicory root and/or Jerusalem artichokes, and also mixes well in just about anything.  Some studies have demonstarted that inulin enhances calcium absorption.  It can be a bit gassy-making, though not as bad as psyllium. /Steve

Steve - if you haven't heard anything bad about Miralax, you need to do some Googling.  Major strike against it?  It's a chemical.  Generally, in healthy adults with normal digestive systems, I would expect it to be fine.  Here's one of the things I found about it:

"Miralax has such a reassuring name that makes it sound like it is just the thing nature created for this problem. Fewer people might be willing to take it - or give it to their children - if they knew that the active ingredient is a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG), a close relative of ethylene glycol (antifreeze).  Why, you might ask, would something like antifreeze end up being used as a laxative?   Well, because it works, it is synthetic and can therefore be patented, and approval studies have not uncovered any dangers (in healthy adults).

The saving grace for PEG � at least in theory � is that it has a molecular weight of 3350, too large to be absorbed by a normal digestive tract.  Studies performed in healthy, non-constipated adults show that pretty much all the Miralax taken by mouth comes out at the opposite end, meaning that none of the PEG is absorbed.

However, in constipated adults (those who actually take the Miralax) some of the PEG is always absorbed, and studies have not been able to match the amount that is excreted to what is taken in. This, incidentally, confirms that individuals with constipation have an unhealthy and excessively porous intestinal tract. If some of the PEG is retained in the body the unanswered questions are where does it go, how long does it stay there and what does it do? You might also be wondering what happens to PEG in children, but the reality is that Miralax was not studied in children.

Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect of PEG is its well-known use in research laboratories. Here PEG is used to cause different cell lines to merge, forming new �mutant� cells, or to facilitate viral infection of resistant cells. Under normal cir****tances, a given virus can only infect certain types of cells because it needs a specific attachment site that is found only on some cells and not others. Add a little PEG to the mix and the virus can infect any cell type and no longer needs an attachment site to get in. To be fair, this characteristic of PEG has not been demonstrated in the human body, although that doesn�t reassure me." Just because it works on lab rats doesn't mean it's good for people. Linda

The active ingrediance in MOM is magnesium. Insted of MOM I use (ocasionally) just pure magnesium. app 750mg at night will do the trick and I sleep like a baby all night.  I buy that at Vit Shoppe, powder, and it disovles in water in no time.  Some of them have a nice citrus flavor and it is with stevia, others have just citrus and it can be mixed in water. or Crystal light.  I find that the best source for calcium (or I buy a capsules 200 each, and open 4 and mix with applesouse). 

There is a very cheap alternative, but one that you may not like: Cod liver oil. When we were kids we got Saturday night doses of cod liver oil--1 tablespoon per mouth. It does the trick. It really doesn't taste as horrible as it sounds and it slips down very fast.

When you are counting carbs, do you differentiate between complex carbs and sugars?  Ther is a world of difference and that should be taken into consideration.  It would be pretty sad if we had to forgo truly healthy foods to keep carb count extremely low.  Also make sure your diet has at least 1 tablespoon of healthy fat per day (like olive or canola oil). That is essential for good skin as well as healthy bowels, and is another key component of metabolism, as is sufficient hydration. 

If you can, it is very helpful when you are a ways out from WLS to work with a nutritionist for a while.

Ann

well i think i figured out what part of my confusion was about.  I kept seeing posting about having 50% protein, 30 carbs & 20 fat.  I guess i wasnt paying attention and thought those were gram counts like having 100 grams of protein a day.  therefore, i was confused on how the heck we only get 30 grams of carbs in a day.  LOL   now i am trying to translate how many grams of each category is needed daily.  100 grams of protein and how many of the other catagories?    i am 7 months out and have about 15-20 lbs left to go till goal.  i get all my water and protein in and calories are usually around 800.   how many grams of the others would be needed for 800-1000 calorie count? thanks for the help.. i might hold off on the cod liver oil!  EWWWWW!!