Laxative Dependency After Colostomy

Did anyone have to use laxatives daily since having their colostomy months or years ago? I had my colostomy 9 months ago and have had to take Miralax every day to have bowel movements. I don't like it. Any suggestions as to how I can wean off this dependence? Thanks.

I've had my colostomy since March of 2021. I've never needed to take anything. I did take Miralax for a couple of days because I thought I had a partial blockage. It ended up not being that, so the Miralax was for nothing really.

Try drinking more water, eating a few more fruits, and taking a 20-minute walk... Also, coffee helps, but if you drink too much, you may get diarrhea!

If you never had to use laxatives pre-colostomy, then this is odd. I would agree with Maried's advice about drinking more water and other fluids. Have you changed your diet in some way since your surgery?

Terry

I have fortunately never experienced this sort of problem, but being reliant on daily laxatives certainly cannot be good for your health. My advice is to look carefully at your current diet, and if it doesn't contain a lot of fiber, then try to increase this by eating more fresh (i.e. uncooked/unprocessed) fruit and vegetables. Other sources of dietary fiber, such as All-Bran cereal, could also be useful. As others have mentioned, you should also make sure you are drinking enough water: at least 6-8 glassfuls per day.

I have an ileostomy and have the opposite issue. I was recommended loperamide which slows down the small intestine - and am expected to take it as standard. I wasn't happy with this and looked at managing my output with food.
You can find information online about the effect of different foods on the state of your output by the time it reaches your colon. Your colon is taking water out - so maybe you need to be more hydrated. Or have more foods that have water in them or that keep the output soft.
Pre-op whenever I was constipated I would have poached pears and that would work for me. I do think that these things are individual, though.
Start by keeping a food and drink diary and then have a look online at how your diet will work inside your body.
And I'd agree with what's been posted about going for a walk being one of the best things you can do to help your bowel to work.
Whatever you do in adjusting your diet I'd say to go in slow and nothing too drastic. The same with the medication. And talk to your doctor. Though it might be outside their realm of knowledge. It's a specialist area. I've been referred to a dietician by my doctor and she didn't know anything about diets with a stoma.
With an ileostomy, where my challenge is to keep the output solid, I've found that if I have a banana a day then my output is a good consistency. Find out what works for you. I found this chart to be useful. I hope it's OK to post it here.