I feel you! I have had chronic, severe constipation since my hysterectomy. Miralax (nor senokot) has not been my friend. What has come to work for me, MOST of the time, is a combination of the following:

1. At bedtime, I drink water with vitamin 1000mg C powder and 500mg magnesium citrate powder dissolved in
2. I eat 1/2 cup of fermented vegetables prior to my first meal of the day, and more after, if needed or desired. After absolutely HATING sauerkraut and kimchee, as a medical experiment I tried this and found that I actually like fermented red cabbage with caraway seeds. Who knew?!
2. Prior to each meal, I take 1 tablespoon of psyllium whole husk fiber (after trying a few, I've settled on Organic India). I put the fiber in the bottom of a glass, add 2 ounces of hot water, then add 6 ounces of cool water and drink it right down. If I wait, it turns in to a disk-shaped gel at the bottom of the glass. No worries...I just drink a lot more warm water with it and swish it between my teeth before I swallow.
3. Immediately prior to each meal, I take 300mg of magnesium (in different forms...citrate, taurate, glycinate...increases likelihood of absorption)
4. About 1 hour after dinner, I take 1 capsule of magnesium threonate, again with 8 ounces of water, which supports cognitive function over the long term. Some sources suggest taking this in the AM, so I may consider this.
5. I can also use abdominal self-massage and some yoga poses (rotating the spine can be quite helpful...my pelvic PT showed them to me) to support movement through my digestive system.

This is a LOT of magnesium, a LOT of fiber and a LOT of vitamin C AND, if I'm doing it right, a LOT, LOT of water. I creeped up to these levels SLOWLY until I got results that now feel comfortable and reliable for me. This is an ever-shifting picture, with me needing less magnesium or more depending on what medications I take (some stop me up on a dime), whether I am traveling, and what else I eat and how active I am able to be.

I send this, not as a prescription, but to say that I do a LOT to prevent constipation, when I can. Sometimes, like someone mentioned previously, I just know that I have to wait until what's causing it is no longer a factor. All that I do feels worth it to me to not be in that kind of discomfort. Having heard that constipation causes what little estrogen I have left to re-absorbed from the gut into the blood-stream in a constant process of recycling, thereby raising my risk of recurrence, made me more attentive to this than ever.

Being woken up too soon and in need of a bathroom tells me I've gone a bit far and I'll benefit from backing down on the magnesium or vitamin C a bit. Any time I feel that I have to push to eliminate is a sign that the balance has shifted toward more constipation and I need to increase what I'm taking, drink more water or be more upright and active in a day. Waking up and being upright and moving around a while and nothing happening tells me I've definitely not done enough. The best is when I start to feel things gently moving through my gut as it starts to function after I've woken up in the morning and I have time to walk downstairs to the bathroom and allow what needs to happen to do so! 🙂

Wishing each and all of you the level of functioning and comfort you need and can find,

Gynosaur