Laxative dependance?

I recently had surgery which (a) caused me a lot of pain for which I am on narcotic painkillers and (b) makes it very painful to use the muscles that one needs to use in order to go to the bathroom. 

This double-whammy led my doctor to prescribe me an over-the-counter "stool softener," of which I take 100mg maybe 4 times a day.  I'm concerned because it only seems to be helping a little and also I have been doing this for about a week (and no end in sight as far as the pain/painkillers) and I'm worried that I'll become dependant on the stool softeners. 

So I have some questions:  can I take more of the stool softeners?  What will happen?  How long can I keep this up before it throws my body out of whack?  Will I have to "wean" myself off the stool softeners after I get back to normal?  Sorry for this creepy, TMI question, but I have never dealt with anything like this before.  As background, I am normally very "regular," I'm vegan with a super high fiber diet, and I keep well hydrated (even moreso now).

Also, I'm going back to the doc in 2 days, but I was hoping for some words of wisdom to ease my mind until then.  Thanks for any advice or insights.

You should talk to your doctor about your concerns directly.  Stool softeners, as I understand it, are a different thing to laxatives.  They affect the composition of the stool making it easier to pass whereas laxatives actively 'speed up' the process of the gut

For quick relief, use Milk of Magnesia.  I used to use the magnesia tablets by Rite Aid, but they disappeared from the market about 6 months ago.  People with kidney disease have to worry about elevated blood magnesium, but is safe for most other people.  If you are uncomfortable now, take 1/2-1 tsp at a time, about once an hour, with a big glass of water and you should be all set in 2-3 hours.

I am on many medications and often eat a lot of fiber and it alone is not enough.  I got a prescription for MiraLax (Rx name GlycoLax).  It draws water into the bowel, and even though there is the standard caution about not using beyond two weeks, there are no risks I know of. 

I use my electronic diet scale and measure out 19 g, which appears to be the magic number for me, pour the results into a tiny Rubbermaid container, and whenever I have tea or water, I sprinkle some of my allotment in and stir.

There are no stimulants in either product so they does not make you go.