Please tell me about diverticilulitis

[SmokyandtheBandit]

NCd for this.

Newly diagnosed and would like to know what to expect short and long term. Does it affect people differently? What is the worst case scenario? Do you manage it at home or get admitted to hospital, and if the latter when do you know when it's serious enough to go? I've had conflicting advice about diet, so what do you eat?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm a little bit scared.

[SmokyandtheBandit]

oops I meant diverticulitis. sorry about awful spelling

[SmokyandtheBandit]

any advice appreciated

[StillMedusa]

I have had it for some years.
I've luckily never had to be admitted to hospital but it has made life miserable on and off.
Docs used to advocate a high fibre diet but now there is evidence to suggest it just inflames the pouches in the bowel walls more.. my bowel is much happier on a low-moderate fibre intake.
Certain foods cause horrible pain (for me it's peppers, onions, anything spicy...damn shame as I love all of those and usually eat then regret)
Mostly you just work out what causes you pain and avoid it!!
I get partial blockages now and again too and that IS grim... liquid diet for a few days until they clear. It;s always the same spot and I suspect it gets inflamed and swells.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

5 years here, I have daily cramping spasms but TBH , they are part of my life now . This year I've had a flare up every couple of months which has left me welded to the toilet , intense pinching , cramping , similar to labour pains but I can pinpoint exactly where it happens .

I have found certain aggrevants - white bread and dairy is main culprit .

I am under Colo/Rectal but not been hospitalised .

Worst case scenario? I suppose surgery to remove the offending bit of colon, (I am hoping it won't just shrivel up and fall out of my bum though, that would be a )

[SmokyandtheBandit]

thanks for the replies which I have only just seen as I'd given up hoping someone would post so I hadn't visited the thread

thanks for taking the time. So far, I don't get pain unless it's infected, which is has been twice. Once was really bad and that was when I was diagnosed. God the pain was like labour, I agree! IV antibiotics were needed.

Where do people get pain? Mine is upper left side of my abdomen, but whole abdomen gets tender. Does anyone get lower back pain? I do but haven't attributed it to the D so I'm not sure.

Yes, bread bloats me like a balloon so try to avoid. I worry I don't eat enough fibre, so that is interesting to hear that it isn't always recommended.

[sister1]

I was diagnosed 5 years ago when I was 51. Had been getting a lot of bloating feeling in my abdomen area which sometimes felt like I had a tight band wrapped around me! Would always seem worse when I woke up in the morning and would toss and turn to get comfortable. This went on for 6 months and I'd planned on wearing a dress I could usually fit into for my sons university graduation but on the day my stomach was so bloated I felt really uncomfortable.

A week or so after I had pains in my left side upper abdomen which gradually got worse. Went to my GP who said was probably constipation but over the next day or so I had a fever and felt shivery and the pain was much worse just in the side area. By the next day I was in so much pain that I was really worried and took myself to A&E.

They thought it could be kidney stones but after a scan and tests the hospital diagnosed diverticulitis. I'd heard of it because my Mum had it later in life but was never really bothered by it. Although thinking back I do remember she used to have a lot of intermittent constipation and diarrhoea and bloating. My Mum passed away in August 2013 from secondary breast cancer which went to her ovaries and looking back my symptoms became worse from stress of working as a full time childminder, trying to look after my Dad who had Alzheimers when my Mum passed away.

I was admitted to hospital (this was 2014) and was in for 3 days on intravenous antibiotics and rehydration drip and the pain went.

I had a colonscopy which revealed I had multiple holes in the bowel.

I then had to go to a diverticulitis clinic for 6 months afterwards and was given conflicting advice about what to eat. Was advised by some to cut out all seeds, as in bread, tomatoes, etc. and skins and bulky veg but then a visiting American doctor said "hey, you've got to eat so eat" and said I could eat anything.

For the past five years and to be on the safe side, I've avoided any seeded bread which I used to love, strawberries, tomatoes but was still eating anything else and stuck to a high fibre diet like all bran, brown bread, peas, broccoli and I also went vegan for about 6 months as my daughters were vegan at the time.

I felt ok until around summer 2017 when I started feeling pain again in the left side waist area but it went after a couple of days as took myself off to GP pretty quickly and had antibiotics.

Fast forward and now 8 weeks ago it all started again with the left sided pain, except this time it came on just under the rib area, right across my top abdomen where the large bowel goes across! I'd never had this pain before and left it for a couple of days as was busy with family etc and also a carer for somebody. I'd been feeling pretty stressed anyway and feel that stress doesn't help with anything.
Anyway, I ended up in A&E as even though I had not eaten for a few days as was feeling really shivery and had terrible nausea and the pain was the main thing.
I was admitted as had some blood tests and a scan in A&E which showed my infection levels were off the roof and by the time I got onto a ward a doctor told me I had a perforation of the bowel. Was on a antibiotic/rehydration drip for the next few days and everything seemed to settle. I was told that if I had left things for another day then I would have had to have an op. I was on a surgical ward with other bowel problem patients and felt really scared as some people were in a really bad way compared to me!

I was told to expect another another colonscopy appointment to compare it with my last one and also the prospect that I would probably have to have an operation to have part of the bowel in my lower rib cage area removed in the near future. I'm afraid but just thinking that if it has to be done then I just want it over and done with.

You have to think about any other diseases and diverticulitis is a real challenge!