# Diverticulitis



## suzfromWi (Jun 1, 2002)

Has anyone ever had this? I have it now, and am on 2 antibiotics and a very bland diet....Maybe someone could tell me about their experience with it.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

A lot of us have some form of it. Stay far away from tree nuts, drink enough water, use foods with a lot of bulk. A colonoscopy where they spend the time to clear the diverticuli can clear out a lot of the bad bacteria and allow you to rebuild the gut bacteria with pro-biotics. Using natural stuff like garlic and GSE can keep things under control. Once it is under control, you may be able to be more adventuresome in your diet. You learn to read your body and adjust appropriately.


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## brreitsma (Jan 14, 2003)

Make sure you really stay on top of it. It almost killed my dad literally. If it progresses unnoticed it can cause the affected part(s) of your intestines to rupture and burst open. This then floods the rest of your system with fesces. spelling?


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## grandmajo (Mar 25, 2008)

Excellent advice given here. But I have to ask, do you have a confirmed diagnosis via a colonoscopy? I don't want to scare you, but my husband was told that he had diverticulitis, when in reality what he had was colon cancer. If you haven't had a colonoscopy, then INSIST that you have one. And if you're under the age of 50 and they try to tell you you're to young, find a doctor that will do it. My husband was only 48 when he was diagnosed!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

My friend has it. She was put on the bland diet. Over the years she, doing her own research, found that a high fiber diet was a better choice. Do your own research. In the meantime, reflexology (foot massage that sometimes hurts) can help.


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## TonyE (Aug 1, 2007)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If6hTFLlgHw[/ame] :hrm:


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

Yes, went to ER where it was confirmed by CT Scan. Stay on very bland diet til you finish your meds. Then very gradually add variety. Keep a refill of the antibiotics on hand, should your symptoms return. Gradually, you will know what your gut cannot tolerate. Now, I never eat fresh strawberries, blackberries, okra, etc. You will know what hurts.


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## suzfromWi (Jun 1, 2002)

I too went to the clinic and they did a ct scan and found this. I have had a few colonoscopys so they knew I had some diverticuli, but never said anything about my diet....Actually as far as I can remember, I have only been told about it when I went in this week. The surgeons said I had a lesser case so could go home with antibiotics and the bland diet. I have a brother that had a worse form of this and also a sister. They want to do another colonoscopy when I am healed. Tomorrow I can start on a bit more things to eat that are low fiber. They say in about a month I can go to a high fiber diet.....It really is not fun and I hope it doesnt come back again......By the way. do you think I can ride the lawn mower if I feel well enough? Thanks all.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Suz...I know whereof I speak...as I'm coming off a flare-up right now. It hurts bad, doesn't it?


Stay on soft foods, clear liquids, (lollypops help me because I can let them dissolve in my mouth slowly), mashed potatoes, white rice, saltine crackers. 

Do *NOT* rush the bulkier foods (whatever anyone says). *Allow your colon to heal*. Then *very slowly *add bulk.

One thing my gastroenterologist tells me to do is take water soluable fiber. (citrucel is pretty good..a nice orange taste when mixed with cold water. But If you're not on it now DO NOT ingest the dosage on the label. Just a tiny bit in a LOT of water. It actually helps calm the colon down.

If I can answer any other questions, please ask.

stef


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## deb (Jul 27, 2002)

My doctor said no small seeds...think about tomatoes, cucumbers, berries. Makes for some boring meals,

deb
in wi


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## gmashomemade (Dec 2, 2009)

I don't want to scare anyone, but, a ct scan without dye at local hospital was diagnosed as diverticulitis, and I was given very strong medicine. Later was sent to
Duke University Medical Clinic in Durham, NC, and first drs wrong. Had colon cancer that had spread to bladder, local dr had been misinforming me for years. I am better now, but went through a lot of pain. Operation was in December of 2008.
I hope you will get better and stay well.


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## suzfromWi (Jun 1, 2002)

I DID have the dye...


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## suzfromWi (Jun 1, 2002)

Stef said:


> Suz...I know whereof I speak...as I'm coming off a flare-up right now. It hurts bad, doesn't it?
> 
> 
> Stay on soft foods, clear liquids, (lollypops help me because I can let them dissolve in my mouth slowly), mashed potatoes, white rice, saltine crackers.
> ...


Im supposed to start psyllium hush caps tomorrow. If you get a flare up do you have to take the meds again? They are bad...


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Everyone is different. Psyllium could just as well be concrete for me. Beans, green beans, and hummus work well. Stef is right about taking it slow and easy. You might do well to keep a food diary until you get grounded. If you start to get a flare up, try GSE every few hours for a day. You may be able to nip it in the bud. Oil of oregano and garlic can help but aren't as mild as GSE. DW never understands why I cut the nibs off string beans and snow peas.


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

Lots of good advice here. I don't have it, but my mother does. Because she also has a penicillin allergy, she has to be super careful with it - she doesn't have many fallback positions if it goes badly wrong.

The diverticuli are little almost-blowouts where internal pressure has made little pockets of the large intestine/bowel balloon. This pressure was almost certainly from constipation and resultant straining to pass a motion; so first rule - avoid getting constipated. Be careful of too much cheese. Keeping the stool soft and moist with something like psyllium and lots of water is good. Lots of water anyway.
If you find yourself passing a lot of gas that may mean things are going bad again; in any case it will mean that things are packing up and there's no room for the gas to do anything except be forced out past the solid matter. Packing up is bad and you should _immediately_ take the opportunity to void things before they get worse.
And if you think you've surreptitiously squeezed off an antisocial quiet one, you should take that as a warning that it's time to replace the batteries in your hearing aids.

Those little pockets can catch little solid things, hold them, and then get irritated. That can make the pockets more likely to get infected and blow out, letting faeces into your abdomen, and you get infected to the point of peritonitis (like a burst appendix). That needs massive antibiotics, which is where it's super dangerous for my Mum, who can't use many of the available antibiotics.
So, second rule - no small indigestible solids.
Small seeds or fragments thereof are the worst - strawberries, blackberries, kiwifruit, figs, passionfruit, tomato seeds (fortunately easy to get rid of), sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or similar. Careful of jam, which may contain seeds and hide it.
Tough fruit skins are potentially bad too - my mother has problems with apple skins or the tough skins from large grapes (red globe, for instance). More traditional smaller grapes with softer skins are okay, but then she has to be very careful of the seeds. Green peas or corn/maize kernels or corn on the cob or popcorn also give problems with the tough skins.
Nuts can be bad too, since undigested fragments often make it through to the bowel. Same with raw carrots, and be careful with raw or undercooked greens.

Anything that irritates the intestine is not good, so no excess pepper or chilli. Chilli can be doubly bad because it contains seeds or seed fragments.


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## suzfromWi (Jun 1, 2002)

Harry Chickpea said:


> Everyone is different. Psyllium could just as well be concrete for me. Beans, green beans, and hummus work well. Stef is right about taking it slow and easy. You might do well to keep a food diary until you get grounded. If you start to get a flare up, try GSE every few hours for a day. You may be able to nip it in the bud. Oil of oregano and garlic can help but aren't as mild as GSE. DW never understands why I cut the nibs off string beans and snow peas.


Whats GSE?


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Good Morning Suz...don't have much time to write, right now.
But I would just say, unless you've spoken with your doctor, don't add anything more to your system until the diveritculitis flare-up has a chance to heal.

The addition of bulkier foods comes ONLY AFTER you are well. 
I am on an antibiotic at the moment and am slowly reintroducing citrucel (1 very scant teaspoon mixed with 10 ounces of cold water), because, as i said earlier, it serves a double function...if you're too 'loose', it will firm you up a little, but if you're too 'sollid' it will soften a little.

It sounds like the psyllium hush caps is a type of fiber supplement. I like the citrucel better. It tastes good and it has no added sugar. Sugar 'ferments' in your system and can cause gas, which you don't need right now.

My philosophy in every medicine I take is the lowest dose possible. 
Can you ask you MD if you could switch to citrucel? 
I would NOT start out with a high dosage of fiber supplement right away...but ease into it. Your colon is irritated enough.
And you will have to be your own advocate with your doctor. 

And, as kindly as it is meant, stay away from the herbal and over-the-counter stuff. You do not need to introduce anything foreign to your digestive tract at this time. 

Hang in there, it does get better. 
Please feel free to ask anything else you like.

I know what it feels like. It hurts terribly, but you can come back from it. 

hugs, stef


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## Nomad (Dec 19, 2002)

I was diagnosed with diverticulosis 10-12 years ago. I was told the usual...no seeds, popcorn, etc. I was very careful the first few years, but then I just went back to eating everything. I've been very lucky not to have any serious problems with diverticulitis, but I have had a few brief episodes of pain that may have been that. I guess I have been pretty fortunate not to have had it worse. Metamucil and a high fiber diet have been my friends for many years.

Nomad


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## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

This runs in my family - avoid seeds, nuts, popcorn as they make it worse. My family members have said Metamucil helps prevent flair ups.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

GSE = Grapefruit Seed Extract. I have reasoning for my comments along these lines. Antibiotics are generally systemic and have target areas where they function better. In the process of doing so, they often wipe out or drastically change the makeup of the organisms in the gut that we use to pre-digest food so that we can absorb the nutrients. If a flare-up takes you down an antibiotic trail, the trip back can involve trying to kill off opportunistic yeasts and antibiotic resistant organisms.

By learning the signs of an impending flare-up, you can be proactive by increasing water intake, eating foods that promote flow, and by gently slowing the growth of colonies of putritive bacteria in the diverticuli by using the three items I mentioned. That can give the time needed for the normal cleansing action that you just enhanced to work, thus avoiding the whole antibiotic routine and a lot of pain.

I think the take-away from the thread is that you really have to learn how YOUR body reacts and proceed cautiously. Gather the advice, get stable, then take baby steps trying things out.

FWIW, I agree wholeheartedly with that "don't bulk up too fast" suggestion.

One other thing that I will say - if you have a doctor who claims one bowel movement every three or four days is normal - RUN AWAY. Some of them still go by the medical definition that as long as there isn't impaction, things are normal. The poor diets that many people have numb those doctors to the idea that "Hey, wait! Maybe this ISN'T normal."


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

suz....here's a good, common-sense article on what to eat DURING a flare-up and as you begin to get better. Hope it helps.

stef
P.S. again, with no insult intended to anyone, now is not the time to experiment with wholistic or alternative methods of recovery. Get well first and then do some reading to decide if any alternative method might work for you.



*Food to eat during Diverticulitis flare-up.*A low-residue diet is recommended during the flare-up periods of Diverticulitis to decrease bowel volume so that the infection can heal. An intake of less than 10 grams of fiber per day is generally considered a low residue Diverticulitis diet. If you have been on a low-residue diet for an extended period of time, your doctor may recommend a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. Here's a brief menu for Diverticulitis: 
Grain Products:
Â·	enriched refined white bread, buns, bagels, English muffins 
Â·	plain cereals e.g. Cheerios, Cornflakes, Cream of Wheat, Rice Krispies, Special K 
Â·	arrowroot cookies, tea biscuits, soda crackers, plain melba toast 
Â·	white rice, refined pasta and noodles 
Â·	avoid whole grains 
Fruits:
Â·	fruit juices except prune juice 
Â·	applesauce, apricots, banana (1/2), cantaloupe, canned fruit cocktail, grapes, honeydew melon, peaches, watermelon 
Â·	avoid raw and dried fruits, raisins and berries. 
Vegetables:
Â·	vegetable juices 
Â·	potatoes (no skin) 
Â·	alfalfa sprouts, beets, green/yellow beans, carrots, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms, green/red peppers, potatoes (peeled), squash, zucchini 
Â·	avoid vegetables from the cruciferous family such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, Swiss chard etc 
Meat and Protein Choice:
Â·	well-cooked, tender meat, fish and eggs 
Â·	avoid beans and lentils 
Â·	Avoid all nuts and seeds, as well as foods that may contain seeds (such as yogurt) 
Dairy:
Â·	as directed by your healthcare providers 
When symptoms of Diverticulitis improve, you may ease off of the Diverticulitis diet and gradually add more fiber back into your diet. A high-fiber diet is very important in preventing future Diverticulitis attacks. As you increase your fiber intake, increase your fluid intake as well.
The SEROVERAÂ® Advantage
Diverticulitis diet during an attack 
During an attack of Diverticulitis, your doctor may recommend Diverticulitis treatments. Your doctor may also recommend that you stick to a clear liquid diet for two or three days. 
Foods and beverages allowed on a clear liquid diet include: 
Â·	Broth 
Â·	Clear soda
Â·	Fruit juices without pulp
Â·	Ice chips
Â·	Ice pops without bits of fruit or fruit pulp
Â·	Plain gelatin
Â·	Plain water
Â·	Tea or coffee without cream

*Diverticulitis diet once signs and symptoms begin to resolve *As you start feeling better, your doctor will recommend that you slowly introduce low-fiber foods. 
Low-fiber foods include: 
Â·	Canned fruits
Â·	Desserts without seeds or nuts
Â·	Eggs
Â·	Enriched white bread
Â·	Fruit juice with little or no pulp
Â·	Low-fiber cereals
Â·	Milk
Â·	Yogurt or cheese without seeds or nuts
Â·	Smooth peanut butter
Â·	Tender meat, poultry and fish
Â·	White rice or plain pasta, noodles or macaroni
Â·	Well-cooked vegetables without seeds or skins

*Diverticulitis diet after an attack *If you're no longer experiencing Diverticulitis, your doctor may recommend you eat a high-fiber diet. 
Slowly increase the amount of fiber in your diet. As your body adjusts to your new diet, you can add more fiber. Aim for at least 25 grams of fiber each day if you're a woman, and 38 grams of fiber each day if you're a man. 
High-fiber foods include: 
Â·	Brown rice
Â·	Fruits
Â·	Legumes, such as lentils and dried beans
Â·	Whole-grain breads, such as whole wheat, rye and bran
Â·	Whole-grain cereals that include wheat, bran or oats
Â·	Wild rice
Â·	Vegetables


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

I've got one, it's never caused me troubles. As a few in this thread have mentioned, if affects different people in different ways. Just because person A can't have grains doesn't mean person B can't either. 

It is my understanding that they can be removed during a colonoscopy, in a manner rather similar to a polip removal. Dr who did mine saw no reason to remove the one I had, even though he told me he could and I asked him to. Ah well. Different doctor next time.


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## BossoFal (1 mo ago)

In the past, doctors recommended that people with diverticular disease (diverticulosis or diverticulitis) avoid foods that are difficult to digest, such as nuts, corn, popcorn and seeds, for fear that these foods would get stuck in the diverticula and cause inflammation. 

You can eat at the same time: 
1) Canned or cooked fruit without peels or seeds. 
2) Canned or cooked vegetables such as string beans, 3) Carrots and potatoes (without peels). 
4) Eggs, fish and poultry. 
5) Refined white bread. 
6) Fruit and vegetable juices without pulp. 
7)Cereals that are low in fiber. 
8) Milk, yogurt and cheese. 

You should also take diverticulosis pills along with food. They will help speed up digestion and reduce pain. 
I hope you are doing well!


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

brreitsma said:


> Make sure you really stay on top of it. It almost killed my dad literally. If it progresses unnoticed it can cause the affected part(s) of your intestines to rupture and burst open. This then floods the rest of your system with fesces. spelling?


Yepper 27 inches removed for me. Nuts corn hard shelled anything will trigger.


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