Diverticulitis Support Group

Yes I also have IBS. Something triggers it and then I really have to work and figure out how to control it. I'll be fine for awhile and then it'll all happen again. I know its not diverticulitis because it's a totally different feeling and there is no fever. I go back and forth with diarrhea and constipation. Then I feel like I have to go and nothing happens. So I have to figure out if I am constipated or just having a spastic colon. It is so hard to get it all right. Maybe I am developing food sensitivities also. Never thought of that. I just want to be normal. It's terrible when your life revolves around your colon. If you come up with anything that helps you...let me know.

I have IBS. I never get constipated. My symptoms are the following:

1. Gas
2. Distention, painful
3. Diarrhea
3. Sharp pain in the abdomen

I too, have frequent attacks of diverticulitis but believe that IBS and diverticulitis are related. Just my theory.

Also I am a worry wart and believe stress plays a big part in both.

My gastro Dr. says IBS does NOT cause diverticulitis. However, diverticulitis can worsen IBS (a disease process). While I believe diverticulitis to be caused by a combination of diet (even though they say that doesn't matter, I know in my case what I was eating "wrong" for the three flares I've had in the past 29 months) and stress (because stress reduces the immune system's response to bacteria and virus).

I have no fever with IBSD, no pain either, just daily abnormal stool (no urgency except in the morning sometimes) 2 to 3 times a day. I can start a day fine (Bristol scale: 4 or 5) and end a day with 7. So I started to experiment. Food allergies are, I think, acquired as a result of diseased sigmoid colon (unless there is a proven allergy, as in celiac disease or lactose intolerance). My dentist saw yeast in my mouth; I have had (as a younger woman) trouble with vaginal yeast infections (in stressful circumstances, not regularly). I decided to EXPERIMENT (because both my good Doctors don't seem to want to LISTEN TO ME).

I did the following:
During the last two flares I was on IV antibiotic (Invanz 1 gram a day) at infectious disease specialist (not hospitalized). The first flare cleared up after three days of cipro and flagyl, I was intolerant of flagyl (or it was simply prescribed wrong by stupid ER doctor). The second flare was acute (definitely diet and stress related) and the Invanz caused me NO side effects, just got rid of the bad bacteria. The third flare was something that might have cleared up on its own but because I know the symptoms now I went to the ER and my persona Dr. put me back on Invanz: huge overkill, got diarrhea, thrush, vaginal yeast infection, and I noticed that ORAL NYSTATIN fixed all of this in three days. SO...the experiment.

In the past four months, I have been experiencing IBSD, and it can't be food related (I keep a food diary). So I decided to start a regimen of Nystatin (oral suspension). For ten days, I took oral suspension Nystatin. I started with TWO teaspoons a day (morning and night) for a few days (when treating thrush you're supposed to use four tsp a day). I saw almost instant results. I then went to one tsp a day (mid day) and my IBSD totally cleared up. Interestingly, during this time I had my teeth cleaned and the dental hygienist told me SHE has IBSD and SHE uses oral Nystatin to stop it. Today I am free of IBSD. This is, for me, definitely yeast related (might not be for everyone). I am going to ask my Dr. for a prescription for oral Nystatin (let's hope he listens to me, they think they know everything) and, when IBSD kicks in after 2 to 3 days, I will begin my regimen as I just did and see if it works again.

I think biopsy of colon tissue is necessary for certain food allergies or intolerance and I have had blood work for gluten allergy (not allergic), so I guess you need to find a Dr. who doesn't think he's god and will actually listen to your "anecdotal" information. Before Albert Einstein mathematically presented his theory of relativity, wasn't it ANECDOTAL? His OPINION? Darn right.

You go Ellzeena! That's so interesting!

I had a brief convo with a gastro over the phone 2 days ago who told me that it sounded like I might have IBS as well as diver. I'm not entirely sure I could tell the symptoms apart. It all blends together for me.

I think you're right about the diseased colon contributing to food allergies. Makes sense since the food particles can slip through a more porous colon, a la "leaky gut" syndrome. To me, diver seems like the ultimate leaky gut.

So did I understand correctly that you found out about the Nystatin efficacy for you just by accident because you were taking it to deal with the side effects (thrush) from the other antibiotics?

Ricecake, what happened was one and one equaled two lol. Because the Nystatin worked so fast to stop the antibiotic related diarrhea (I used Monostat for vaginal), I decided to give it a try to treat the IBSD. How could it hurt? So as I said, I cut the daily dose in half: 1 tsp AM, 1 tsp PM, and got almost immediate results. Then after a few days I went to 1tsp once a day. Yesterday was the first day without it. So far, so good. I'm not saying the yeast problem is totally resolved that easily but, if it comes back IBSD, I will go back to Nystatin for a few days as a test.
I enrolled in a research trial my gastro Dr.'s group is conducting for IBSD. When I return from my trip in October, I will have a colonoscopy and then enter the trial. So if they can experiment on ME, why can't I experiment on MYSELF? I looked up possible side effects of Nystatin, didn't find much bad stuff. I'm talking to my Dr. when I see him 9/27 just prior to my departure to see if I can pry a script for oral Nystatin out of him (and a letter because it's liquid and you're not allowed to carry anything like that on a plane without Dr. letter).
DD and IBSD are quite different for me. IBSD has no pain, just excess gas and loose stool or diarrhea. DD has a unique pain for me in lower right abdomen and my tempt spikes (I get chills) so when I get those symptoms I go for CT scan ASAP so it never gets out of control. So far, all Dr.s say I can have elective surgery or not, it's a toss right now, so I choose not to unless (God forbid) I have another "acute" attack. I've only had one acute attack out of three.

My husband suffers IBS -his started about 4 years ago after a course of diclofenac for back pain. Same symptoms as you -lots of loose stools and pain.

Since then, he has had 2 or3 flares a year that last for about 6 weeks before slowly calming down.

It seems a bit counter productive to take extra fibre for this, but the doctor recommended he take fybogel morning and evening to bulk out the stools. It seems to help stop the diarrhea but it's no miracle cure and he just has to wait it out.

We think his IBS is triggered by stress as it is the only common denominator for his attacks.

Has the withdrawing from the drugs made you feel stressed? I was on a cocktail of strong painkillers and SRIs for nerve damage and the withdrawal from them all was horrendous. ( I felt like a junkie going cold turkey) I also found that stopping Pregabalin (which is also given for depression and anxiety) made me very stressed and moody as well.

well I dunno to whom you addressed this question but I'll just put in my 2 cents. I never even knew I had IBSD until it was diagnosed after colonoscopy. IBSD means food is passing through your intestines too quickly so extra fiber, in my case, means I SEE the food in my stool (brown spinach? yuk; bits of lettuce, etc.) Bulking the stool is one thing but fiber accelerates bowel function, not what you want with an IBSD thing going on. The only thing that has worked for me so far is Nystatin and since I stopped taking it the IBSD has begun to reappear so it seems there's a yest overgrowth (and yes, this is stress related) but doctors won't listen to me, they call this "anecdotal information". (duh). My stress factors are life long and have nothing to do with drug withdrawal although this IBSD episode seems to have begun as a direct result of my coming off a very tiny dose of Remeron months ago - I actually had physical withdrawal symptoms (bad drug). I'm seeing my Dr. next week and will ask for more Nystatin, let's see if he gives it to me. I have a tiny bit left and will take 1 tsp 2x daily until it's gone and see what happens.

Yes, IBS is common for Diverticulitis sufferers. I went to a health food store and bought Heather's Tummy Care products. They make stuff specifically for IBS sufferers and you can research her website - she has a free download cheat sheet for IBS management and lots of good advice on food choices. I am experiementing with her diet advice as a possible assist for my diverticulitis as well. Gastroenterology research is being done on a link between IBS and diverticulitis, but I'm sure that study result will not be known for several years.