check out painfreefoods website- they have a book about food combining and what foods trigger this- they also have a Facebook page if you have FB- Also I got a book called Listen to your gut-good advice in there also- I just started the food combining thing and so far seems to be ok

I can help!!! I’ve been dealing with flares since my original ER visit diagnosis 4 years ago (that kept me in hospital for 7 days. Then 2 years after I hadn’t made enough life or diet changes (I also got really poor advice on dietary changes - plus I didn’t want to give stuff up!) I suffered a perforated colon. It was a micro perf, but I had emergency surgery in the middle of the night (super scary) & spent 12 days in hospital. It’s taken me TWO years of on-my-own research to get an idea of what works for me & my body. You also HAVE TO MAKE PEACE with the life changes you’ll have to make. I can only suggest the things that help me, and I’m still prone to stress-induced flares (usually after I fell off the wagon of my good food habits). I’m actually on rest & antibiotics now - and I know it’s becayse I ate steak 3 Times in a week.

Here’s my BEST ADVICE:
1) He needs to rest his bowel & most Dr’s advise of a clear liquids diet. That makes me feel worse, so I do juicing. It’s AWESOME for getting nutrients & resting the digestion (no fiber is key during a flare). Unfortunately when there’s a flare you have to eat a little something to take meds. Juicing isn’t easy, so the occasional broth soup or miso soup really helps.
2) DON’T eat anything that will make your stomach work (NO FIBER DURING THE LIQUIDS) like fruits, veggies, fiber, or heavy dairy. Google “low residue diet” and that’s your next step after juicing 3-5 days. You should feel better with the juicing, even though the hunger seems terrible at first.
3) PROBIOTICS are your new religion! I tried a ton, and a massage therapist at Whole Foods said “lots of ladies like Dr. O’Hirras” so I tried it. Best. Decision. Of my life. It CHANGED my life.

My gastric Dr wanted me to take linzess to keep from getting constipated & I hated it. With Dr. O’Hiras I was “regular” daily for the first time in my life (I’m 46). I take 4 in the am and 4 pm to start for 2 weeks, then 2 am/2pm. It may seem expensive (it’s cheaper on Amazon) but it’s SO MUCH BETTER THAN HOSPITALS!!! Trust me it works!! I also recently added in VSL3 to add variety after 4 years.

4) Go slowly with Foods. Fiber and meat are hard on your system, so start out with mashed potatoes, maybe salmon or tuna, easy to digest stuff. You can still drink juices for the nutrient bombs they provide. Steak bothers me a lot, so I won’t eat steak after 5-6pm. I won’t eat most meats after 7pm unless it’s salmon. Eat LOTS of eggs!! Any way you cook them, they are SO nurishing. I have 2-4 a day. Hard boiled is pretty easy on your stomach.

5) If you are a normlly constipated person, start mixing a little mirslax a day into some juice to make it easier on your colon. We all experience constipation at times so it’s good to have on hand. If you realize you’ve not gone for a couple days, hit the Miralax!! If you wait til your body works it out...trouble. Years of desensitizing our digestive “cues” to have a bowel movement basically take away the urge, so you stay constipated. Miralax is a must!

Last thing: if you are still feeling fever, fatigue and pain and aren’t on antibiotics, you need to find a new GP. Standard protocol is Flagyl plus Cipro immediately when you sense a flare. No blood tests. Most of us keep those meds & refills ready & on hand for flares. That is my dr’s recommendation. And that’s how I live my life now.

Hope that helps!!

I did forget to mention that alcohol is a big irritant to the digestion so definitely give up as much as you can!! I drink bitters & soda to calm my nausea and aid with digestion. Bitters was originally created as a medicinal tincture. It’s got LOTS of healing herbs.

Thank you for all your advice. That will be so helpful.

I first ended up in the ER this past April for terrible abdominal pain. and was diagnosed with this. I missed a week of college but took more like three to four weeks to even feel a bit "normal" again. Within the next five months i had three more flare ups and was super confused on what kind of diet to follow because no one was telling me anything besides avoid nuts and seeds!!! I seriously felt hopeless. I'm a 22 year old college student, and definitely wasn't living the healthiest lifestyle. Like dallasmom said, it really did take a whole lifestyle change. After the third flareup i was TIRED of feeling this bad.

Probiotics really are amazing, i take them every morning and take a vitamin every night. I also take a fiber therapy pill every night and a stool softener every morning. This really helps. I began by eating fiber 1 bars but then realized the calorie intake, and decided to take these pills instead, they do the job just fine.
Once you are over the flare up it is important to maintain a high fiber diet, rich in fruits and vegetables. Everyone was only telling me to avoid nuts, seeds, popcorn, etc. But something that also really irritates this for me is greasy foods. I have almost eliminated fast food/fried food out of my diet and i feel so much better. Another thing i try to avoid is bread and gluten when i can. Both of these things cause inflammation. There are other foods that cause inflammation as well, like cabbage, although its high in fiber it can irritate you especially if you're coming off of a flare up.
One more God send i have found is Kombucha! I drink a bottle every single day, it helps get improve regularity and is filled with probiotics.
This disease sucks and its hard to find what works for you individually, but don't give up on finding that diet, you will feel so much better in the long run! Good luck.

I had this very mildly years ago. I'm 62 and got acute diverticulitis a month ago. 2 weeks of that month it was missed so when diagnosed I was admitted into hospital for intensive intravenous antibiotics. Was in for 7 days . Been out of hospital for 2 weeks. Bowel is still not normal, I expect that, what I can't understand is how bad I still feel. No pain , except in the back sometimes I I stand for too long, but extremely fatigued. No energy at all. Is this normal.

I'm in the hospital being treated for diverticulitis. Next step is removal of portion of colon. Any comments on this? Please share. Thank you.

that is the last resort for me-https://diverticulitispainfreefood.com Go here and order this book . Its all about food combining- believe me! you will learn what is what we call "trigger foods" and what you can not eat ever! Believe me try this

In 2018 I was admitted to the hospital after a cat scan revealed that I had a huge abscess along with severe diverticulitis. On March 21st I had a colon resection and by the grace of God and a good surgeon I didn't have to have a colostomy bag. Surgery was delayed several MONTHS due to severe inflammation, infection, and my body's resistance to antibiotics. I was on medical leave for 6 months. I was admitted to the hospital 6 times. The pain and then the vomiting from the antibiotics were a nightmare that I wish on no one. I am always tired now. My stomach bloating is constant. I can no longer tolerate alcohol, sugar, etc. But I am happy to be alive and must come to terms with the changes I must make in order to avoid a recurrence. I must lose weight and exercise too but tired all the time.