Diverticulitis Support Group

Diverticulitis is a common disease of the bowel, in particular the large intestine. Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if one of these diverticula becomes inflamed. Diverticulitis most often affects middle-aged and elderly persons, though it can strike younger patients as...

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abbeynrysmommy
abbeynrysmommy
Hi all! I've been lurking here for a while, but I'd like to share my story here to see if anyone can relate (I know, we can all relate, lol).. I am on my 4th time being treated for diverticulitis, in the last year and a half. 3rd time happened a little over 2 months ago and now I feel pain again, but not as severe as last time. I did everything the GI doc told me to, increased fiber, drank so much water my husband thought it was hilarious to see me wake up to pee 3x a night (very unlike me, lol), taking benefiber, etc. But it's back. I'm starting to think that this is the cause of the pain i've had in my lower left side for years and just thought it was another ovarian cyst. Since this is only the second case my GI doc has personally treated, he said he wanted to keep an eye on it, but my question for you all is -- is surgery imminent at this point? I am 30 years old, I will be 31 next month, and I'm a female. I haven't found a ton of evidence that this is a common thing at my age, so I'm trying to figure out where to look for support.

Thanks for reading!
belindac
belindac
At the first sign of pain I believe the suggestion is to go on a liquid, low-fiber diet. In fact, I followed the Mayo Clinic diet recommendations (will post the link for you). I think the surgery question is one that needs to be discussed with your physician, but I am a firm believer in getting at least two medical evaluations from two physicians in two separate medical groups! Here is the link to the Mayo recommendations. Hope you are feeling better soon!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/diverticulitis-diet/art-20048499
gem111
gem111
As belindac posted, you can find the information that will benefit you most from the Mayo Clinic.
Everybody seems to be a little different in what triggers their attacks.
You need to learn what triggers you. Some say certain foods, and some say stress. I eat everything and have proven to myself that stress is my trigger.
I have seen where many (another forum that used to be wonderful)
have said too much fiber can make things worse. I can't tolerate broccoli as well as I used too. I start getting a tiny pain when I eat too much---so I don't. Some people can't do benifiber or Metamucil.
It seems to me that most of the information about Diverticulitis has changed in the last 10 or so years and most Dr's really do not know this and can give the wrong medical advice.
Mayo is on top of everything.
I wish you the best of luck.
abbeynrysmommy
abbeynrysmommy
Thanks for the comments! For some reason, the pain is not improving with this round of antibiotics, so I'm not sure what's going on at all. I do have a follow up Monday for this, to see if it's improving. At this point, the pain is not better but also not worse. I hate to be on these terrible antibiotics for no reason, ugh! It's quite possible that stress is a major trigger for me, as the issue started entirely when my parents started going through a divorce (which shouldn't cause me as much stress as an adult as you'd think, but it did anyways, lol).