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...
Hello. I used to be fairly active in this group in 2010 for many months before my colon resection in August 2010 and for a little time after.
The courageous, insightful, experienced colon surgery patients in this group helped me a GREAT deal --- at understanding my problem, the surgery options, the surgeons, what to expect, and mostly with
encouragement and camaraderie.
I must have had 8 to 10 painful flare-ups before my surgery. The last 1 of these was so painful I knew I had to go forward with surgery and not risk another episode that could easily have complications and very serious consequences for my long term health. I am very glad I chose to have my surgery. It went smoothly and I was out of the hospital in about 5 days time.
While I did have 2 flareups in the 1st 6 months following my surgery, they were very, very minor short-lasting ones. My thoughts were my colon was adjusting after the surgery and the 2 flareups were not surprising to me. I knew before my surgery that my surgeon would remove only about 8 or 9 inches of my colon that badly needed to come out --- and that he and my specialist would not remove all areas because there were too many of them.
I have not had a flareup in the last 15 months now. And I want to share why I believe this has been possible for me --- at least it really seems to be working for me.
15 months ago I: 1) significantly increased my daily psyllium fiber intake --- beyond what the supplement manufacturer recommends on their products labeling for dosage. I replaced Metamucil with its gassy sugar co-ingredient with Konsyl at the same time, 2) started drinking quite a bit more water and other fluids each day, and 3) consume much fresh fruit each day (much of this is just more water too). The results in my regularly and more have been remarkable.
To this group: Thank you very much again for everything you have given to me.
RichFL
The courageous, insightful, experienced colon surgery patients in this group helped me a GREAT deal --- at understanding my problem, the surgery options, the surgeons, what to expect, and mostly with
encouragement and camaraderie.
I must have had 8 to 10 painful flare-ups before my surgery. The last 1 of these was so painful I knew I had to go forward with surgery and not risk another episode that could easily have complications and very serious consequences for my long term health. I am very glad I chose to have my surgery. It went smoothly and I was out of the hospital in about 5 days time.
While I did have 2 flareups in the 1st 6 months following my surgery, they were very, very minor short-lasting ones. My thoughts were my colon was adjusting after the surgery and the 2 flareups were not surprising to me. I knew before my surgery that my surgeon would remove only about 8 or 9 inches of my colon that badly needed to come out --- and that he and my specialist would not remove all areas because there were too many of them.
I have not had a flareup in the last 15 months now. And I want to share why I believe this has been possible for me --- at least it really seems to be working for me.
15 months ago I: 1) significantly increased my daily psyllium fiber intake --- beyond what the supplement manufacturer recommends on their products labeling for dosage. I replaced Metamucil with its gassy sugar co-ingredient with Konsyl at the same time, 2) started drinking quite a bit more water and other fluids each day, and 3) consume much fresh fruit each day (much of this is just more water too). The results in my regularly and more have been remarkable.
To this group: Thank you very much again for everything you have given to me.
RichFL
Do you mind my asking how old you are? Did you have a colostomy and then a take down surgery after that? Or did they put you back together in one go?
I was 54 at the time of my surgery. I had 1 laparoscopic colon resection surgery --- with no additional surgery.
I had had diverticulitis attacks for about 15 years time. Each laid me up for 5 to 10 days. Each time I had responded well to antibiotics and was lucky to never have an attack turn complicated and require a hospitalization, though I probably should have gone to the hospital with my last attack before the surgery because of how intense the pain was.
RichFL
Glad to learn it all went well for you. People here need success stories just as you and I did before our surgeries.
I didn't know about metamuci co-ingredients of sugar. A good piece of info I'll keep in mind.
Good to see ya again,
Peace
It is very good to hear from you again and thank you for the sentiments.
Before I had my surgery and during the months of difficult decision-making whether to elect this surgery or not, I viewed and looked forward to the surgery as a hopeful permanent cure to my problems with diverticulitis.
Even though I had 2 minor flare-ups after my surgery, I definitely consider my surgery to have been successful and very helpful to me at dealing with and surviving this problem. I feel I definitely improved my problem with this disease by having the surgery.
Now, it is more of a matter of taking my much-improved situation and minimizing best I can any chance of a flare-up. With the big increase in fiber and big increase in fluids I already described above in this post, I have gone 15 months without a flare-up. This may be the longest I have ever gone without a flare-up.
This diet change resulted from a discussion I had with my gastroenterologist after those 2 minor flare-ups, when I asked him How can I stop these or minimize them from occurring? What would you do if you were me? He said I was already getting a good healthy amount of fiber and fluids, typical of the advised diets for diverticulitis patients long-term for daily intake, but he urged me to significantly increase them both. He also recommends the daily addition of good bacteria --- I eat 2 different brand yogurts each day to pull in a number of different good bacteria to my system. But he urged me to concentrate on the very high fiber and fluid intake in particular if I could. So I have been with just success so far.
My understanding is the most popular Metamucil products are maybe sugar. No wonder people complain about their fiber intake making them gassy!! There are a variety of products out there and some do not have sugar --- these usually have artificial sweetners instead and some of these are not the healthiest addictives to have in ones diet. So I use Konsyl brand fiber only for my psyllium fiber dietary supplement --- 100% fiber. It is a little more expensive than the others. If you wonder where you can buy this fiber, the Walmart stores in my area sell it.
RichFL