Charcoal tablets

Hi, I don't feel I need them just yet, however it's always good to have another string to the bow, so I will keep it in mind.

It's pleasant to reduce discomfort, but one's got to remember what's happening that gives rise to the symptom of gassing-up:  You get bloated because food is breaking down in a confined space.  If you use something to effectively 'absorb' the gaseous products of that breakdown, you are still left with the solids - but nothing to tell you that they're building-up in diverticular pockets. Sounds like a 'time bomb' to me - and one that may cause an acute reaction a little later on if you don't empty the pockets before infection sets in. 

I'm not of free prescription age just yet, but the only medication I have used for the past three years is Bisacodyl.  It's a stimulant laxative that if taken at the rate of one 5 mg tablet just once a week, makes the diverticulosis management so very predictable.  I have still (touch wood!....) never suffered a repeat of diverticultis since the original diagnosis several years ago.  This I wholly attribute to the once every 5-to-10-day radical clearout usng Dulcolax (Bisacodyl).  In my case daily 'output' is fairly normal in frequency, volume and texture.  It's just after the 4th day that things slow up to the point that I feel 'less flexible' in the abdomen.  Depending on how active I need to be over the following few days, I make a judgement as to when to evacuate all build-up in the colon.  A night-time 5 mg dose and I'm 'sorted' by around 4 pm the following afternoon! 

This strategy sounds radical, but it makes life more predictable for me - eliminating all pain and just leaving tolerable discomfort when leaning towards a 10 day reset.  But I'm right as rain by the evening after!

As I said, I'm not yet of retirement age and so other bits of my metabolism don't seem to react against this treatment.  Difficult to know if my method is better or worse for a dodgy heart, for example.  So, please relate this to your doctor - and maybe come back and tell us all what they thought too.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread hydro - just a bit concerned by what I see as possibly masking the underlying issues (.....or lack of!).

Cheers,

 Peter.

I haven't heard of the charcoal but have read about slippery elm however, the list of NO GO foods is horrendous.  I consulted someone at my health food store who gave me the following list to avoid:

No gluten, sugar, wine, tea, coffee, strawberries, blackberries, bananas

And that was just the start ... not great for a vegetarian either 

Hi sorry to hear that the slippery elm didn't work.  I have to say I have not yet tried it but the more I read the more I'm guessing that what works for one may not work for someone else.  Hope you are feeling OK