Diverticulitis some things that work for me
Posted , 20 users are following.
I have been dealing with diverticulitis attacks on and off for 14 years now. There have been periods of time when ive had alot of symptoms, pain, and repeated attacks. I have been hospitalized during 2 attacks and have taken many prescriptions of awful antibiotics including flagyl and cipro. At this point I have gone long periods of time with good health, being very active and no symptoms so I thought i would share some information that may be helpful.
When I am symptom free some things that help me feel great and remain symptom free for long periods of time are:
Eating oatmeal (rolled oats) every day
Eating yogurt regularly
Eating slowly and chewing my food well
Eating small portions of food and more often
Drinking alot of water
Eating portions of pineapple regularly or daily ( pineapple has enzymes that help digestion)
Avoiding nuts, seeds and vegetables that are hard to digest like broccoli, cabbage, peppers, and foods that have a thick skin or shell
Removing skin from sausages or hot dogs
Having small portions of foods that I should avoid to fill the craving (when needed only)
No popcorn
Avoid eating fried foods often
No raisin bran or crunchy cereals, brown rice, or whole grain rice
Avoiding foods with cornmeal. (Many things and many snacks have cornmeal which can irritate the bowel)
Taking metamucil every day
Making a protein shake(in a blender) with foods that would be hard to break down but are healthy
Staying active and exercising
Getting good sleep when I'm able
Reducing stress
7 likes, 36 replies
marie28646 Julia1040
Posted
Hiya im wondering if stress is making my diverticulitis worse. Im a carer for my mother in law for about 2 year's now, and she can be very demanding sometimes over the last 8 wks it has been very stressful, she also has no thanks. I have wonder is being her carer 7 days a week just to much for me. My stomach is bad with gas and bloated most days since i was diagnosed last November. I have pain tonight
jennifer27322 Julia1040
Posted
I wanted to thank everyone for their contributions to this post, I have read everything as I am just now learning about this awful condition. My mum was diagnosed with this condition a few years ago and has been living with ongoing bouts of diarrhea which she has been living with. She is 81 years old and just had shoulder replacement surgery which left her very weak and many other complications such as partially collapsed lungs, pneumonia threat, kidney issues etc etc. In the hospital they would let her eat anything she wanted, the idea being that something is better than nothing. She is diabetic but has a very sweet tooth and ate sweet puddings, this in turn has led to a very severe flare up with very aggressive diarrhea. She ended up back in the hospital on an IV. They tested her blood and could find no indication of an infection. As soon as the IV fluids put her kidneys back on track, they sent her home. She has just completed two days of a clear liquid diet, which is risky due to her diabetes. The diarrhea hasn't let up at all. We have given her boiled chicken and rice today as we are so worried that she needs some sustenance as this has been going on now for 5 weeks, going into the 6th week. We will be talking to the doctor tomorrow, who will most probably need more blood work. My sister and I are at a loss as to how to turn this thing around. She had a very worrying hypoglycemic episode the second night into the liquid diet and we had to get her sugars up with a glass of OJ and a piece of white bread with jam on (no butter). I am just reaching out as there is zero information out there as to how to deal with a flare up in an 81 year old diabetic who has just had major surgery. My sister and I live in the US and Mum is in the UK. I flew over for the first two and a half weeks, then my sister tag teamed me and is still there trying to get her sorted out. My sister has had to leave her family and her job to care for Mum and we are not seeing any kind of improvement and Mum is so despondent and weak.
yvonne51432 Julia1040
Posted
Guest yvonne51432
Posted
The information is still relevant and now you've replied to it and bought it to the top of the list, more people will read and respond. There's lots of useful information on this forum but you need to read between the lines as treatment varies according to location. Look for the spelling of fibre (UK) and fiber (USA). The USA is very aggressive and chop chop is the order of the day. Treatment in the UK is a total opposite - management at home with medication and diet - no surgery unless an emergency. So if you are UK based this should help you with diet. But everyone is different and what foods suit one does not suit another - trial and error to find out your solution. Also be aware the forum contributors are biased towards new sufferers and those who have serious and/or ongoing problems, often with other issues as well. Those who find a diet that suits them, and are able to resume a normal life, simply stop coming to the forum. That's me, almost 2 years since my last attack and pain free since the beginning of this year mostly.