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How long do other people's diverticulitis attacks last? Just read someone on soft diet x 2months?!

Posted , 153 users are following.

caz45653
caz45653

I'd love to know how long other people's flare-ups last on average. Have had D disease x 15 y. Had 3 attacks in past 6 wks. Urgh! I usually take antis & get up after 1 or 2 days, liquids only x 36hrs then soft foods x about a week, then gradually reintro fibre, seeds, pulses. Maybe I should stay on soft food more than a few days after 36h on liquids?? Opinions please! And btw its almost impossible to lose weight when this rotten condition dictates eating all the wrong stuff after an attack.. White flour pasta, mash..all those carbs! And stodge! Not helpful. Any ideas? Thanks. New to forum. Am 63 now & desperate to do anything to avoid surgery. Hi to all fellow-sufferers..this thing is a so 'n so & invades at the drop of a hat. Oh..and...

If anyone has ideas about how to address core strength safely please...do tell. Caz

7 likes, 498 replies

498 Replies

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  • nora00707
    nora00707 caz45653

    Posted

    First time in my life at 47 Ive been diagnosed with this terrible illness.  I took my meds antibiotics prescribed 3 weeks later it came right back! I hate this mess.  I have terrible rectal bleeding with this.  Im on a strict diet but dam I get hungry too!! 

    Im miserable. Going to the restroom to have a bm has become a traumatic event.  I find going back 2 or 3 times to finish.  Does anyone else out there go through this crap?

    • madeline27614
      madeline27614 nora00707

      Posted

      Yes yes!! As soon as you are healed start taking Miralax to keep open and lay low on fiber. Take care😘

    • nora00707
      nora00707

      Posted

      Thank you I will buy the miralax God bless us all🙏🏽😘

    • lynne1858
      lynne1858 nora00707

      Posted

      I had my first (and hopefully, last) bout of diverticulitis this week.  I've been on Flagyl since Monday and today is the first day I have not had much pain.  The tenderness is still there but its better.  I still haven't had "good" bowel movement but maybe it will take a little longer.  I was running a fever last night but it is normal today.  I'm 54 years old and overweight but have recently lost some weight by eating raw vegies and meats.  Sunday night I ate some peanuts and over night I began hurting on my side.  I really think this triggered my problem. Plus...  I'm not a good water-drinker and I think this has complicated the issue.  QUESTION.... can I take something like Miralax while I am still on the antibiotics?  I think if I could "go" I'd feel better.  My mother died of colon cancer when she was 43 and of course I'm worried that this could be cancer.  Hearing stories from others on this forum really helps me and I thank you for an advice you can give.  I'm hoping this condition will not continue. I'm not a patient person and I want to feel better, like NOW!...so, any suggestions?  THANKS

    • linda32497
      linda32497 lynne1858

      Posted

      Hi lynne1858. I have a similar story to yours. My mother and grandmother bother died of colon cancer. So anything happens with my colon I go into anxiety attacks. I have had the Big D for many years but didn't get diagnoses until about 7 years ago. The doctor told me not to eat nuts and seed. I still had bouts 2-3 times a year. I finally went to a GI Dr. and he said that was all a myth. Either you have it or you don't. The only thing they have found helpful is high fiber. So I went back to eating normal including nuts and seeds, but take a fiber supplement. I have done good for well over a year. A couple weeks ago I ate peanuts. I have stayed away from peanuts because it was the one food in common with a lot of my attacks. Boom, the Big D roars it's big head. I think that peanuts are hard to digest and get caught in the pockets. So I will be avoiding them. My suggestion to you is to take fiber. I use Fiber DX. I order it online. It's expensive but so is an ER visit.

    • cherub79690
      cherub79690 lynne1858

      Posted

      Hi Lynne,

      I am 2 weeks into my second Diver attack in the past year.  They completely knock me down. I am so fatigued I can only get out of bed briefly.  I am 68. Does anyone else take that long to recover?  Also I have decided that I haven’t been drinking enough water and I eat too much. Adding Fiber has not helped me infact it tends to constipate me more.  So for now I am eating small portions and only 2 meals a day. Also trying to not eat in between meals to let colon rest.  What a life changer this disease is!  I appreciate all the info shared by my partners in misery! Thank you all! 

    • Guest
      Guest cherub79690

      Posted

      Hi

      It does take a long time to get over attacks.  The medication also knocks the stuffing out of you.  I reckoned it took me 4 - 6 weeks to get over my first attacks.  My most recent attacks - 3 in quick succession - took me almost a year, and even now 18 months on I get twinges.  You will find many posts on here of people taking weeks if not months to recover.

      You are right to increase your water intake and let your bowels rest.  Also at this stage you are right to eat small meals but they should be low residue - it is too soon to up the fibre intake.  When you do, it should be soluble fibre, like home made veggie soups and purees, and should exclude skins.  Too much fibre, particularly harsh insoluble fibre, will only irritate your healing insides.  Best wishes

    • cherub79690
      cherub79690 Guest

      Posted

      THANK you so much for your response. I feel so much better having someone tell me I’m on the right road and not alone!  I am going to try to avoid another attack at all cost!!  My strength is returning each day but what a slow process!!  I too am impatient!!  

      God Bless us all!!♥️

    • Guest
      Guest cherub79690

      Posted

      Glad to help - when I first joined this forum I found it very helpful, even though I have had DD since 2001.  It reassured me as well.  I will be 68 in a few weeks time myself, so know all the restrictions and frustrations of our age!  But I have been stuck indoors with a fractured knee since mid January, so have had a good long lesson in patience lol!!!
    • cherub79690
      cherub79690 Guest

      Posted

      Oh MY!  how awful!  I would be climbing the walls!  You must have slipped on ice!  Be careful to not stress out.....I understand that doesn't help our diverticulitis at all!!

      And Happy Birthday!!  We are weeks apart!

    • Guest
      Guest cherub79690

      Posted

      Actually I was on Lanzarote - the first day trip of my holiday and caught my toe on a kerb, and went straight into a wall - whiplash, chest bruising, compressed vertebrae in back, fractured hand and knee!!  3 days in hospital, repatriated!  I did it properly lol!!!
  • kerry58794
    kerry58794 caz45653

    Posted

    yes, I do. Diagnosed 7.15.17 perforated bowel and diverticulitis - UGH! 6 days in hospital, 5 days w/o drink or food, on antibiotic IVs.

    Last night I had chills, fever, cramps and feeling all around cruddy. Went to bed around 8:45 p.m. to get warm, was very cold. Thankfully, slept.

    Today, still a little chilled, cramps - going to bathroom and feeling cruddy (at work).

    I guess it's back to liquid diet ... been very cautious with food (or so I thought).

    • madeline27614
      madeline27614 kerry58794

      Posted

      Did you have a repair on perforation?  Check with doctor if you still have a fever? Are you in oral antibiotics now or no longer innthem. Take care.
  • ali80695
    ali80695 caz45653

    Posted

    Being new to this debilitating disease it was a great relief to find so much valuable information.  Over a week with pain and on antibiotics.  Pain on left side feels as if pulling a chain and ball.  Not to mention the severe contractions along my back.  As someone who lives to be active, exercise and eat fruits, it is difficult to understand how this has all occured and puts a STOP to life as you know it.  
  • annabella82017
    annabella82017 caz45653

    Posted

    Greetings all

    I was just diagnosed on Tuesday. I had been having 104 fever and terrible pain on lower left abdomen. I ended up at the ER and had a CT done and it was confirmed that I had diverticulitis. I knew nothing of this disease but now I recognize that I must have had previous bouts.  I was sent home with little information and lots of meds including Cipro and Flagyl for 14 days. Thankfully my family ready up on eating a clear liquid diet. And I confirmed with my pcp.  I have been bedridden since I got out of the ER.  Today is better a little more energy but I don’t know how or if I can work. 

    The antibiotics are really creating havoc.  No appetite nausea and the headache is horrible and now I have the runs.  I barely ate the first 2 Days and now I can get broth and jello and some apple juice down.  I was still getting pains but better today which is day 5. 

    So should I start the low fiber foods.  I like the idea of puréed soups. But I’m so cautious since the first day home I ate chicken noodle soup and it was too much. And then I went to clear liquids.

    So any idea what to start off with to transfer to low fiber?

    Oh and also what you you do for my bum it’s really bothering me. Wet towel wipes or and creams?  

    Thanks so far this has been the best place for info. And I know I’m not the only one going through this. 

    • AntonioIdaho
      AntonioIdaho annabella82017

      Posted

      Hi Annabella sorry to hear about it, we all have been there and it’s not fun at all. My suggestion is avoid anything processed that comes in a box make everything from scratch as much as you can.  Avoid grains. I had a lot of broth and soups, avoid anything that might give you gas (painful) brócoli, beans, etc. 

      Have lots of potatoes (sweet potatoes too ) steam, mash, baked.  Squash, pumpkin, etc. Avoid sugar, all of it because infections feed from it. 

      For your bum  warm shower, use fragrance free baby wipes or bath with epson salt helps. 

      Something that helped me a lot with bum pain and my bowel linings was flax seed we can’t have seeds of any kind but what I did is boil 10 cups of water and then drop 10 tablespoons of flax seed let it boil for a few minutes and strain it so you just have the water left, it’s kinda jello thick liquid like put some honey and drink.  

      I hope you feel better soon! 

    • donna54364
      donna54364 annabella82017

      Posted

      Annabella.   This all sounds  so familiar. I went through this almost 2 years ago – I am doing good now     Some foods that I started out with are  yogurt, canned peaches, applesauce, Jell-O,   Mashed potatoes sweet potatoes,  Cream of wheat,  scrambled eggs     Hope you will be feeling better soon.  
    • annabella82017
      annabella82017 AntonioIdaho

      Posted

      Thanks

      MY hubby made homemade chicken broth  and I started eating jello. I wasn’t sure what solids but I’ll try mashed potatoes for now. 

      Did you all eat cooked veggies like carrots and peas. I love veggies and miss them?  

      I got some wipes..... they have helped smile

      Will look Into flax seed too. 

      I never had constipation problems but I also had my gall bladder removed 22 years ago. Not sure now once I start this low fiber diet.  

      Thanks again 

    • annabella82017
      annabella82017 donna54364

      Posted

      Thanks Donna 

      I will try applesauce. I wasn’t sure about yogurt. I heard dairy could cause problems so I didn’t drink milk.   

      Did you introduce one food at a time.  Do I only eat say mashed potatoes today and tomorrow add scrambled eggs?

    • donna54364
      donna54364 annabella82017

      Posted

       I would just eat small portions all the time. No special combination. Dairy did not really bother me at all      Only ate several foods a day - That way it was easy to track if something did bother me 
    • annabella82017
      annabella82017 donna54364

      Posted

      Thanks Donna. 

      I have been limiting to just a couple of ingredients per day.  So far so good but have not tried milk. I’ll try tomorrow at breakfast. Today I cut toasted bread because I felt bloated the last 2 days.  Will see how I do today.  But I feel much better and stronger. 

      Thanks again 

      Annabella 

    • AntonioIdaho
      AntonioIdaho annabella82017

      Posted

      Hi,   I think veggies would be ok as long as they are soft and don’t give you gas. 

      What started my diverticulitis was dairy (it would inflame my bowls)and when I say dairy I mean milk, ice cream, heavy cream etc  but everyone is different and the only dairy I can handle is cream cheese, light sour cream, yogurt, yougurt ice cream and it’s because I guess the chemistry of how is made is different.   My problems always start with irritated bowls so I’m not eating anything that might cause it, hot peppers, soy food, condiments, last time I had a flare I believe is was taco seasoning on turkey meat. 

      Well I hope you are doing much better. 

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