I might have more than just Diverticular Disease and I'm very sad.

Hi there

Your going through a life changing situation and there will be a period of grieving for your old uncomplicated self. But all is not lost-you

have to get a little control over things. 1st A Food Diary, everything

eaten and your reaction in the next 24hours. Look on the net for

lactose free and alchaline diets ( sometimes these illnesses can

create an acid environment). Try soya products and supermarkets do a "free from" range. Meditation ia an excellent tool for you. Help to

de-stress and some time just for yourself. This is not an overnight

thing it is going to take time. A spponfull of Manuka honey and

lactose free probiotics everyday for a year helped me a little. I had a diverticular mass which had attached itself to my pelvis. Have lost

quite a bit of colon and total hysterectomy. At first I was like you with almost nothing to eat. After my system rested I bega to introduce some foods with trial and error. Tell everyone you work with, tell your

friends people are easier to deal with if the understand. I carry a card from the colitis charity that you can hand over and ask to use any

bathroom facilities while out. I always carry spare underware wipes

and various sprays. Take sick leave. Keep strong .

Nice post friend........

I have to avoid processed food and too much sugar. What sort of snacks do you eat between meals? I've thought of bananas so far. What else? No biscuits, cakes or crisps and of course no nuts or seeds. The GP wants me to eat lots because I'm so thin, but then, what do I eat? I've got no imagination at the mo and can't think straight.

Practitioners will always offer up very general advice. Some of it will

apply to You some of it won't.

For me, when things got rough I found boiled rice was a saviour.

Make a stock pot. Turkey,celery onions carrots. Use this juice to

flavour food and get some nutrients. Sushi is good too. Plain fish.

Salmon. You can make a boiled fruit cake ( using gluten free or rice

flour ) although they tell you no nuts because of the trouble in the

digestive tract, try ground nuts , you can put these in your fruit cake.

Soak the fruit over night in ginger or peppermint herbal teas. You can make your cake from this( can you eat eggs?) try the fruit bars from health shops.

Yes you are right and learning fast! Bananas are brilliant so are

blueberries. Don't drink hot or cold drinks. Luke warm are best. I used to make gluten free cakes when I had a tea shop they didn't always

look great but people seemed very grateful. Try meringues with soya chocolate dessert. Hope it helps. Not easy now but this is the

beginning of a new healthy you.

Oh, forgot to tell you about Champagne.

Because this has been

twice fermented for some reason it seemed to be the only alcoholic

drink I could manage in small quantities. Not fizzy white wine just

decent champaign. So you could try this for your sisters wedding

. "do you have any champagne?" sounds more fun than I can't dink.

.

I got a box of chocolates for Valentines Day and then went into hospital the next day. I don't get warnings, I go from no symptoms to severe infection in a matter of hours, so trying to figure out my triggers is difficult at the moment. So, do you think I will ever be able to eat chocolates (without the nuts of course) again or are they off the menu for ever?

Dark chocolate in small squares, when you are fit and strong again

maybe A possibility.

If I eat it, specially creamy delicious chocolate ( truffles, pralines caramels) I will spend the next day mostly on the loo and then on the bed recovering. High fat, sugar is the worst. I am healthy now and

greedily will eat a lot all at once sometimes and I pay the price for it!

While you need to heal your body and get your strength back, I woul stay off it. I did try carob when I was poorly but it was blah. Think plain bland and boring until you are stronger. There will be days where you will feel like xxxx with tears and frustration but you must help your body heal and not irritate it. As we all know sadly there is no replacement for chocolate

For dinner I ate pasta, passata (sieved tomatoes) and cheese. Now I am windy and in a little bit of pain. Which is most likely the culprit: the tomatoes or the pasta?

I have been diagnosed with diverticular disease and one of the foods that triggers an episode is melted cheese. Hard cheese seems to be fine but when the same cheese is melted ..........!

Chocolate is another trigger as is cream. It's such a nuisance but at present I'm having a really severe flare-up, I'm on antibiotics and strong pain relief and expecting to have yet another colonoscopy next week. My GP is great but I feel so ill. I hope that your food testing helps. Good luck.

ArtyR you are an inspiration, thank you so much for your upbeat posts. I get so depressed in the mornings as I feel so nauseas and almost vomit.

I used to come to this forum some time ago but fell into a deep depression and became afraid to look at forums. But now I need the support again as I am afraid to eat. Your posts are uplifting. Thank you so much.