Need help/reassurance with Diverticulitis only 36 and have no idea how to improve

i think you have come to the right place..There are lots of people here to lend their experience. I would say try not to let your mind buy too much trouble at this point. Wait until the tests conclude and then you can start looking at the path forward. i don't see all of these diseases as sinister necessarily..A lot of people have them, becoming very common. Think of them more of a challenge that can be overcome. For a lot of us eating "healthy" isn't healthy in the same mainstream definition. Assuming you end up with one of these diagnoses..Your outlook may need a change, but it can be a great learning experience and path to healing. Finish up your testing, get better, focus on healing and staying strong. Keep up with fluids and a nutritional packed limited diet. let us know how the tests work out! Try not to worry too much, makes these conditions worse. Control what you can..

Jenny said it well. I will just add anyone can get diverticulitis at any age. It is rarer for younger people to get it but unfortunately they do. The ct scan will have diagnosed you very well. The colonoscopy is standard practise after a bad attack. The things you listed would not cause the symptoms you had/have as far as I know. Keep to your low residue diet for a couple of weeks minimum and then SLOWLY add back fibre foods one food per day until you get to a minimum of 30 grams a day. Please try not to worry because stress is not good for your health and goodness knows we all have enough other stress going on right now. If you get bad pain or fever again don't wait to go to the hospital. Just try and take things one day at a time.

Julie

Hello,

Thank you so much for replying to my initial messages, I just really needed a bit of reassurance. And yes it's right not to over think it before my colonoscopy.

Thank you for the diet advice about fibre, I've quite a bit that it is trial and error and seems dependent on the individual.

At least I am now in the system and can work with it.

currently very exhausted at home on strong antibiotics.

On a 'plus' if you can call it that the hospital tested me for Covid 19, it came back negative but thought it was quite interesting to be given that info.

yes you are young but what I have read is that younger people will be dealing with this more. I can only share what I have learned. Going through the same things you have but I am 64 and wound up in the hospital twice. I understand what you from the medical now make sure you ask the G.I. doctor the questions because this same thing happened to me. Read everything you can and then read it again. I want up in the hospital entire three weeks later after an abscess. I was told that constipation was the problem and smaller meals And fiber seem to help but you give your stomach time. I saw diverticuli is not me which one will be a problem because mine are in numerable. It also takes seven years for this disease to develop so you probably had symptoms. Diverticulitis doesn’t mean cancer But the colonoscopy will tell you more. You will be OK and I will too but it’s not gonna happen overnight take care

Hello!

I too have diverticulitis, a mild case, still trying to get rid of it for good. I had diverticulosis on previous colonoscopies, but like yourself, I always ate lots of raw diet, vegetables, and very little meat. However, I have gone to a naturopath MD because I just did not know how much healthier I could be eating or even what to eat at this juncture. She recommended that I start the blood type diet, I think it is Eat Right for your Type (blood type that is). Since I am type A, it is notorious for having a weak digestive system--as I no longer have a gallbladder any more--I do not eat a fatty diet either ! She said that could be hormone related. Anyway, I started the diet and it was like overnight that everything changed, including my BMs--now are perfect. I would not say that I have true allergies, but I had been eating all the things that my blood type reacts to and obviously that inflammation is in my gut. This may help you as well. Please add a good probiotic to your regimen and do a few days of bowel rest to include broth, and clear liquids, water to qwell the inflammation so your gut can start to heal. Oil of Oregano is a plant-based antibiotic like healing supplement, either oil drops or capsules. This can help too with the infection.I am waiting for my colonoscopy as a follow up to my diverticulitis bout to see what that shows.You are in good company.

Hi Elise, lots of good advice here already but scrolling down I noticed you said you're at home on 'strong antibiotics'. The first thing to remember is that any antibiotics will upset your good bacteria (your microbiome, the flora that digests your food for you) along with the bad bacteria (presumably what is causing your problems right now). Doctors always ignore this and happily prescribe antibiotics but never remind patients to take probiotics to help restore the good guys that are being swept out with the bad. Take probiotics (capsules, live yoghurt, kefir etc - a good variety is best) at least two hours away from the antibiotics so that each has its own time to work without interference from the other.

The second thing to remember is that not all antibiotics are made equal and your word 'strong' rang alarm bells. Can you say which one you are taking and at what dose? If you're feeling panicky, certain antibiotics are not going to help as they can actually produce this feeling.

As J said here, stress and anxiety are not helping your situation at all so do try to relax. I'll look for your reply about the antibiotic get back to you if it looks like it's adding to your problems, maybe your doctor will change it if so.

Agree with most of the replies below, including trying not to stress about DD as that just contributes to the problem by releasing chemicals that cause vasoconstriction and decrease blood flow. DD appears to be highly heritable. I know that my parents both had many GI issues. We're all different in how this disease plays out, but certain recommendations seem to be common for all of us. Drink plenty of water every day. Maintaining gut motility with daily bowel movements that are soft lessens mechanical irritation and prevents flare-ups. Soluble fiber (vs. insoluble) helps to keep things moving and is easier on the gut. Exercise increases blood flow to the gut which is always a good thing. I have a PhD and have searched the scientific literature on management of DD. I find nothing on blood type and management of DD so I would be skeptical about those recommendations, including the use of essential oils.

I would agree. Everyone’s body is different. From what I understand probiotics should be taken two hours before or two hours after. Acid reflex medicine is given while taking and antibiotics because these doses are very strong and we don’t need more problems but they can stop afterwards. These problems didn’t happen overnight at least with me and I believe it takes seven years and I kept thinking food was the issue not realizing the complexity of colon problems. Doesn’t run in my family and a lot of diseases now I contributed to our lifestyles and what we eat. I do believe stress and anxiety add to the problems but how can a person not have stress or Anxiety when our bodies are stressing from the inside and we don’t even know it. Take care Dave Anxiety when our bodies are stressing from the inside and we don’t even know it. Take care day by day and do the best you can and don’t blame yourself just see what works and doesn’t workand do the best you can and don’t blame yourself just see what works and doesn’t work