My husband has diverticulitis

[taylor1293]

I was also 35 when the same thing happened to me. The pain is unbelievable. And the meds they gave me for it were the worst tasting medicine I've ever taken. It was like I had metal in my mouth for 10 days straight. Yuck! Needless to say, I no longer eat any types of nuts or hard seeds. Gawd do I miss popcorn, peanut M&M's, Snickers, cashews....I could go on and on, lol!

Hope your DH feels better soon.

 

[C.Ann]

Another one that was hospitalized with it for 5 days.. Has to be the worst pain I've ever had.. Demerol and antibiotics - along with a bland diet - was the treatment they chose..

The culprit for me was corn.. Dr. said to avoid all seeds, nuts, corn, popcorn, raisins, cucumbers, etc.. Basically anything "small" that could become trapped in the sacs.. It's probably the only time in my life I have followed a doctor's instructions to the letter.. I don't EVER want to experience that kind of pain again!!!

Hope your DH feels better soon.. Please tell him to avoid the offending food products because to ignore them can result in very serious consequences.. My cousins best friend ended up nearly dying - had to have his colon removed and now wears a colostomy bag..

 

[NCRedding]

I had a bout with this several years ago I agree with the above posters--the pain was awful, and so was the medicine. My Dr. at the time said that 50% of patients with diverticulitis will require hospitalization because of the difficulty in getting the infection cleared up.

One of the guys I worked with had a bout this past spring; he has a very high pain threshold--by the time he went to the doctor, he had a massive infection. He's been in and out of the hospital, lost about 20% of his body weight, and finally had 12 inches of his colon removed.

 

[DVC-Don]

Replying to the this thread was bad luck as I started another attack the day after. On the meds now (yep, one does taste like liquid metal). Can not get in to see a specialist till August 8th. This is my second attack in 60 days so maybe surgery is next?

 

[Robinrs]

Replying to the this thread was bad luck as I started another attack the day after. On the meds now (yep, one does taste like liquid metal). Can not get in to see a specialist till August 8th. This is my second attack in 60 days so maybe surgery is next?

Sorry to hear that, Don! Ugh, I know how painful it can be.

I think surgery is THE LAST option. Are you sure you're not eating anything with seeds or little particles that can get caught in the diverticuli? My ex had intestinal surgery and he was attached to a machine for 3 months... and it did NOT help!

Hope you recover soon....

Robinrs

 

[C.Ann]

Replying to the this thread was bad luck as I started another attack the day after. On the meds now (yep, one does taste like liquid metal). Can not get in to see a specialist till August 8th. This is my second attack in 60 days so maybe surgery is next?

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Second attack in 60 days? That's way too soon.. Are you being very, very careful about what you're eating? The foods that can cause problems are about a mile long..

Hope you get over it SOON!!

 

[DVC-Don]

Got some info from the Mayo Clinic about this today:

In the past, many doctors recommended that people with diverticulosis avoid seeds and nuts, including foods with small seeds, such as tomatoes and strawberries. It was thought that these tiny particles could lodge in the diverticula and cause inflammation (diverticulitis). But there is no scientific evidence that seeds and nuts cause diverticulitis. In fact, eating a high-fiber diet — which may include nuts and seeds — reduces the risk of diverticulitis.

That sort of muddies the water on this.

 

[C.Ann]

Got some info from the Mayo Clinic about this today:


That sort of muddies the water on this.

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I'll say!! I've had to avoid so many foods that I LOVE for years now - but I'm so afraid of experiencing that horrible, horrible pain again (not to mention being hospitalized) I just don't know if I want to take any chances..

Please post back and let us know what your specialist has to say..

 

[Kaybee]

I am a GI/Endoscopy nurse. I work in a busy center where we do at least a 1,000 scopes a months. All our docs are specialists. We tell the pts who have diverticulosis that they need to eat a high fiber diet. They also need to take a fiber supplement like Metamucil, Citrucel, Benefiber on a daily basis. Our docs consider it to be an old fashioned myth to avoid foods with seeds. They all say if it bothers you don't eat it!! Otherwise it really is okay to eat. Most Americans after the age of 50 will and do develop diverticulosis. Our docs just say it is a sign of aging. Any other questions just ask...

 

[Ertan]

When I get an exacerbation diverticulitis ://www.aloeride.com/news-on-how-to-help-diverticulitis-yourself/, I drink clear liquids until the pain goes away, then I wait 3-4 days before reintroducing fiber and slowly going back to a high-fiber diet. If the pain continues for a week after starting, I will go to the doctor for antibiotics. Right now I am at a point where I know what is causing my inflammation (everyone is different). The most important things for me are eating high-fiber foods and staying well-hydrated. I have found that I avoid many exacerbations by making these two things a priority. When I have an exacerbation now (which happens less frequently after identifying a number of causes of inflammation in me), I think back over the last 48 hours to see what might have been different from the normal foods I eat that might have caused the exacerbation.

 

[Allison]

When I get an exacerbation diverticulitis, I drink clear liquids until the pain goes away, then I wait 3-4 days before reintroducing fiber and slowly going back to a high-fiber diet. If the pain continues for a week after starting, I will go to the doctor for antibiotics. Right now I am at a point where I know what is causing my inflammation (everyone is different). The most important things for me are eating high-fiber foods and staying well-hydrated. I have found that I avoid many exacerbations by making these two things a priority. When I have an exacerbation now (which happens less frequently after identifying a number of causes of inflammation in me), I think back over the last 48 hours to see what might have been different from the normal foods I eat that might have caused the exacerbation.

Just making you aware that this thread is 16 years old.

 

[tasha99]

Woah, zombie thread! My husband has this. He doesn't avoid seeds etc and we aim for lots of fiber. I'm going to suggest Metamucil like recommended above. However, once he has a flare up, he does avoid food (and fiber) and goes on clear liquids till he feels better. It happens a couple times a year for him. He's never been hospitalized and was sort of self-diagnosed for years, but he went to the doctor with a flare up a couple years ago, and the doc said "yup" and to stick to liquids until better.

 

[jrsharp21]

I was diagnosed with diverticulosis about 9 years ago. I was at work going about my business. Was walking downstairs and all of a sudden got this pain in my lower gut and just above the groin area. I was like what the heck. Brushed it off and went about my day. It continued through out the day but I pushed through. The next day I was in the school pick up line to pick up my son and was on the phone with my wife, who was out of town. I couldn't stand it anymore. Went to the urgent care, who thought I was passing kidney stones. They did some x-rays and ultrasound. Came back that I was having a diverticulitis infection. So prescribed me a bunch of antibiotics and told me clear liquid diet for like the next two weeks. Next few days were rough. Hi fever and stomach pains. Started to recover and then all of a sudden got sick again. Back to the urgent care to see if maybe my flare up was not completely gone yet. Came back that with all the antibiotics I was taking resulted in me have C-diff. So now I had to take another round of antibiotics to kill that infection that resulted in the original antibiotics. C-diff is not fun. And the tests to see if the C-diff is gone is not pleasant either. So for those who are currently having a diverticulitis attack and are taking antibiotics, make sure you are mixing in some probiotics so that you don't get C-diff.

Lost 20 pounds during the whole process. And for the longest time I had the blandest diet. I cut out all red meat, was taking fiber supplements, only drinking water, etc. I had cut out all nuts and popcorn. But slowly over the years I have added all the bad things back to my diet, but in moderation. Popcorn is still something I hardly eat. But I do eat nuts frequently, just make sure I chew them up as much as possible. I can tell every once in awhile where something has irritated my gut. But really have not had a full blow infection since that initial one. Knock on wood.

 

[jo-jo]

Oh my gosh my DS had a mild stomach bug last week, so when my DH started complaining about pain I told him to suck it up because it was just a 24 hour thing. Well that was 4th of July. I just got back from the Trauma Center and he has Diverticulitis.He's on 2 different antibiotics and a clear liquid diet.Needless to say he isn't very happy with my bedside manner.Oh well who would have thought it was something like that

Last year, DH was saying not feeling well, sweating. I gave him tea and chicken soup. After a week, went to dr. AFib. Was in hospital for 5 days. So don't feel so bad. Probably if you said go to Dr, right, he would have said I'm not sick enough. I know my DH would.

Sorry I got caught in a zombie thread.