Acute Diverticulitis anyone had it?

[Jersey mike]

Barbara’s been having issues, had CT done to confirm doctors diagnosis, she has acute diverticulitis and today is day 3 of antibiotics of a 14 day prescription.

Could use some advice on diet and good stuff to eat, she’s having a terrible time keeping food down. Basically been living on broth, dry toast some apple sauce, jello, ice pops and mashed potatoes. Drinking  lots of water and some tea.

Internet has plenty of “recommendations” for types of food but it’s all so generic and not too much on how to get back on to a “regular” diet.

Waiting on results for another test for something else and hasn’t yet been in for follow up with doctor since CT was ordered.


Appreciate any responses.

[cookiedough]

best seek advice of your dr. on recommended foods that will help with her tummy being better for her.  I was plugged up for 2 days prior not able to go #2 on poddy very much and 3rd day had a dull pain on right side of tummy whenever I stood up straight was hard to do.  I was in hospital with diverticulitis this May for 4 days on strong IV's every 6 hours to help heal the tummy.  Felt better after 2nd day but they requested 3 nights in hospital and CT scan again to verify tummy lining was sealed up enough to go home. 
That night at home with my 1st ambulance ride was scary.  I had SEVERE 25 minute trembling all over my body uncontrollable and 104 degree temps ASAP felt o.k. sitting outside in 83 degree heat on patio then ASAP started to feel extremely cold like 50 degrees and then the shaking all over started and could not stop it.   AS soon as ambulance arrived 30 minutes later my shaking stopped, weird, but still took the bumpy ambulance ride to hospital.  ER said glad came in coulda bursted and been much worse needing IV's in hospital few days and hopefully gets better which it did.

Once back on track with tummy,  HIGH FIBER foods are best for you like oatmeal, etc.    Dr. did say that with a ruptured colon area, that LOW FIBER foods are best until tummy better then go back to HIGH FIBER foods.

[f6gal]

First, she should be taking probiotics, to ease side effects of the antibiotics and decrease diverticulitis symptoms; Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus paracasei are good ones.  She can also eat yogurt that has probiotics.

As for diet, a clear fluid diet is generally recommended for several days, so the bowel can rest and heal.  This is followed by a short-term low-residue, low-fiber diet; BRAT diet, for example... bananas, rice, applesauce, toast (dry, white).  Once over the acute phase and back to a normal diet, increasing fiber intake will help prevent future flare-ups.

Edit: Other bland foods can be added to the BRAT diet, such as saltine crackers, plain potatoes (not the skin), or clear broths. Do not eat or drink dairy products, sugary, or fatty foods, until the acute phase is resolved.  These foods can trigger nausea and diarrhea.

[Patrick]

I probably can't talk to 'acute'. But, I've had nasty bouts of it years ago. I tried studying it and then started pounding the oatmeal and I hate oatmeal. After a couple months I realized I hadn't had any problems with it [and cholesterol dropped 50 points]. The studying I did showed our country has the highest rates of this due to our diet and its lack of fiber. So I eat quite a bit of fiber and haven't had an issue in about 20 years.
That said. Friends have issues with it and their doctors put them various medicines and have told them that fiber is the worst thing for the problem. I don't understand how any doctor could say such a thing, but, I don't have any faith in doctors anyway.
One friend is having issues now again. Doctor telling her the same thing, stay away from fiber even after the initial medicines are used and the intestines have healed.

[Valkorado]

My situation is different.  Its chronic, and the diverticulosis is affecting my entire colon.  I've had a handful of infections, thankfully no full blown ones in a few years  My diet therefore permanently leans toward the diverticulitis diet.  No rough, barbed wire type foods.  I've also have learned to avoid hard nuts, and especially tiny little seeds like figs, strawberries, etc..  Popcorn does me no good, or any similarly indigestible foods.  The hulls of grains like wild rice, etc. tend to clog me up and can lead to infection.  While "soft" foods are best (I will consume stuff like oats, and other soluble fibers), "doughy" foods really put a hurt on me.  Unbleached flour is an archenemy.  Very spicy foods can cause a flare up.

Why do I keep dealing with this?  I guess I'm not looking forward to having my entire colon removed anytime soon.  The doctors indicate that is the most likely next step.

Best wishes to your wife, Mike.  Diverticulitis can be unbearably painful.  I agree that her doctor's (and Connie's) advice are best in her situation.  Many folks can catch the situation early, make some simple changes, and live an active and healthy life.

[Jersey mike]

Thanks for the responses.

This is her second bout in about 3 weeks. The first time we think the prescription was messed up as it was for only 5 days. Something also went wrong getting the authorization for her CT and chest X-ray so that never happened until this past Monday. That’s when she got the second prescription which only went through again for 5 days but she spoke to the doctors office it’s supposed to ne for 14 days, so that got cleared up. Originally when doctor made his diagnosis, she did go onto the BRAT diet and things seemed good. After about 5 days and she started eating more regularly, then last Thursday or so things went backwards.

So getting back on track, some fruit is good like applesauce (no skin) banana, I believe I read peaches (no skin) but citrus fruit like OJ and pineapple isn’t. How about cantaloupe and honeydew?

Any recommendations for snacks light meals?

How about butter, olive oil or vegetable oil?

Before this happened our diets aren’t that terrible so I’m trying to figure out where we went wrong. Salad probably 4 nights a week and she may have one for lunch as well. Good cereal and fruit weekly and some yogurt as well and eggs and toast. We don’t eat lots fried or fast food. We do enjoy chicken and pasta and pizza once a week. 
I know sauce can be acidic so I’ll cut back on that some. We do enjoy Chinese food as well.

Thanks again, appreciate it.

[H*GLEG]

Look up www.criticalhealthnews.com

Its Dr. Joel Wallach's information. Naturopathic Doctor & DVM, "they actually care about their patients."

 His List of 10 bad foods NOT to EAT.

1. Wheat
2. Barley
3. Rye
4. Oats, Oatmeal – even if it says that it’s gluten free.
5. Fried Food – nothing fried! You should boil, broil or bake and never more than medium rare for red
    meat.
6. Oils – Oils oxidize when they come into contact with the air (become rancid). Since almost all oil is continually exposed to some air from the time it is produced, the process of oxidation has begun in even the freshest oil. These oxidized oils cause inflammation and cell damage. (Youngevity's essential oils are injected into the gel caps surrounded by nitrogen to prevent oxidation.)
7. Well done red meat (IE No burned fats) – (rare or medium-rare is ok!) If you grill your food, try to have something between the food and the fire (like aluminium foil) so the juice doesn’t drip onto the flame and deposit dangerous things on the meat.
8. Any nitrates added to meat – (ie: deli meats) tell your butcher NO NITRATES or NITRITES!
9. No carbonated drinks of any kind within one hour before, during or one hour after meals.
10. Skin of a baked potato (or yam, or sweet potato). If you boil a potato, you can eat the skins.


Good Foods
Dr. Joel Wallach is an EXPERT in medical nutrition and recommends the Good Food/Bad Food list to everyone. There are exceptions for diabetics regarding fruit/sugar. You must clean up your diet for good health and to absorb nutrients.

As a bonus, here are the foods that are GOOD for you, as recommended by Dr. Joel Wallach and Dr. Peter Glidden:

Proteins
Eggs
TO COOK EGGS YOU MAY:
Poach; This is his number one choice because the water never reaches a temperature greater than 212 degrees.
Scramble with butter over very low heat and only until they are just setting up. If you can hear them cooking it’s too hot.
Soft boil with the yolk still runny. Some call them “2 minute eggs”. (Hard-boiled egg yolks with a greenish coating have had their cholesterol degraded.)
Raw Eggs are good BUT you must increase your Biotin.
Fish
Chicken
Pork
Lamb
Beef—rare/medium rare
Mixed, Salted Nuts—no peanuts.  Raw Best
Beans
Grain Carbohydrates
Any carbohydrate (except oatmeal) that is “Gluten Free” is OK.

Rice
Millet
Pure Buckwheat (Isn’t wheat).
Couscous (made from pearl millet only).
Quinoa
Corn (GMO Free)
Vegetables & Fruits
Veggies
Fruit
Dairy
Dairy
Oils Fats and Sugars
Salt - Salt your food to taste. To properly digest your food you need stomach acid and salt helps in the creation of stomach acid.
Nut Butters—no extra sugar
Lard (yes, lard!)
Use Butter – Margarine is simply oil in a solid state. If you cook with butter, make sure the heat is low enough that the butter doesn’t turn brown in the pan. Unsalted
Beverages
4-8, 8oz glasses of filtered water each day. Avoid soft plastic bottles.
Coffee
Tea
Green tea
Red wine
ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity)
20,000 ORAC points of anti-oxidants daily.

Foods high in ORAC – Blue berries, cinnamon, walnuts, curry, dark skinned fruits, unprocessed cocoa powder, acai berry, green tea, red wine (research for more foods high in ORAC).

Phytates
A note of caution to those using Youngevity products.

Phytates bind to minerals in the Beyond Tangy Tangerine, Plant Derived minerals, and other Youngevity products containing minerals. The phytates interfere with the absorption of minerals and wastes them. If you eat phytates, take your minerals at least two hours before, or two hours after you consume the phytates.

Examples of phytates:
Nuts, seeds, rice, beans, spinach, peas, lentils, legumes. Do an internet search to find more foods that contain phytates.

Hope this helps and hope she feels better.
This Naturopathic approach is the opposite of the Allopathic Doctors approach.
That's why he wrote "Dead Doctors Don't Lie."
And has a great lecture, "Someone Needs to go to Jail."

Tom / HOGLEG
 

[cookiedough]

good luck to all who have bouts of this problem.  Yesterday,  work had mexican food and I did not over eat like I usually do with not too spicy beef and chicken and rice/beans.  I thought tasted good but me not liking spicy mexican food,  I had to run to poddy 3x's in 3 hours did not feel well.  I guess avoid spicy foods for some of us as well, for sure disagreed with me yesterday afternoon.

One thing is for sure,  all our tummies/colon are not created equal and can only suggest what does and does not work for EACH of us, might not be the same for all. 

I do not want 4 more days in hospital hooked up to 2 IV's and another trip to the ER with high fever/severe shaking all over uncontrollably.  The only 2 warning signs I had was right side hurt trying to stand up in one spot that same day went to ER and constipation for 2 days prior.  I did not think I had a fever until ambulance came and reading was 104 temp.   I just thought being constipated that was the only reason my lower right side tummy hurt trying to stand up fully. 

[Jersey mike]

good luck to all who have bouts of this problem.  Yesterday,  work had mexican food and I did not over eat like I usually do with not too spicy beef and chicken and rice/beans.  I thought tasted good but me not liking spicy mexican food,  I had to run to poddy 3x's in 3 hours did not feel well.  I guess avoid spicy foods for some of us as well, for sure disagreed with me yesterday afternoon.

One thing is for sure,  all our tummies/colon are not created equal and can only suggest what does and does not work for EACH of us, might not be the same for all. 

I do not want 4 more days in hospital hooked up to 2 IV's and another trip to the ER with high fever/severe shaking all over uncontrollably.  The only 2 warning signs I had was right side hurt trying to stand up in one spot that same day went to ER and constipation for 2 days prior.  I did not think I had a fever until ambulance came and reading was 104 temp.   I just thought being constipated that was the only reason my lower right side tummy hurt trying to stand up fully. 

It seems we have more learn about how to handle this as it appears this is now a permanent condition which needs to be addressed.

Feel bad for those who have much more severe symptoms. Like I said we’re trying to figure out how to move forward to keep things from getting worse. I’ve heard of diverticulitis but never knew things could be so severe. We both really thought it was a bad case of a digestive bug and cleared up.

[Valkorado]

good luck to all who have bouts of this problem.  Yesterday,  work had mexican food and I did not over eat like I usually do with not too spicy beef and chicken and rice/beans.  I thought tasted good but me not liking spicy mexican food,  I had to run to poddy 3x's in 3 hours did not feel well.  I guess avoid spicy foods for some of us as well, for sure disagreed with me yesterday afternoon.

One thing is for sure,  all our tummies/colon are not created equal and can only suggest what does and does not work for EACH of us, might not be the same for all.  

I do not want 4 more days in hospital hooked up to 2 IV's and another trip to the ER with high fever/severe shaking all over uncontrollably.  The only 2 warning signs I had was right side hurt trying to stand up in one spot that same day went to ER and constipation for 2 days prior.  I did not think I had a fever until ambulance came and reading was 104 temp.   I just thought being constipated that was the only reason my lower right side tummy hurt trying to stand up fully.  

It seems we have more learn about how to handle this as it appears this is now a permanent condition which needs to be addressed.

Feel bad for those who have much more severe symptoms. Like I said we’re trying to figure out how to move forward to keep things from getting worse. I’ve heard of diverticulitis but never knew things could be so severe. We both really thought it was a bad case of a digestive bug and cleared up.

It's literally a killer for some.

Like Cookie mentioned, every body is different and severity can vary from mild and manageable to chronic ulcerative problems including bleeding issues.  Once diagnosed even the discriminating and wary diet can throw some curve balls from time time.  My list of "no-no" foods has grown longer over the years.  Every body has to learn what works best for them, and it's not an exact science.

Check your messages Mike.

[Edvalk]

i have diverticulosis and the doctor said most people mid 60's to 80's will have it.That's like a pre diverticulitis .  Detected in a cat scan for something else. I'm sticking with my starch diet. That's any fruit ,vegetable and starches. starch foods being beans,rice,potatoes and some grains. . It's the best thing to restore your gut health. You have to have strong stomach acid to digest all the food in your stomach and small intestine before it arrives in your large intestine. . Most everything in a western diet is bad for your gut health. Dairy and meat being some of the worst. There's a great book ''The Starch Solution '' by dr. John McDougall. Changed my life for the good. Just my opinion.

[cookiedough]

bummer, no dairy and meats.  I doubt I could do that one though, especially MEAT.  My stomach/colon lining just perforated they said and sealed itself up in a few days with help of IV bags hooked up in hospital for a few days, luckily.

Dr. said when in ER good chance, but before CT scan was done, that I might need surgery to remove a foot or so of my colon/intestine area to remove the perforated part.  Luckily that did not happen since my follow up CT scan about 1 month later showed my tummy lining was strong enough since did not want 5 one inch incisions as Dr. explained to take the weakened part out.  Dr. did say though could happen in future though so gotta watch what I eat and how much and most likely if had it once, will likely happen again but could be years from now. 

My wife just a few months ago after that had severe left side tummy pain and throwing up and rushed her to ER found out needed ASAP appendix removed that same day.  Her 3 one inch incisions in tummy has not fully healed yet and they said 6-8 weeks later should be back to normal.  She is NOT.  Her follow up visit some 3+ months later now Dr. said she could have some permanent tummy NERVE damage from her surgery.  Sometimes still hurts her to bend down or wear tight fitting clothes in her tummy area around her cuts.  NOT good to live with pain like that for rest of her life, especially since Drs. said 6-8 weeks should be back to normal.