Ever had diverticulitis? Just found out my sister has it. Tell me about it, please.

[Bertha Venation]

:scared:

[geardaddy]

1. My sister has it, too.

I know you can't eat seeds or nuts or anything that can get caught in the diverticules in your colon.

[Maraya1969]

2. I seriously don't think you need to be afraid. From what I understand it is

a chronic condition that you just have to take care of all the time. And I have heard about not eating nuts and seeds either.

[TygrBright]

3. Tell her to switch to seedless strawberry jam. n/t

In fact, avoid anything with small indigestible particles that can get caught and further inflame the diverticules.

Switch from heavy dry-rub seasonings (which often use seeds) to sauced barbecue.

She'd probably better consider giving up popcorn altogether, that's a real stinker.

Otherwise, not much to worry about. It comes and goes. Avoid making it worse, it will subside. It's a nuisance, but rarely serious.

This is not meant to be medical advice, I am not a doctor, nutritionist, or other professional advice-giver. Just had a stepfather with an annoying case of diverticulitis and listened to him bitch about it a lot.

helpfully,
Bright

[GoneOffShore]

4. It's so much fun!

You get to eat lots of antibiotics!

There's gas to pass and bloating!

Once you pass 40 just about everyone has diverticulosis, where there are little pockets in the colon. The answer, according to my doc, is either Metamusil daily (YUCK!) or lots of fiber in the form of vegetables and muesli (high fiber cereal). NOT medical advice, just what my doc told me!

I've had a couple of bouts of diverticulitis which were not particularly serious, but scary the first time it happens. Some people have very serious attacks - it seems to depend on the size of the diverticulum in the colon.

I eat pretty much whatever I want, including nuts (chewed well), but I do have a lot of fiber in my diet. I pretty much follow the Michael Pollan and Mark Bittmann thing -

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

[TZ]

8. Actually most triggers for serious diverticulitis are seeds/fruits/veggies

and it can be VERY SERIOUS and VERY PAINFUL. If it makes an actual pouch off of the large intestine. My mother was hospitalized with only a IV (no foods or LIQUIDS even) for almost a week. Yes, there is a milder chronic form as well.

[GoneOffShore]

9. No argument from me on the painful. And a friend had a bowel section

because of diverticulitis.

Anecdotally my experience has been that the high fiber diet - with lots of veggies etc and plenty of water is a good thing.

Edited because sometimes I can't see what I'm typing and miss out prepositions and such.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. I have a friend who has it, and has been told not to use pepper

on any food, since it cannot be digested and can get caught in the diverticula, and I guess it is very irritating. I only know this because if she is coming to dinner, I cannot use pepper on/in any foods I make----yikes.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. PM me for further details if you want. I had a bout with it last year.

The severity varies from person to person. As future precaution, I no longer have nuts and seeds (as nuts and seeds) in my diet.

eg.

Sesame seeds (NO) tahini (OK)
Flax seeds/flaxseed meal (NO) Flaxseed oil (OK)
peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds,etc. (NO)
smooth creamy nut butters and nut oils (OK)
Coconut (OK if finely grated - it's considered soft)
Raspberries, blackberries (not recommended) Strawberries (OK)

Ironically, these are items that are supposed to be good for us, and are prevalent in vegetarian and vegan cuisine. And I was eating those plus other high fiber items before my problem.

[Aristus]

7. Good advice up above so far.

Lots of roughage. Keeps you regular. Two things that cause the diverticula in the first place are excessive irritation of the colonic mucosa due to passage of hard, dry stools, coupled with the straining necessary to pass them.

Remember what Dizzy Gillespie's cheeks looked like after years and years of puffing them out as he played the trumpet? Same basic process creates colonic diverticula.

[Bertha Venation]

10. thank you, everyone...

She's taking cipro and flagyl and calcium colate ( i think that's what it's called) and "pounding fluids."

I will send her the link to this thread. Thanks very much, everyone! :)

[JesterCS]

11. i have

the other one Diverticulosis. which is just an excess of bacteria in the colon, have heard the other is the more serious of the two