Has anyone here got diverticulitis...?

[carole]

Last night i had the onset of some very uncomfortable pain, which kept me awake during the night, this morning it was unbearable, and i was beside myself, i nearly went to the hospital last night, but opted for the medical centre this morning.

Anyhow she thinks i have a inflamed large bowel, diverticulitis,and a UTI,lucky me, i knew something was up and i feared worse, i had never experienced this before, i have IBS, but this was not like that at all, much worse really.Funny thing i started off with having a very sore hip, thought it was arthritis, and it may still well be that, once i felt the lower abdomen pain,it overtook the hip pain and i could not feel it anymore,is this typical, or am i dealing with another issue here?

I know this is not uncommon, so wondering if any of you suffer from it, what you do for it etc.

Funny thing is i read a low fibre diet can contribute, i have a rather high fibre diet, so i am puzzled here really,let us hope her diagnosis is correct, my blood pressure was sky high again at 164/97,obviously a bit up because i am sick,but i have been having issues in the past with it.

I am in some pain as i type this, but it is now on a bearable level, thank goodness, she gave me gastrosmoothe to take and antibiotics.

Boy i sure hope to feel better soon,this is no fun at all.

[caseysmom]

I don't know anything about it sorry, I hope you feel better soon.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I have it. Truth? I don't do anything special except get nervous if I have pain and a fever (I was hospitalized with it a couple years ago.)

The worst pain for me was in the lower back. The impaction and infection pressing on the nerves.

Despite my cavalier attitude it is nothing to mess around with. My sil nearly died from it...had to have reconstructive surgery -- it was awful.

So listen to the doctors! No nuts or seeds.

[moosmom]

Diverticulitis is an inflammation of the intestines. It's caused from eating nuts, seeds anything that can get caught in the pocket of the intestines. It's very painful too.

[carole]

you telling me it is painful , yep i know that, i still am not 100 per cent convinced that is what i have,we shall see, i don't eat lots of nuts or seeds really,now and then i do though and i was putting sesame seeds in my food, but i stopped that when i had run out.

I am in a degree of comfort now, probably 5/10,still sore though, it was near a 9/10 before,so hoping that the gastrosmoothe she gave me does the trick.,however i can feel the hip sore again now, i guess that is because the other pain has subsided a bit,drat it all.,this getting old is no fun at all.

I have not experienced the fevers or chills with it, so i have to wonder.,although i believe that is sometimes when you need to be hospitalised.

It does appear people with IBS often seem to get this though.

[catnapper]

My boss does...in fact, he was at his doctor's this afternoon and scheduled surgery for next month. All I know is he lives in misery and watches everything he eats like a hawk.

[carole]

Gee that really cheered me up,a life of misery, does not appeal, i am sure it depends on the individual case, not every one is the same surely,and surgery is not always required from what i have learn't on the internet.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I was diagnosed with a mild case of it several months ago. If I eat nuts or seeds, I have problems.

After reading some of these posts, I am really lucky to not have it as bad as some of these poor people. {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to every body.

Carole, I sure hope you feel better.

[Pam]

After I had my colonoscopy a few years ago the doctor said that I had it (fortunately only one pocket noted at the time). He also commented that it is extremely common as we age and many people don't even realize they have it. I have only had one episode of pain with it as I watch what I eat now. Don't want that pain ever again!

[kuhio98]

I've lost track of the number of times my poor sister ended up in the emergency room with attacks.

She had a very poor (low fiber/high fat) diet. Once she started eating better, the symptoms went away. She cut out nuts, strawberries, raspberries, figs (any kind of fruit or veggie that has itty-bitty seeds) and it worked. Hasn't been in the hospital for about 7 years now.

In the meantime, her gallbladder started acting up (excruciating pain). Not sure if they are related at all, but once she got her gallbladder out, her health has improved dramatically.

[Medusa]

My late sister Evelyn suffered from it for years (no, she didn't die from it) and, as has already been mentioned, nuts and seeds are out of the question. Add lettuce to that list, too; at least that's the way it was for her. When she was in real pain, she mixed a tsp. of paragoric w/a little water and some sugar to sweeten the taste (it tastes like bitter licorice) and it calmed the spasms down immediately. Time was when you could sign for paragoric at the pharmacy but now you probably need a prescription for it. It can be addictive but if used w/caution and only when needed, it's very effective. When I was a teenager and had bad menstrual cramps, paragoric was the only thing that helped and w/in minutes, too. Perhaps ask your dr. about it. I'm sorry that you're feeling poorly. Feel better soon, Carole.

[cassiesmom]

A family friend who's a dietitian told me that a modest amount of fiber in my diet is best. Not overly high, not overly low. I haven't had a diverticulitis attack in several months, but I have to be really careful with things like sesame-seed sandwich buns, rice (which I love) and popcorn.

[Pam]

I have to be really careful with things like sesame-seed sandwich buns, rice (which I love) and popcorn.

Popcorn is what caused my one and only episode. It smells good popping but I just think back to the pain and it loses its appeal quickly. I eat rice all the time with no problem.

[K9karen]

After I had my colonoscopy a few years ago the doctor said that I had it (fortunately only one pocket noted at the time). He also commented that it is extremely common as we age and many people don't even realize they have it. I have only had one episode of pain with it as I watch what I eat now. Don't want that pain ever again!

Me too. I was also just diagnosed with an ulcer so I have to watch everything I eat now, though the holidays threw me off since I have no willpower.

Feel better, Carole. It's always somethin', huh?

[carole]

actually the gastrosoothe she gave me has really helped heaps, the pain has subsided to almost gone, i am feeling my hip pain far worse, yes you are right i never want to feel that pain again, and yes it is very common as we age, the fun of aging, and yes karen there is always something,one sure gets sick of oneself at times.

I am going to stay away from sesame seeds, i did put those in my chicken and rice a few weeks ago and it was something i added that i normally don't ,one would wonder if it set it off,it all adds up though, i have often had funny pains in my sides and never got to the bottom of it, and worried about it, thinking it was something to do with my ovaries or my water works, now i am thinking it was probably this all along,so in some ways bit of a relief.

I have a pretty good diet really, not excessive in fibre but certainly not low, i eat weetbix for breakfast every day, i have fruit, salads, and veges every day, of course i do have splurges of the nawtee stuff like chocolate and sweets, and cakes at times, but mostly i eat reasonably healthy,so it does puzzle me a bit,i think it is just the aging process and lack of exercise in my case, gonna start on that dreadmill again, and try to get back into it, once my hip is better, still i think the diagnosis must be correct as i am much better now.

Yes just have to hope it does not flare up and get bad, thanks everyone for your input, advice and support. cheers.