new to div

[johno]

Hi all,
I was diagnosed with diverticulitis two and a half weeks ago. I went to the ER with excruciating pain in my right side. After 6 hours there bring poked, prodded, and radiated I was sent home with antibiotics and pain medication. I was told that I had abdominal inflamation and to see a sugeon the next day. Needless to say I was worried to the point of not being able to sleep even if I could have with the pain. The next day the surgeon walked into the exam room and immediately said that I had diverticulitis and was young to be having it. If I wasn't on tne mend in 3-4 days I would be put into the hospital and possibly undergo surgery to remove part of my colon. Needless to say, this didn't help my stress levels any. Anyway, to make a long story short, I am over the innitial flare and I am slowly reintroducing fiber into my diet.
My questions at this time are what is the best fiber supplement to take, and does this ache in my side ever go away? I have read that psyllium is good and bad, the same with prepared mixes like metamucil and ensure. Not a whole lot about flax. I know that I probably should not take insoluble fiber just yet, but I want to be prepared when the time comes. I would appreciate any advise you guys could offer.

[palmerbuyer]

Did the doctor do any testing or was he just 'guessing'?

RIGHT side is not usual for DIV (although can happen).

If you are unsure about what to do, get a SECOND OPINION.

Add fiber very slowly, especially if this is NEW to you.

Find a good gastroenterologist.

And good luck. I've had three attacks over the last 10 months, and must watch my diet very carefully. The strangest things set me off. BUT, once I do, it has not been as bad as the first attack.

I suggest keeping a food diary to help you identify which items set YOU off. There are some common foods to avoid (nuts, seeds, etc.) but I also have to avoid Yams. (Go figure)

[johno]

Thanks for responding. I am quit shocked that so little activity goes on here. Seems like there are a lot of members yet no one does anything.

Anyway, I am guessing the results from the tests done in the ER(blood, urine, CT) were sent to hte surgeon's office. At least I hope that is what happened. I am working on that second opinion though. The surgeon told me to have a colonoscopy done at around 8 weeks. I am currently wrangling with the drs to get a formal referral to a gastroenterologist who will not see me without the holy referral.

In a way I am glad I haven't gotten the appointment set up yet because, I am dreading even the thought of that proceedure being done. I am 34 (for a couple more weeks anyway) so haven't started the ussual battery of midlife invasive testing. Just takes the luster out of the gain in wisdom that goes along with age. Oh well, I guess we all need to look at things from a different point of view once in a while. pun intended.

I am going to try slowly adding coarser fiber to my diet starting this week. I went ahead and bought some milled flax seed and will add it to my daily regimine of probiotics, vits, and aloe. I have also started on an EFA 3 6 9 supplement. Hope I don't overkill, I just don't want to experience that horrible pain ever again.

The diary is a great idea, I will start one immedialely.

Guess I had better shut up now. I am just relieved that I have found a place where I can talk with othre people with diverticulitis and share info, you sure don't get a lot from the doctors.
Bye for now and thanks again .

[palmerbuyer]

I was very pleased to find that there was at least a forum. I, too, am fairly new to DIV.

Unfortunately (or fortunately because I'm still HERE) I am quite familiar with colonoscopy. Relax. The worst part is the prep and it doesn't take long.

Once at the center, you will not know what is going on while they do it, and you won't remember it. It does not hurt if it is done by a qualified person. And it is much better than some of the tests they used to do. The only aftereffects will be sleepiness. BTW, the test itself is much easier on you if you start clear liquids several days ahead of the test.

I would not recommend increasing your fiber too much until you are told to by your doctor. Introducing it too fast can cause you problems -- plus if you are scheduled for a colonoscopy, you will have to stop it.

The best thing that I can suggest is to eliminate as much stress from your life as you can. I realize that is not easy. (I changed jobs and changed my commute from 40 miles each way to ONE. Quite a difference when you are traveling on ice and snow half the year.)

AND, I'm quite a bit older than you':wink:'. Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age, but if you have a sense of humor you can handle just about anything life throws at you.

Handle ONE crisis at a time. (You can HAVE more than one, but worry about only one at a time.) ':lol:'

HANG IN THERE.

[azshayes3]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and I'm a new DIV patient. I was diagnosed by accident about 2 weeks ago. They did a ct scan on my kidney looking for a kidney stone and found that I had diverticulitis. I have had no attacks and no pain and had no clue that I had it. Are there different levels of diverticulitis and, because I have had no problems, should I be watching my diet as strickly as others are? Thank you.

[azshayes3]

Hi out there.......

Does anyone out there know if diverticulitis progressively gets worse over time. I was just diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. I was being treated for a urinary track infection and the doctor wanted me to go get a ct scan of my kidney cause I was so sick with the infection. Anyway, they found out then that I had diverticulitis but it was not infected, which was good. I never knew I had it and I've had no trouble with it. So, by eating a high fiber diet, can that control the disease and prevent me from having attacks in the future??

From what I've read, this disease can be very painful and I'm trying to prevent it from getting worse or having attacks if I can....

Thank you for any feedback anyone can give me...... Thanks

[Buckshot323]

Sounds like you have Diverticuloses, the disease meaning, you have developed diverticula’s, the pockets in your colon. They say a majority of people in the US over 50 have the disease, BUT ONLY SOME of us get the flare-ups and infections, Diverticulitis. From what I understand you may never get the symptoms and problems others have.

I don’t know if you need to watch your diet to prevent the infections as many people have the disease and never develop Diverticulitis. After you read everything you can about the disease you will be as confused as the rest of us. I’m not sure watching your diet has much to do with the infections. It seems as though just about anything can set off a flare on someone. Some are set off by cooked or uncooked vegetables, some nuts, some fiber, some stress. Everyone seems to have a different cause. You just have to pay attention to things your body has trouble digesting and stay away from those. The best advice I’ve got was to chew things up much better and that aids in the digestion process.

Eastern, Asian, African countries have very little of the disease while in America most people eventually get it. That pretty well boils it down to what we eat how it is processed and how we cook it. Check out this site for some good general information. Good luck and I hope you never get the flare ups!

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddisease ... /index.htm

[psyllium]

Oh thanks Buckshot323 I thought I will post today and God know when will I have the answer but the this forum and this reply was already there..
Thank you very much... Actually my grandma has this... http://www.psylliumexport.com