I just got diagnosed with Diverticulitis. Does anyone have any solid advice on how to deal with this disease?
I am miserable!
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4meAndyou · F
Diverticulitis may occur when a small pocket or many pockets form in your intestines. You may have to limit the foods that aggravate the condition because it sounds like your intestines are badly inflamed. That's temporary IBS.
I have diverticulitis, and I haven't had a problem in at least two years. When an infection occurs, you know it. The cramps you feel are different than gas cramps. They don't move. When that happens, a trip to the doctor and antibiotics will clear up the infection that forms inside those little pockets.
Unfortunately, if you don't fix your diet, or don't know how, you will remain inflamed inside and you won't be able to figure out why you are always having to run to the ladies room...or throw up, or why you are having such horrible gas cramps. I had to quit work because of it.
I don't eat small seeds unless they are ground like peanut butter, and I avoid foods that might be difficult for my system to break down. For a while I couldn't eat peanut butter or nuts. I can eat corn and popcorn now, but couldn't a few years ago. Some people in the middle of a full blown inflammation episode (IBS) from diverticulitis can't.
I chew my food very carefully if I am eating something raw and I still might end up with pain from it. It's easiest for me to eat cooked vegetables and canned fruits, or fruits that are soft with little fiber, like watermelon or other melons. You can drink juice with no pulp of fiber, but limit the amount to a very tiny glass...about 1/3 cup.
Salads can still be made with cooked vegetables, such as steamed green beans, steamed asparagus, and steamed kale, but don't eat the raw things. You'll feel better, but be sure the things you eat are no longer crunchy.
I have definitely become lactose intolerant, and I was shocked to learn that when you have diverticulitis you should not drink milk or any milk products. I've switched to cold dairy case coconut milk, and I am very careful about reading ingredients before I buy something new. NO DAIRY!
Right now you may not even react well to xanthan gum. It can cause diarrhea. That is an an agent they put in ice cream, and in ALL fake ice cream. Actually I just bought my own ice cream make so I can make my own ice cream with coconut milk and NO xanthan gum.
They put xanthan gum in fake cream cheese, fake sour cream, and way too many other things. The good news is that Silk makes yogurt without xanthan gum, and if you make a well inside it after opening and scoop the liquid out every day for three or four days, it thickens up to the consistency of sour cream and tastes just like sour cream. You can use that to make onion dip, or in any recipe that uses sour cream.
I don't have any problem with fried foods, but I have to limit them. I can't sit down and eat any amount of fried chicken or lots of french fries. But I can eat 2 fried chicken legs if I peel off most of the coating, or half of the seafood on a fried seafood platter as long as I don't eat the fries. There is milk in most fried food coatings, too, so remember to limit it.
A good rule to remember is to limit fats and oils to 2 Tablespoons or less. I can even eat butter, which is a no-no dairy food, if I follow that rule.
They say you should not eat beans, but I can eat them without a problem, as long as I limit the serving size to 1/3 cup. I can eat Minestrone with bean and no problem.
I loooove coleslaw but I just can't eat it unless I make it myself. I use my food processor and slice the cabbage really thin, and then I marinate it for at least three days in my own homemade coleslaw dressing that contains NO milk....just coconut milk. Marinating any vegetable softens it, so that you can digest it more easily. Remember all veg cooked or marinated. Even lettuce and tomato on a sandwich will hurt you.
They say you are not supposed to eat broccoli, but I can eat it in a marinated salad, as long as I limit it to 1/3 cup, and I can cook florets till soft and eat those without a problem.
I eat plain Italian bread, with no seeds. Other breads just about kill me. Italian or french bread is usually made with water, and you can slice off what you need and keep it in the freezer. It thaws quickly.
They say you should stay away from soda and carbonated beverages, and maybe you should, just for now. Right now everything is inflamed and sodas are harsh.
Just for now, till things calm down, stay away from hot chili and spicy, spicy stuff. Mexican food would probably kill you. I have been able to use McCormick Cajun seasoning all the way through, but you still want to be careful.
While my insides were so inflamed, I could NOT eat red meat. I can now...but not every day.
I drank tea and coffee all the way through this, but the advice is to avoid coffee as it will trigger more of your problems. The only creamer you can use in your coffee is powdered creamer. It contains no dairy. They have it in flavors if you like flavored coffee.
You can NOT drink right now. Period. If you do, it will make it worse and worse.
After a year or two, you will probably be able to have a glass of wine now and then, but not right now.
Relax..this does calm down. It's not forever. It's like a bruise that is so swollen you can't use that part of your body without pain. You just need to give it all time to calm down and don't keep putting foods in there that are hard for you to process.
I have diverticulitis, and I haven't had a problem in at least two years. When an infection occurs, you know it. The cramps you feel are different than gas cramps. They don't move. When that happens, a trip to the doctor and antibiotics will clear up the infection that forms inside those little pockets.
Unfortunately, if you don't fix your diet, or don't know how, you will remain inflamed inside and you won't be able to figure out why you are always having to run to the ladies room...or throw up, or why you are having such horrible gas cramps. I had to quit work because of it.
I don't eat small seeds unless they are ground like peanut butter, and I avoid foods that might be difficult for my system to break down. For a while I couldn't eat peanut butter or nuts. I can eat corn and popcorn now, but couldn't a few years ago. Some people in the middle of a full blown inflammation episode (IBS) from diverticulitis can't.
I chew my food very carefully if I am eating something raw and I still might end up with pain from it. It's easiest for me to eat cooked vegetables and canned fruits, or fruits that are soft with little fiber, like watermelon or other melons. You can drink juice with no pulp of fiber, but limit the amount to a very tiny glass...about 1/3 cup.
Salads can still be made with cooked vegetables, such as steamed green beans, steamed asparagus, and steamed kale, but don't eat the raw things. You'll feel better, but be sure the things you eat are no longer crunchy.
I have definitely become lactose intolerant, and I was shocked to learn that when you have diverticulitis you should not drink milk or any milk products. I've switched to cold dairy case coconut milk, and I am very careful about reading ingredients before I buy something new. NO DAIRY!
Right now you may not even react well to xanthan gum. It can cause diarrhea. That is an an agent they put in ice cream, and in ALL fake ice cream. Actually I just bought my own ice cream make so I can make my own ice cream with coconut milk and NO xanthan gum.
They put xanthan gum in fake cream cheese, fake sour cream, and way too many other things. The good news is that Silk makes yogurt without xanthan gum, and if you make a well inside it after opening and scoop the liquid out every day for three or four days, it thickens up to the consistency of sour cream and tastes just like sour cream. You can use that to make onion dip, or in any recipe that uses sour cream.
I don't have any problem with fried foods, but I have to limit them. I can't sit down and eat any amount of fried chicken or lots of french fries. But I can eat 2 fried chicken legs if I peel off most of the coating, or half of the seafood on a fried seafood platter as long as I don't eat the fries. There is milk in most fried food coatings, too, so remember to limit it.
A good rule to remember is to limit fats and oils to 2 Tablespoons or less. I can even eat butter, which is a no-no dairy food, if I follow that rule.
They say you should not eat beans, but I can eat them without a problem, as long as I limit the serving size to 1/3 cup. I can eat Minestrone with bean and no problem.
I loooove coleslaw but I just can't eat it unless I make it myself. I use my food processor and slice the cabbage really thin, and then I marinate it for at least three days in my own homemade coleslaw dressing that contains NO milk....just coconut milk. Marinating any vegetable softens it, so that you can digest it more easily. Remember all veg cooked or marinated. Even lettuce and tomato on a sandwich will hurt you.
They say you are not supposed to eat broccoli, but I can eat it in a marinated salad, as long as I limit it to 1/3 cup, and I can cook florets till soft and eat those without a problem.
I eat plain Italian bread, with no seeds. Other breads just about kill me. Italian or french bread is usually made with water, and you can slice off what you need and keep it in the freezer. It thaws quickly.
They say you should stay away from soda and carbonated beverages, and maybe you should, just for now. Right now everything is inflamed and sodas are harsh.
Just for now, till things calm down, stay away from hot chili and spicy, spicy stuff. Mexican food would probably kill you. I have been able to use McCormick Cajun seasoning all the way through, but you still want to be careful.
While my insides were so inflamed, I could NOT eat red meat. I can now...but not every day.
I drank tea and coffee all the way through this, but the advice is to avoid coffee as it will trigger more of your problems. The only creamer you can use in your coffee is powdered creamer. It contains no dairy. They have it in flavors if you like flavored coffee.
You can NOT drink right now. Period. If you do, it will make it worse and worse.
After a year or two, you will probably be able to have a glass of wine now and then, but not right now.
Relax..this does calm down. It's not forever. It's like a bruise that is so swollen you can't use that part of your body without pain. You just need to give it all time to calm down and don't keep putting foods in there that are hard for you to process.
View 2 more replies »
4meAndyou · F
GhostGirl · F
@4meAndyou I totally agree. Health care in general is flunking. I have to wait three weeks to see a GI doctor after getting out of the hospital. If I have to go to emergency again for the retention in my bladder because of the swelling in my gut I'm going to go nutso. This is now going on for ten weeks. I've lost so much weight.
Miklee02 · 51-55, F
Oh man..... 3 years ago I had to have a foot of my intestines removed due to diverticulitis....... it was awful going through those attacks ..... so painful 😣
Have not had any since surgery and while it was scary to have that surgery I do not regret it at all!
My only advice is to NOT take ciproflaxin ...... read up on that drug before ingesting it....
Ciproflaxin wall of pain and read up on it
Have not had any since surgery and while it was scary to have that surgery I do not regret it at all!
My only advice is to NOT take ciproflaxin ...... read up on that drug before ingesting it....
Ciproflaxin wall of pain and read up on it
SW-User
A good friend of mine had that for years and did everything the Docs told him but it still kept bothering him and taking those potent antibiotics, Flagyl and Ciprofloxacin.
Earlier this year, he a resection surgery to remove the section of intestines that was worse and it hasn't bothered him since.
Constipation is your worst enemy.
Earlier this year, he a resection surgery to remove the section of intestines that was worse and it hasn't bothered him since.
Constipation is your worst enemy.
SW-User
@GhostGirl Milk of Magnesia will! Plus it's the mildest on your system.
GhostGirl · F
@CharlieZ Yes I've cut all dairy from my diet. Awhile back before being hospitalized they put me on a laxative called Laculose. It made it so bad I think that's what eventually led me to the hospital. Why is it so many Doctors don't get it? Seems that only a GI Dr. who saw me had any idea of what I was going though.
samueltyler2 · 80-89, M
ninalanyon · 61-69, T
