hi all... i know this is kinda OT but seems like for us autoimmune folks, when one thing goes, well it all goes to ehck..
back in 2009 I had my furst diverticulitis attack. several weeks later ended up backo in hosptial with another...soooo ever since then i have had this off and on mild to moderate pain in my left side... just had colonocopy in jan and after taht had a CT cuase i had nonstop pain following the colonsocopy- so i went to ER think9ing maybe perforation... all was clear....
i do notice if i dont eat sugar, go gluten free and take grapeseed extract after every meal the pain goes away for the most part... however from time to time it pops up....
my biggest fear- if its cuased by the diverticular disease is that one of these days i will end up with emrgency surgery and hence a colostomy bag or worse....
ive had ibs my whole life... could it be taht after thattack im more susceptible there in the low left side??
again it never turns into infection- no fever, worsening pain etc... pain is really not bad but noticlable and enough to make me always live in fear....
any words of wisdom???
????? just one more thing to think about... no wonder im tired!! LOL
lori
I have had diverticultis alot! When I started getting the severe pain - they found a colon polyp on my colon. Once that came off I felt a ton better. But later - I was told I had an umbilical hernia. I had the repair done - and voila - knock on wood - no diverticultis pain since!! I think the hernia was putting pressure on the colon which kept everything in an uproar at all times.
Hope this helps.
Howdy lori, sorry you are having such a time of it. Have you tried taking L-Glutamine?
I understand it works well for your type of problem.
Seeker
Seeker,
i do take l- glut. as well a a host of other supplements.... what im finding out is whe i cut the sugar out plus the gluten free and do grapeseed extrat afer every meal i seem to be pain free...just wondering why this is so... the gastro has no clue
Here's some reasons sugar is bad for you:
Sugar suppresses the immune system. Sugar promotes inflammation. Sugar suppresses the release of human growth hormone. Sugar promotes glycation. Sugar raises insulin levels.
Any one of the above could be causing you problems.
If you go gluten free, it is a good idea to stay gluten free. It does not take much gluten for your body to react to it. Watch out for hidden gluten. Be well
Seeker
My hubby has diverticulosis and has gone to ER quite a few times with diverticulitis. We have always caught it in time so that he did not end up in the hospital.
I am just curious what you are eating in your diet. I know that these days they say that you can eat seeds and just about anything. My hubby also has microscopic colitis that goes along with his celiac disease so he has lots of trouble with his colon.
The best thing we have learned to do is be really careful about what he eats. He skips the things with small seeds and eats the watermelon, cantoloupe, prune sauce, etc for fiber. He eats frozen peas that I cook the bejibbers out of and he doesn't eat corn unless I run it through the food processor and make "corn pudding" with egg, milk, little sugar, cinnamon, etc. bake in oven.
The last attack he had we attributed to pearl tapioca. I had soaked the pearl tapioca and made the pudding for him. He got sick about 3-4 days later and we are very much convinced that is what started that episode.
You know that if you do have an attack that results in removal of part of the colon sometimes a colonoscopy is done but will be temporary. Sometimes they end up being permanent. When I was working as a nurse in Rochester many years ago we had a whole lot of colostomy patients and at that time it was a really big deal to have a colostomy and a lot harder to manage.
These days the operation has been fine tuned and the way they manage a colostomy is so much different and so much better. Belief it or not it is not the worst thing in the world that can happen to a person.
Try not to worry about this. You do what you need to in controlling your colon issues and what happens, happens. You can't change some things and to worry about them before they happen is a waste of energy. So many health issues that we all suffer from are a nuisance and a big pain to deal with, but we don't have ALS or some other totally devastating disease. Keep smiling and life will be good even when it gets bad. I try to do this---hard sometimes, but don't have much choice in the matter. IRish ;D
Irish,
when your hubby gets an attack, does he run a fever- iread somewhere after the inital attack fever often doesnt present...
how does he know when its time to go??
i have pain almost all the time? if i went every time i had pain i would live at the er and also be broke!!!
lori
He had pain a lot of the time also in the belly button area and in the lower left quadrant. He was seen by docs and lots of different opinions but the diverticulitis was always considered to be the primary problem.
He would raise a fever on occasion but when he got bad he would start to have loose stools and increase in pain with rectal spams. He would not always run a fever though. Many times the fever doesn't come until the "litis" is much worse. We would make the run to the ER and he would have x-rays of abdomen and blood work, etc. Usually end up getting one IV antibiotic and then get sent home with a couple weeks of antibiotic.
If you don't have good insurance maybe it would be wise to get a second opinion GI consult to find out if you don't have something else going on. If you qualify you may be able to get some insurance through your county health system. My hubby also has the colitis that would screw up the picture so we always had to err on the side of caution. Diverticulitis is different in everyone and you need to know just what you are dealing with, that is for sure.
I don't know if you would have a low grade infection that is clouding the picture. If an infection isn't eradicated when treated it can sit and smolder and make it hard to anticipate what to do when. The other thing is that when you suspect that you are having issues that need attention you might be able to get an appointment with whoever has an appointment open at your clinic. Not the best option but cheaper than going to ER
Urgent care is also an option but they are pretty fussy about what they see these days and will often just send you through the door, down the hall to the ER. Good luck. Irish ;D
hey Irish,
i took bentyl through out the day... seems to have put the pain out..every now and then i get " twinge"... maybe it is ibs???? if it were an infection starting i wouldnt think the bentyl would do much...
????
frm what i read and from my experience if it is a diver attack it only gets worse not better
lori
Lori, My hubby takes Librax which is another very old drug that relaxes the colon when he has those spasms. When you have diverticulitis it is very hard to stop the pain with this type of drug. He has taken bentyl also at times. There is another drug out there that I can't remember that he was unable to take due to some side effects.
IBS is also a big pain and nuisance. I had it for quite a few years and when I started on Zoloft it pretty much disappeared. There is a definite brain/colon connection and some sites online where you can read about this. Good luck. Irish ;D