Diverticulitis attack recovery time?

[zcared]

my husband is having his 1st diverticulitis attach and hopefully last according to his primary dr. i am concerned because he went back to work today after 1st having pain last saturday. he stands for 8 hours on his feet at work. he goes back to the doctor for follow up appt on monday. he has been home for 4 days off his feet and resting. his was advised by primary dr to take ciphro and flagyl oral and clear liquid diet. i just checked on him and he said he is hurting a little bit - he has only been there for 1.5 hrs. is it safe for him to be at work standing while still during treatment? can standing 8 hours make the condition worst of infection get worst? please advise..... thanks

[zcared]

btw... his treatment for oral meds and liquid diet is for 10 days. we are on day 3. as he didn't get diagnsd until wed after going to the urgent care last sat (1 week ago) they recommended he see his prim dr on monday. so he went the rest of last wkend in pain off his feet in bed until he went to the dr on monday. he recevied his ct scan on wed (earliest they could schedule) and results were provided - treatment started wed shortly after results (oral meds & liquid diet). my concern is what if he had continued to eat normal and the risk that it could have progressed or perforated while he waited to find out what was wrong with him.(it could have been too late). we had never heard of diverticulitis before. any suggestions on ?s we should ask his dr at his follow appt on monday? what should we expect next?

[Joy]

Hi zcared, Sorry ot hear about your husband. He certainly needs lots of rest to give his immune system chance to fight the infection. However, I don't think standing will have any particualrly adverse effect on the diver except it might be more painful for him :-( Resting the colon is very important so a liquid diet for 4 days at least (10 seems a bit extreme) and then a low fibre diet (check out the Mayo Clinic web site for information on low fibre diets). When he does re-introduce fibre do it very slowly! Lots of water or tea is a good idea too! Once he has recovered from this infection he can go back on a healthy diet with lots of fibre, try to stay away from popcorn, nuts and seeds (they bother some people with diver). With any luck he may never have another attack... and if he does he will recognise it next time and you can get help more quickly. Hope he feels better soon, Joy

[Prof Grey]

About 2 months ago I started having serious bowel problems. Having been diagnosed with IBS 30 years ago I thought it was just more of the same. This time it was different though, struggling to have a bowel movement every 1/2 hour, hemorrhoids, a fissure developed and the pain was so bad that I could sit for weeks. I knew I needed to see my doctor but I felt the pain from the exam would be more than I could tolerate. Finally, a month after the problem began I noticed blood with the bowel movements. I had been so very careful with my diet that the annul pain was reduced to about a 3 (scale 1-10) so I went. She did a test to insure that the blood was not occult and attributed my problem to 3 hemorrhoids and a fissure. Put me on Cipro (500ml, twice daily, 7 days), Colace and suppositories. Well, my colon still is inflamed and it has been 4 days since off the antibiotics. I have done much research in this time and I am convinced it is Diverticulitis. The pressure appears to come from the Sigmoid section of my colon. My grandmother also suffered from the disease. As of today I have put myself on a clear liquid diet to give my colon a rest. I will continue this for 48-72 hours and then slowly integrate foods back into my diet. From what I have read here, low fiber foods. Every where else on line advocates a high fiber diet. What's up with that? Also, scheduled for a doctors appointment in 2 weeks (for a physical) plan to talk about it at that time if I can hold off that long. I know doctors always prescribe meds but I do not like to take medication or go through much testing. I will be scheduled for a colonoscopy (my first), will that give me my answer or must I have a CAT or unltrasound for diagnosis. What do you think of how I am handling this. Presently, pain level is 3, just started on liquids today but yesterday took in only vegetable soup and salad.

[Jenn]

Prof Grey,
You will need a CAT scan to determine if you have the the diver, a colonoscopy to soon after a diver attack can really up your chance of a rupture, so be really clear with you GI when scheduling one, about what you suspect and about your pain and it's location...as for low fiber, it is critical if yourcolon is inflammed to give it ample time to rest, I was hospitilized with my first attack this past July for 4 days, home ten days with liquids only and antibiotics, then I saw a GI who told me that I should be on a low fiber diet for four weeks after an attack, then slowly work back up to high fiber foods. It took nearly 7 weeks after the hospitilization to be completely pain free and start working up the fiber, I have been pretty pain free since then, although I have found that I have lost my tolerance for spicy foods, they make my gut hurt, so maybe even nearly 6 months later there is some resisual inflammation or tenderness, and hurrah! my colonoscopy was clean on cancer but clearly confirmed the CAT scans that it was indeed a good case of Diver. I wish you the best of luck in your journey, keep breathing and don't give up hope, you will be ok!

[Mike]

Prof,
Sorry to hear about your problems. Stay on a low fiber diet while your colon is inflamed.(diverticulitis). Once your colon gets back to normal, you need to slowly return to a high fiber diet. When you have a diverticulitis attack, its important for your colon to rest and for the inflammation to go away.

[Prof Grey]

Thanks so much for the responses. Question? If I follow the liquid diet and then the low fiber diet would they be able to give an accurate diagnosis of the disease once the inflammation has subsided? Also, what's your take on whether this can be an inherited disease?

[maya]

A CT scan will show if diverticula and other indicators (edema and stranding) of diverticulitis are present. Your doctor should order one. Then, after you've healed (they usually say to wait about 6 weeks, you can have a colonoscopy to get a better look at what's going on in there.

I do believe heredity can play a role in this. My mom and aunt both have it. I have another friend who has it, as do all his siblings and one of his parents. None of use meet the usual "inactive lifestyle, low-fiber diet" generalizations.

[millie]

What is stranding?

[deborah]

i have arrived home today from the hospital....my surgeon removed my whole sigmoid colon by lap...it was worse then he anticipated....he said he could tell by looking at it that i had suffered years of attacks and it was also very inflamed...i thought i had it under control and questioned myself re whether i should even go through with the surgery...thankfully i did.....i am so glad it is over ...i will go through the previous posts over the next while to figure out what to expect during my recovery time...my doc has booked me off work for 6 weeks.....it will be so nice to feel safe again.....

[Jeff]

Caryn, mine had never gone away in 2-4 days. My Dr. told me that it wouldn't get well right away - that it would take a little time. Guess every case is different. I had an attack 3 wks ago (fever, etc). Went on the anit-biotics, which cleared up the fever, but my side still hurts. Don't know if this helps (don't really know what I'm talking about) Just ready for this to stop hurting.

Caryn wrote:

Hi,
I have a suspected case of div. I started having pain 14 days ago, followed by a one-day fever, and went to the doc after three days. Doc put me on Flagyl, which I could only take for a day before I started reacting. Went on Augmentin after that, was taken off Augmentin in the hospital for 2 days, then back on. After five days on Augmentin I am feeling a lot better but the pain isn't totally gone; when I press against my left side it still feels tender. Should I be concerned about this? I read for many people that symptoms disappear altogether within 2-4 days.
I also had stronger pain this morning, but the GI thought it was constipation due to the low-residue diet. The pain was relieved this morning when I had a bowel movement. How long should I stay on the low-residue diet for, and should I have regular bowel movements while on it? Before the low-residue diet, I was on a liquid diet for 3 days.
I am 32, and my mom had div when she was 34. At 38, she had 18 inches of her colon removed. I currently am self-employed w/out health insurance so I would like to avoid surgery at all costs until I can get a job with insurance. I figure I will be rejected at this point.
Also, my next doc appointment is in 6 days -- is this too long to wait?
Thanks, C

[Jeff]

On whether it's inherited or not I don't know, but apparently people in countries where they don't eat processed food, ie. Asia and Africa don't get this crap. I can't get away from the thought that it's what we are eating.

Prof Grey wrote:

Thanks so much for the responses. Question? If I follow the liquid diet and then the low fiber diet would they be able to give an accurate diagnosis of the disease once the inflammation has subsided? Also, what's your take on whether this can be an inherited disease?

[Debra]

it's now been gosh, I can't remember over 8 weeks and I'm still hurting most of the time. I still feel the hot skin but low body temp every day. I have a few good days, but as soon as I eat, it hurts again. Am on probiotics, stool softeners, fiber. Also am so ready for this to go away. My sister-in-law had the same thing and she said it took a good 6 months before she really felt better. She cut out all sugar, caffeine, processed foods. I'm not sure I can give up my morning coffee! And I'm such a sugaraholic.

[Prof Grey]

Just a quick question for any of you knowledgeable folks. I am currently on a clear liquid diet. I took a store bought roasted chicken, just plain chicken, and through it in a pot to bowl (like as if I were making soup). I cooked it until the thing literally fell apart into a million tiny pieces and the liquid was quite reduced and flavorful. I added a box of organic chicken broth and have practically lived off this for 3 days. My question? Is the fat from the stewed chicken okay to consume? Also, too make matters worse, I have been dealing with 3 hemi's and a fissure (can you believe it?). This morning I had a very small, somewhat runny BM (no doubt do to all the liquids) but even it was somewhat difficult to pass. Since then the fissure is a little painful. I was wondering if the fatty chicken broth could have caused the BM or if this is normal on a liquid diet. I have never done this before and I'm amazed that I'm able to do it now and still feed my family. Thanks to all. Your post are enlightening and helpful.

[Prof Grey]

First, let me re-phrase my statement: I threw the chicken into a pot. Also, just want to let you know I strained it thoroughly before drinking the broth.

[Prof Grey]

Would have been nice if I could have said this all in 1 post but here goes another question. I like to juice and have been juicing apples as past of my liquid diet. Can I add other veggies, like carrots or cucumbers. I get juice, no pulp?

[Jenn]

Take a look at the Mayo clinic's websit, they have good recommendations for different diet such as clear liquids, full liquids, low residue, etc...the thing to keep in mind is you are trying to eliminate fiber for now, so if the kinds of veggies you want to juice will give you a high fiber juice I would be inclined to not do it, especially since you have a tender bottom right now!

[Joy]

Hi Prof Grey, Even on a liuid diet you will get bms, there are other things that your body produces and eliminates. Like bile, dead blood cella and dead bactaria so unfortunately it is not possible to avoid bms althouhg I am sure with your situation you would prefer that! Juicing applas should be fine because they give apple juice when on a clear liuid diet in the hospital. Even after juicing vegatables there is still fibre in the juice but I am not sure how much. It used to drive me crazy that I had to eat so much sugar (like jello) instead of more healthy things when recovering from at attack! Hope you feel better soon :-) Joy

[Prof Grey]

Tell me about it! I always thought I ate a healthy diet with plenty of grains. About 2 months ago I decided to go vegetarian and ate a lot of whole wheat pasta's, whole grain breads, a lot of fiber in general. That's when the attack came! I guess I overloaded my colon with fiber. Now I'm on this clear liquid diet and told to progress to a low-residue diet which is made up of primarily everything we're told we shouldn't eat! To tell you the truth, I'm kinda scared to go back to eating food. I don't know how my body will re-act to low fiber. That last thing I want is another bout of constipation and hemorrhoids. The good news though is that after 4 days of the liquid diet I have no pain. This mornings BM produced no pain either. I knew an old man who once said "it's a blessing to have good BM's" I thought that was a little sick but boy can I relate now!

[millie]

WEnt into hospital in September.. I have been on the low residue since last week, gradually adding back new things.. NO PROBLEMs. It pays to stick to the diet, all I drank was water, and occasional apple juice. I am determined to beat this thing. Just had a cat scan, my abscess is gone. I listened to all the pointers on here.. and did many of them.