http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=317x3934Oh my.
The same thing Mrs. Alfred Packer, the "hippywife" primitive has, and probably the hypochondrial primitive, the "mopinko" primitive, too--a diverted intestine.
This campfire's three months old, but still burning.
CountAllVotes (1000+ posts) Wed Apr-21-10 12:19 AM
Original message
Diverticulitis
Does anyone else around here have this problem?
Seems I do! I had no idea until I almost died from it late last year right after Halloween. Trick or treat?
I've had two major abdominal surgeries since then (most recent was in early February of this year) and wow am I ever still hurting after being cut up all over the place.
From what I've found it is very controversial condition - some say eat tons of fiber others say eat a "low residue" diet (whatever that is).
Some say avoid all seeds and foods like tomatoes and cucumbers and pickles. Would this include nuts?
I am so confused!
The surgeon told me to eat only whole grains which is about impossible to do I've discovered.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Fri Apr-23-10 10:28 PM
THE DEFROCKED WARPED PRIMITIVE, #09 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Original message
1. It's easy to eat only whole grains
Edited on Fri Apr-23-10 10:29 PM by Warpy
I've been doing it for years, started back in the bad old days when I had to get a pasta machine so I could make my own whole wheat spaghtetti. Now you can get a full range of whole grain foods at health food stores and most supermarkets.
The problem is more things like seeds, so spit those watermelon seeds out and thoroughly chew the rest. Buy seedless grapes and raisins. Avoid seeds on your bread. Nuts are fine as long as you chew them properly.
In fact, chew all your food twice as long as you usually do before you swallow it so there are no chunks to pass through and get stuck at the entrance to one of the pouches.
The reason for the high fiber, whole grain diet is to provide a huge amount of bulk that pushes everything straight through instead of allowing it to sit there and force more pouches to form in intestinal walls.
The only hard part of whole grain eating is getting used to a slightly different texture. Once you do that, trying to eat the refined stuff is going to taste really flat.
Altoid_Cyclist (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-24-10 09:54 AM
THE ALTOID CYST PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
2. I had to have a Sigmoid Colectomy in Dec. 2008 due to Diverticulitis.
I put up with it for over a year with the antibiotics every time that it flared up and just finally said the hell with it. It was impossible to do anything physical without getting the taste of vomit in my mouth and the inflammatory peritonitis just wouldn't go away. I figured that it was better to schedule surgery with the Doctor of my choice than to wait until it perforated and end up with whatever hack was on call at the time.
Luckily I didn't need a Colostomy and the Surgeon was able to do it through a 2 or 3 inch incision instead of a 15 inch incision if I had waited until it perforated. It took a while for the bodily function process to return to normal but I haven't felt sick or tasted vomit since the surgery so I'm pleased.
The whole thing with seeds and nuts is ambiguous to say the least. The major centers like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic say that there is no connection what-so-ever with seeds and nuts causing Diverticulitis. They say that things like nuts and vegetables are some of the best things to eat to avoid Diverticulitis due to the roughage and water contained in those items. However, some Doctors still say to avoid these types of food.
The one thing that they all agree on is that during an actual infection period, you have to eliminate all fiber since this will only exacerbate the situation. I found this out the hard way. Never try to flush out your system with corn on the cob during an active infection!!
I did everything right to avoid ever getting Diverticular Disease in the first place. I ate a lot of fiber rich foods, I drank a lot of water and I got a ton of regular exercise. It was just in the cards that I was going to get it no matter what I did.
What I've done since the Colectomy is eliminate almost all of the meat from my diet, eat a lot of oatmeal, raisin bran, shredded wheat, all whole wheat bread and rolls, fruits and vegetables and a lot of brown rice and barley especially. I also use Metamucil every day and drink a lot of water and exercise when I'm not having heart attacks.
The information regarding seeds is all over the place depending on the Doctor or web site visited. I would try to find a good Gastroenterologist that you can trust and see what they say about seeds.
Good luck with your condition, it is a nasty one to be stuck with. It can turn deadly if you wait too long, but the surgery is nothing to rush into either. Hopefully, you are all done with the surgical interventions and won't have another recurrence.
Also, smoking dope does weird things to the digestive channel.
CountAllVotes (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-24-10 12:55 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. thanks for all of this info.
I really appreciate it.
I have had a good diet in the past - just not used to eating tons and tons of fiber, that is all.
I'm finding that some fiber food (i.e. "Lean Choice!" made by Kashi foods (bears 9 grams of fiber per serving)) makes me quite sick. It sat in my stomach like a load of rocks and wow, what a stomach ache and a half.
I tried eating some vegetarian ravioli with organic pasta sauce on it and it kept coming up all night.
Supposedly all of the surgeries are over with. I lost 1-1/2 feet of my large intestine, my appendix which had an abscess on it and required a colostomy bag for 3 mos. Hence, the 2nd surgery to get rid of the damned bag. I've never felt pain like that ever in my life (after the 2nd surgery that is) as it was not controlled properly in the stupid assed hospital.
When I was dying from the peritonitis I was getting shots of morphine every 3 hrs. so I didn't know how sick I was. That is some good sh*t there - morphine. I like it in the shots oh so much. However, that too is over with.
I hope to never have any more problems with this.
As for my poor stomach/abdomen, a shameful fright to view with all of the cuts and scars on it. UGH.
Thanks again and maybe I'll try the pickles/tomatoes on my next vegi burger. I'm not much of a meat eater myself (just don't care much for it).
Giving up the wacky weed might help, too.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Sat Apr-24-10 03:09 PM
THE DEFROCKED WARPED PRIMITIVE, #09 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Reply #3
4. Too bad we no longer have dueling at Heidelburg University or you could pass them off as dueling scars in your misspent youth.
If you like v*****e burgers, consider making your own. I've found lentils to be one of the best beans for doing it, they cook rapidly and have great texture and flavor. Just slightly mash and mix with breadcrumbs, egg, onion and seasoning, and either bake in the oven or fry on the stovetop. I like mine with salsa rather than ketchup or plain tomato, but I usually pile on things like sprouts. Beans are high in fibre, too.
As for poor pain control, I wish I could say that's an isolated incident, but it's not. Nurse Tylenol is out there and you have to make a real stink to get her to pry that narcotics drawer open if she doesn't think you hurt.
High fibre foods will make you feel fuller after you eat, one good benefit for those of us who blimped up at 50. Consider eating 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones. Those Kashi dinners aren't bad and can be reheated if you eat only half at a time. Eventually you'll get used to the increased fibre in your diet and will miss it if you travel and don't get it.
Altoid_Cyclist (1000+ posts) Sun Apr-25-10 07:01 AM
THE ALTOID CYST PRIMITIVE
Response to Reply #3
8. I was lucky that the hospitalization after the surgery went well. No pain at all and no major setbacks. However, I did discover that Morphine and whatever secondary pain killer I was on caused me to hallucinate. Talk about out of it....
However, I did end up back in the ER three weeks to the day following the surgery. I was having a lot of bleeding and pain just like the pain that I had before the surgery. They did a CT scan and determined that I was impacted. That was something less than fun. They did the usual things to flush me out and all that they got was a lot of blood. There was so much blood loss that they had to transfer me to the telemetry unit because the surgeon was concerned about my heart. What a great way to spend New Years Eve and New Years day. After 4 days they decided that what the CT scan had showed was not an impaction but all of the blood filling the colon. Where it came from....... they weren't able to determine that. However, I've been fine since then so it probably had something to do with the Plavix and aspirin that I took for my heart.
anneboleyn (1000+ posts) Mon Jul-05-10 08:12 PM
THE SECOND WIFE PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
15. Hi, my husband has this condition and he has tried various tactics
My husband was diagnosed with this condition during an emergency trip to the hospital five years ago. He was mis-diagnosed initially with a prostate disorder. He nearly died from the severe pain and infection. He was in the hospital for two weeks (on i.v. antibiotics and large amounts of morphine). Also, while he was in the hospital, he had to have an abscess in his colon corrected by surgery. My husband went into the hospital right after eating a walnut salad.
The doctor recommended eating nuts and seeds; however, my husband found that -- without fail -- he developed infections after eating any seeds or nuts (so no peanuts, no cucumbers or pickles, etc.). Also problematic -- kidney beans, popcorn, peas, and anything with husks or tough skins. He takes a fiber supplement when he is not having an infection but in general he can't tolerate large amounts of "high fiber" foods. He has to be very cautious. He takes an antibiotic combo (levaquin and flagyl) for his infections and as long as he starts his medications right away, at the very first sign of an infection, the combination usually overcomes the infection. He has also found that he can't eat any fiber while he is suffering from an infection -- only soup and soft foods (liked a grilled cheese on soft bread or poached eggs). Seeds and nuts may not bother you, but my husband found that he developed infections from foods that tend not to break down in the stomach and intestines (so anything rough that may get caught up in one of the diverticula).
My husband has also noticed that he stopped having as many infections when he stopped wearing belts every day following his first infection. Seriously, this may seem like an odd suggestion, but he noticed that anything constricting in the colon area caused problems.
Best wishes to you as you recover from this. Please listen to your body, and trust your own instincts as far as your diet is concerned. We found that a lot of relatives and doctors and so on tried to be helpful but gave us the worst advice as far as my husband's diet was concerned (one relative is still convinced that he can eat popcorn, which he absolutely can't eat unless he wants to end up in the hospital again).
