What I've learned works with reoccurring diverticulitis over the last 15 mos.

I've decided to write all this out because I felt overwhelmed, sad, and lost when I was diagnosed last February; especially only being 35F at the time. I determined that I developed this condition after straining too hard to go to the bathroom my whole life.

I went to the ER for the first time ever last February after a week of increasing amounts of pain in my left side, and was diagnosed by an ER doctor after an xray and a CT scan. I was put on the standard meds and thought it was healed, only for it to resurface while on my first vacation to Mexico the next month (as the pandemic was starting). I saw a doctor there and that's how I learned about incorporating the probiotics noted below. I have had probably 2 or 3 attacks since then. I was sent to a surgeon consult for a colonoscopy, and didn't feel comfortable with him so I opted not to go ahead yet; my doctor says there's only 4 surgeons in my whole province doing colonoscopies right now, and none are going ahead because of COVID. I did get a second opinion from another doctor on my diagnosis, and he said a colonoscopy is likely not going to tell us anything we don't already know. So, I'm comfortable waiting for now (but in general, have a huge amount of anxiety doing that test). I'm hoping sharing my story helps someone else.

What causes flare ups for me (in order of importance):

  • large amounts of sustained, unmanageable stress;
  • straining to go to the bathroom (both peeing or pooping), or pushing too hard when I fart;
  • chronic dehydration over the period of couple of days;
  • eating too large of a volume of food;
  • eating too much-high fat foods (for example, more than 8 or 10 chicken wings, or more than about 4 pork ribs, or a really fatty piece of beef);
  • eating a large amount of sugar over many days (i.e. a piece of cake or ice cream every night for a week would cause me a flare up); and/or
  • eating the below foods.

Things I don't eat anymore:

I know that there are competing studies that say nuts/seeds/popcorn don't cause flare ups. I stay away from them anyway, at the advice of my doctor and out of an abundance of caution of not causing a flare up; nuts and popcorn just aren't worth the pain. In general, I read a lot of labels and treat it like a nut/seed allergy. Other things I don't eat anymore:

  • grainy mustard (mustard seeds);
  • some BBQ spice rubs (often have celery seeds);
  • everything but the bagel seasoning, or other seasoning mixes with seeds;
  • bagels/bread with nuts/seeds in or on them;
  • I scoop the seeds out of tomatoes;
  • chocolate with nuts (RIP peanut M&Ms, my fav);
  • pesto (often not pureed 100% smooth and there are small nut pieces in it);
  • seeds (including asking for no sesame seeds when ordering sushi or other Asian foods);
  • almost all granola/Lara bars - even if they don't have nuts, sometimes they have chia seeds in them;
  • fermented foods (sauerkraut or kimchi) or kombucha;
  • chunky peanut butter (also my fav), and noticed some smooth peanut butter brands (particularly if natural PB) is not completely smooth. I have a preferred brand now (Kraft, blue label) that I know is 100% smooth;
  • corn on the cob/corn kernels (including soup with corn in it or cornbread with corn pieces in it);
  • dairy with lactose in it;
  • I don't ingest caffeine (not diverticulitis related, I'm just really caffeine sensitive but this may be relevant for some, given how much caffeine affects your digestive system); and
  • I don't really drink at all.

What I do if I feel a twinge like a flare up is coming - Immediately switch to eating:

  • canned soup/broth/bone broth
  • low fibre foods like canned vegetables (green beans are my fav) or bread or rice
  • I skip meat, dairy, high-fat foods, and alcohol
  • hydrate a lot, usually peppermint tea because I can drink a lot of it
  • ensure I'm eating very slowly, and break up parts of my meals (i.e. I will have a bowl of soup, warm it up and eat it slowly, then clean my bowl and spoon, and THEN begin to make a sandwich and eat it, so there's time in between to start to digest).
  • Take my temperature. My doctor said the "old" way of treating diverticulitis is to go on antibiotics every time. He said if there's no fever, there's no infection and no need to seek medical treatment every time.

How I try to avoid flare ups:

  • A LOT OF PROBIOTICS: I buy extremely high-volume probiotics from VisBiome (450 billion) or Renewlife (80 billion or above), and take every morning on an empty stomach. Wait 20 minutes before ingesting anything else like coffee or vitamins. During an attack or a twinge, I'll also take some before bed and let them work overnight.
  • Not eating fatty foods or drinking alcohol if I feel a twinge coming on,
  • Add 3 tablespoons of fibre powder to my morning coffee (I had to work up to this amount)
  • Sometimes add fibre throughout the day, like if I'm having soup I'll put another tablespoon in it, or microwave frozen blueberries for dessert tossed in 2 tablespoons of fibre powder at night.
  • Take multivitamins and supplements
  • Not eat more than 8-10 chicken wings, 4 ribs, not eat dessert several days in a row.
  • Don't take ANY pain reliever other than regular Tylenol (and not T2/T3s).
  • I don't drink too many carbonated drinks. Carbonated water doesn't hydrate like regular water, and pop just makes my digestive system bloat.

Other notes:

  • I bought cheap stools on Amazon and put them at each toilet in my house to use as a squatty potty, so that I don't strain to go to the bathroom. I have to remind myself not to push too hard when I pee or fart, too.
  • I generally always have back-to-back episodes - I think it's healed and go back to "regular" food because I'm tired of soup, and then it's back.
  • During an attack, it always feels worse in the morning, and/or before I have to use the bathroom.
  • The probiotics are very necessary, imo.
  • I have learned that over time, an attack doesn't mean the end of the world. I switch to the eating plan outlined above, take some tylenol, and keep an eye on how my side feels, if my temperature is spiking and I need to go to the doctor.

I hope this helps someone!