diverticulitis treatment

Read and learn more about diverticulitis treatment. For more, visit the Crohn’s Disease website DrCrohns.org

Q: DIVERTICULITIS diet(s) or treatment suggestion(s) to avoid surgery?
Taking swedish bitters 3x a day, and meals consist of: fresh fruit and oatmeal for brekky, small portion dinner at noon, clear broth for supper is what I am doing at the moment. Drinking herbal teas, apple and cranberry juices and water. Surgery SCARES me!!

A: Keep doing what you are doing. The body goes through a six week cycle and really needs to be pushed into a healthier groove.
60% of your immune system is in the lower intestines. You must keep your bowels moving. Ideally a bm should be 3 times a day, but if one is all you can manage…fine.
Take flax seed, or flax seed oil. Remember, this medicine takes time. Stick with it, stay positive and get to a naturopath.

Q: What are some natural treatments for diverticulitis?

A: Stop eating nuts and corn. It won’t help the already formed pouches, but with those not irritating the intestines, you may not notice as much pain.

Q: Does anyone know of a link between chemotherapy and colitis/diverticulitis?
A family member is currently undergoing chemo treatments and ends up with acute colitis and/or diverticulitis everytime. One hospital stay and 2 ER trips so far.

A: I can’t give you any link that says there is a connection, but my husband had a similar experience. Chemotherapy is a toxin being put into the body, so the treatment sometimes seems worse than the symptoms of the disease. In the last 14 months we have had more trips to the ER than I can count – only 2 hospital stays.

Q: Does anyone know how long diverticulitis should last after antibiotics are given?
I’ve been taking antibiotics for two weeks,and its not getting any better I read that some doctors put people on a liquid diet but mine did not just like to here from others about there treatments.

A: The trouble is that antibiotics as well as dealing with infection kill the friendly bacteria in the gut so adding to the diarrhoea.
A liquid diet would be sensible, try soft foods like soup, ice cream, fingers of toast or bread and butter with a savoury spread or honey.
Normally a high fibre diet is recommended for patients suffering from diverticulitis, but if the antibiotics are partly causing the problem it could be sensible to eat light invalid style foods, easily digestable. And drinking plenty of fluid to replace fluids you are losing makes sense.
You need to replace salt and sugar too.

I am sorry the link is to a cancer site, but it had the most sensible advice I could find about diarrhoea.

Q: ulcer in colon and diverticulitis’s?
My mum has just been told that she is suffering with this condition after years of flare ups which she had put down to stomach bugs and the like.She was admited to hospital last week after 5 weeks of being very ill and in terrible pain.I’ve read up on Diverticulitis and understand the treatment but does anyone know what an ulcer in the colon is called and what treatment she is looking at?
The hospital haven’t told her much other than antibiotics and another week in hospital.Whats the longterm treatment?My mums 56 if that helps?

A: | health information | health factsheets

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Ulcerative colitis
Published by BUPA’s Health Information Team
February 2004

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel diseases. It can cause frequent bouts of diarrhoea that may contain blood and mucus. It can also cause abdominal pain.

Ulcerative colitis tends to have flare-ups and then settle down again for variable amounts of time, although it is possible to have a single attack of the condition.

What is it?
Ulcerative colitis affects the rectum and variable amounts of the rest of the colon (the large bowel or intestine). The other main inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, can affect any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. In around 10% of cases, it is not possible for doctors to distinguish between ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. For more information, please see the separate BUPA factsheet titled Crohn’s disease.

Approximately 1 in 100 people are affected by ulcerative colitis. The disease affects men and women equally and can develop at any age, but most commonly affects adults aged 20-40. It is not an infectious illness.

What causes ulcerative colitis?
The cause of ulcerative colitis is not fully understood. Inflammatory bowel disease tends to run in families and 10 to 20% of people with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease are likely to have at least one other person in their family affected. Researchers are also looking at the links between environmental factors such as nutrition and exposure to various infections.

The digestive system

Symptoms
The main symptom of ulcerative colitis is frequent, watery diarrhoea, which may be accompanied by cramping abdominal pain and the passage of blood and/or mucus. When the disease affects only the rectum – the final portion of the bowel, it is known as proctitis. When ulcerative colitis affects more of the colon than the rectum alone, symptoms are more severe. The symptoms vary according to the degree of inflammation in the bowel and whether or not the lining of the bowel has become ulcerated. In addition to the symptoms already mentioned, there may also be:

pain on opening the bowels
urgent and frequent need to open the bowels
the sensation of incomplete emptying of the bowels
diarrhoea, even during the night
nausea
loss of appetite
weight loss
extreme tiredness
A number of other problems may be associated with ulcerative colitis. These are more likely when the disease is active and include skin rashes, mouth ulcers, joint pains and anaemia.

Ulcerative colitis is defined as mild, moderate or severe, according to the frequency of diarrhoea, the presence of blood and how generally unwell the person is.

Complications
During a severe attack, around 1 in 20 people develop an inflamed and enlarged colon (megacolon), causing abdominal pain and tenderness. This requires urgent medical treatment to avoid the bowel perforating (a hole forming in the bowel wall). Half of people with megacolon improve with drug treatment but the other half need surgery.

Ulcerative colitis can cause changes in the liver (called sclerosing cholangitis), which may be picked up on blood tests to test the liver function.

Having ulcerative colitis increases the risk of developing bowel cancer, particularly for people who have had frequently recurring symptoms for more than 10 years. For this reason, people with ulcerative colitis are encouraged to do all they can to keep the condition under control. They are also offered bowel screening at regular intervals, to look for pre-cancerous changes.

Diagnosing ulcerative colitis
The pattern of symptoms, and a physical examination will indicate to your doctor whether ulcerative colitis is a possible diagnosis. A stool sample will usually be sent to the laboratory to rule out an infection, the most common cause of diarrhoea. When ulcerative colitis is suspected, blood tests are also done to help assess the severity of the illness.

Your GP may be able to perform a limited examination of the rectum or lower bowel. However, for a more thorough examination, your GP may need to refer you to hospital.

There, a gastroenterologist, a doctor specialising in the digestive system, will assess the amount of bowel inflammation and take biopsies (samples of the lining of the bowel) for laboratory testing.

To do this, gastroenterologists use endoscopes – flexible telescopic instruments with a light and lens at the tip, which send pictures of the lining of the bowel to a video monitor. The usual procedure for suspected ulcerative colitis is called a flexible sigmoidoscopy, which can be done even during a severe attack.

A colonoscopy uses a similar, but longer, instrument. The whole of the large bowel can be viewed, but it is not usually performed during a severe attack as it can increase the risk of complications.

The biopsy results can show whether ulcerative colitis is present. The results may also help doctors to distinguish ulcerative colitis from Crohn’s disease.

Treatment
The aim of treatment is to control flare-ups as quickly as possible and reduce the chances of further flare-ups or complications.

Medicines
Medicines are used to get a flare-up (also known as a relapse) of ulcerative colitis under control. The doctor may also prescribe drugs to treat diarrhoea and pain.

Once the diagnosis is known, the main treatments are steroids and a group of drugs containing 5-aminosalicylic acid (known as the 5-ASAs). Examples include sulfasalazine and mesalazine. Steroids and the 5-ASA drugs may be given as tablets, enemas or suppositories. Taking drugs as enemas or suppositories makes sense when treating ulcerative colitis, especially when the very last portion of the bowel and rectum are affected.

Preventing flare-ups
Steroids act quickly to dampen down inflammation, but doctors try not to prescribe them for long-term control because of the risk of side effects. The 5-ASAs are more suitable for preventing inflammation and reducing the risk of relapse. For people with more severe ulcerative colitis, who would otherwise end up needing repeated courses of steroids, other immunosuppressant drugs (that dampen down the immune system), such as azathioprine, may be used.

Surgery
Most people who have ulcerative colitis never need to have surgical treatment. However, for approximately one third of people it may be necessary if:

medicines are not controlling the symptoms adequately
repeated attacks lead to poor health and poor quality of life
there has been a sudden complication, such as perforation
pre-cancerous bowel changes, diagnosed by colonoscopy
The most common operation is a proctocolectomy. The colon is removed and the end of the small intestine is joined to the anus. A pouch is made from the small intestine to act as a replacement rectum. The operation may be done in two stages so that, for a time, the end of the intestine is brought out through the wall of the abdomen and drains the contents of the bowel into a bag. This is known as an ileostomy. The bowel is joined up again in a second operation once the surgery to create the pouch has healed.

Unfortunately, the pouch may itself be affected by inflammation and a permanent ileostomy may be required. Even though living with an ileostomy is an inconvenience, much expert help and support is available. Quality of life can be much improved as removal of the colon cures the symptoms of ulcerative colitis.

Living with ulcerative colitis
Having ulcerative colitis can be physically and emotionally stressful. Having frequent bouts of diarrhoea can easily interfere with work and normal social activities. Support, explanation and reassurance is available from GPs, specialist nurses, patient groups and the hospital specialists involved.

For most people with ulcerative colitis, remission from disease can be maintained for very long periods of time allowing a normal family and working life.

Further information
National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease
0845 130 2233

http://www.nacc.org.uk

Digestive Disorders Foundation
020 7486 0341

http://www.digestivedisorders.org.uk

Q: anitbiotics fro diverticulitis making me nauseated?
im on cipro and a sulpha drug for diverticulitis. and its making me so nauseated!! i have skipped a dose just to get relief. ive been on it for 6 days and im supposed to take it 10 days. i have been taking it with food,
i am so miserable. and wont be able to reach the dr till tomorrow, will he change to a different antibitoic or is cipro/sulpha the only treatment? if you have had this experience please help

A: You could be allergic to one of the meds that you are taking. I am allergic to sulpha drugs. Check with your doctor because you don’t need to keep taking meds when they make you feel this bad. Hope you are better soon.

Q: Diverticulitis?
I was in the Er with really bad pain around Christmas time. they said I had diverticulitis. I have had pain on and off since then. I went through the treatment but not sure if it worked. Well about 2 hours ago I started getting really bad sharp pains in my left side of the colon. It hurts worse when I walk or lay a certain way. The pain has gotten worse since it started. I am not sure what to do. I don’t have to have a BM and I don’t think it is gas. But I am not sure it is diverticulitis either. I have felt sick to my stomach 3 times today, to the point I just wanted to sit. I keep getting dizzy also. Could this be from diverticulitis? Any advice would be great. The bad thing is my daughters 9th birthday party is tomorrow and I need to be 100% for it. If it does get worse I will seek medical attention.
Thanks
Jamie

A: Diverticulitis is caused by the lodging of food particles in the sacs of the Diverticulum, part of the intestines. Usually patients with this are instructed to avoid certain types of foods that contain seeds, nuts, strings etc. These parts of the food have a tendency of getting trapped in the sacs, the sacs become inflammed and it causes pain. You may also experience bloating or gas. Try watching what you are eating, keep a diary this will help you identify what the cause of the discomfort is so you can avoid it. If it continues do seek medical attention, If left untreated the part of the intestine that is diseased/inflammed could decline and surgery may have to be performed to remove the diseased portion of the intestine. This is not an uncommon disease, unfortunately it is part of the aging process.

Q: Severe Diverticulitis.?
hi my dad has severe diverticulitis, this is like his second attack, the first one he had no treatment they just said that he had it and then he left. He might need surgery, hes 6feet and weighs app 205lbs , if he does need surgery, whats the death risk.

A: Treatment for diverticulitis focuses on clearing up the inflammation and infection, resting the colon, and preventing or minimising complications.

Depending on the severity of symptoms, the doctor may recommend bed rest, oral antibiotics, a pain reliever, and a liquid diet. If symptoms ease after a few days, the doctor will recommend gradually increasing the amount of high fibRE foods in the diet.

Severe cases of diverticulitis with acute pain and complications will likely require a hospital stay. Most cases of severe diverticulitis are treated with IV antibiotics and a few days without food or drink to help the colon rest. In some cases, surgery may be necessary.

If symptoms of diverticulitis are frequent, or the patient does not respond to antibiotics and resting the colon, the doctor may advise surgery. The surgeon removes the affected part of the colon and joins the remaining sections. This type of surgery—called colon resection—aims to prevent complications and future diverticulitis. The doctor may also recommend surgery for complications such as a fistula or partial intestinal obstruction.

Resection of the colon is a fairly common procedure, there are risks to any surgery and it’s impossible to give exact figures.
It is not usually in the high risk category. Ask your father’s doctor who knows his general state of health.

Q: what is DIVERTICULITIS what are the symptoms ?
do they put you on treatment explain every detail please

A: Diverticulitis develops from a condition called diverticulosis. If you’re older than age 40, it’s common for you to have diverticulosis — small, bulging pouches (diverticula) in your digestive tract. In the United States, more than 50 percent of people older than 60 have diverticula. Although diverticula can form anywhere, including in your esophagus, stomach and small intestine, most occur in your large intestine. Because these pouches seldom cause any problems, you may never know you have them.

Sometimes, however, one or more pouches become inflamed or infected, causing severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea and a marked change in your bowel habits. When diverticula become infected, the condition is called diverticulitis. Mild cases of diverticulitis can be treated with rest, changes in your diet and antibiotics. But serious cases of diverticulitis may eventually require surgery to remove the diseased portion of your colon.

Fortunately, most people with diverticulosis never develop diverticulitis. Best of all, you can help prevent both types of diverticular disease by including more high-fiber foods in your diet.

Diverticulitis symptoms can feel like appendicitis, except you’ll generally have pain in the lower left side of your abdomen, instead of the lower right side. The pain is usually severe and comes on suddenly, but sometimes you may have mild pain that becomes worse over several days and fluctuates in intensity. You may also have abdominal tenderness, fever, nausea, and constipation or diarrhea.

Less common signs and symptoms of diverticulitis may include:

Vomiting
Bloating
Bleeding from your rectum
Frequent urination
Difficulty or pain while urinating
Tenderness in your abdomen when wearing a belt or bending over

In general, treatment depends on the severity of your signs and symptoms and whether this is your first attack of diverticulitis. If your symptoms are mild, a liquid or low-fiber diet and antibiotics may be all you need. But if you’re at risk of complications or have recurrent attacks of diverticulitis, you may need more advanced care.

If your condition calls for home treatment, you temporarily need to avoid all whole grains, fruits and vegetables so that your colon can rest and heal. Once your symptoms improve — often in two to four days — you can gradually start increasing the amount of high-fiber foods in your diet.

In addition, your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics to help kill the bacteria causing your infection.

If you have a more severe attack that includes or puts you at risk of bowel obstruction or peritonitis, you may require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.

If you have a fistula or recurring diverticulitis, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the diseased part of your colon.

Q: What is Diverticulitis.?
I’ve had problems with my bowels for several months. My GP reffered me to a Specialist, as a result I had a Entmoscopicy, and a Colonospicy [not spelt right sorry] and was told I had pollops which showed cancer cells, which were investigated and showed up benign, and was told by letter that I had to have another Colonoscipy in a years time. Also told inthe letter that I had Diverticulitis, and I did’nt need to see the Specialist again, but was not told what the cause was or what treatment there was. They were only bothered about the Cancer cells, which thankfully were benign. What if any is the treatment, and what is this condition.

A: Diverticulitis is inflammation of diverticuli (which are little pouches that form in the wall of your colon). These pouches by themselves are harmless, but sometimes food gets stuck in here and causes an infection or inflammation causing diverticulitis. You can optomize your chances of not getting this by avoiding all seeds (popcorn, tomatoes, poppyseeds) as these are particularly prone to getting lodged in there.

I bet that if you look at your letter closer, it probably says that you have diverticulosis. If you do have diverticulitis, you need to let your GP know this and, in many cases, this requires antibiotics. Normally, you would have abdominal pain with active diverticulitis.

Q: husband hospitalized w/ diverticulitis today on IV for ? on cat scan?
my question is this.. this is his 4th flare up & now hospitalized w/ fluids. Anyone been successful w/long-term treatment or any ideas? He’s 49 non-smkr, good weight nothing else an issue. Been reading the other answers & getting worried that this might re-occur?

A: has he been tested for hepatitis? the doctor would need to do antibody tests, not just a liver panel as they are not always reliable.
diverticulitis can be caused by hepatitis c infection.

good luck!

Q: anyone who has suffered diverticulitis? I need serious help!?
my mom has developed diverticulitis and is very sick, with the usual symptoms how long does this sickness last? what are the best treatments? are there anything she should avoid? they determined that she had this threw a catscan and gave her pain medication and antibiotcis anyones help would be appreciated!!!

A: I know she has to avoid ANYTHING with seeds, like strawberries, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds. This is usually very painful. Google it and you will get alot of advice for helping her.

Q: need urgent info re diverticulitis any surgeons out there? this is URGENT?
my sister is sick. this is urgent. she has ambulance on way but i am not happy with time scale of treatment. she is malnourished and today has no feeling in her legs. help me please

A: Do you mean unhappy with the treatment she is receiving from GP or surgeon?

Why don’t you talk to the nurses on the ward when she is admitted/ or if your hospitla has it talk to the PALS peopl (patient advice liaison) they could advise you how to proceed.

She may need a second opinion, more importantly how does she feel about the level of care she is receiving? Maybe the pair of you just need an update of whats going on, remember they’re medical people not miracle workers and there’s always somethings that are more difficult to treat or even impossible.

To all of the people who have posted insensitive or judgmental answers to this question – i was always brought up that if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything!

Q: are there any treatments or methods to correct the condition Diverticulitis’s?
please excuse misspelling,

can this condition be corrected by some kind of surgical proceedure,such as tieing off part of the intestines, such as methods used for weight loss???? is this possible?

as you see i have no professional accumen or knowledge to really know what i am talking about here,,, so if you can figure out what i am talking about, i would appreciate an answer, any and all answers, welcome, thank you,
these are excellent answers, but what i am looking for specifically is can these pockets that have ballooned,be corrected surgically, can they be tied off.or simply surgically reduced,just cut away,? or would the same process begin again, ballooning and pockets forming?

A: This is where pouches form in the colon wall then become inflamed or infected doctors don’t know why this happens but do believe its from a low fiber diet ( not enough fiber eaten).This makes the colon work much harder when waste must be eliminated.Since fiber helps to keep the stool softer and much easier to pass threw the colon and cause less or none of the pouches but now need to treat this and eat a tad better more fiber in foods water alot more fruits and veggies. Diverticulitis happens when bacteria gets trapped in the pouches this then becomes infected and inflammation. The treatments you receive depends on how bad a case you have and how severe the pain if much and if you have infection or not yet.You will most likely get some antibiotic’s so take as prescribed. Once this is healed up try eating more fruits and veggies alot more fiber in foods drink alot of water as well.try some new exercise try to stay a tad more active.

Q: Help! Diverticulitis ! 72 year old dad needs help More questions?
My 72 year old dad was discharged from the hospital after given IV for fluid loss. He did not get any other treatment. He is still bleeding. He is here visiting me from NYC and we are in Alabama. The doictor did not give him an antibiotic. He wants to call his regular doctor and get the antibiotic he was given the other time this happened to him. What is the name of the antibiotics used for this?

A: I did not find any specific antibiotic that should be used. I would suggest you check with a doctor.

Treatment
An initial episode of acute diverticulitis is usually treated with conservative medical management, including bowel rest (ie, nothing by mouth), IV fluid resuscitation, and broad-spectrum antibiotics which cover anaerobic bacteria and gram-negative rods. However, recurring acute attacks or complications, such as peritonitis, abscess, or fistula may require surgery, either immediately or on an elective basis.

Upon discharge patients may be placed on a low residue diet. This low-fiber diet gives the colon adequate time to heal without needing to be overworked. Later, patients are placed on a high-fiber diet. There is some evidence this lowers the recurrence rate.

In some cases surgery may be required to remove the area of the colon with the diverticuli. Patients suffering their first attack of diverticulitis are typically not encouraged to undergo the surgery, unless the case is severe. Patients suffering repeated episodes may benefit from the surgery. In such cases the risks of complications from the diverticulitis outweigh the risks of complications from surgery.

Presentation
Patients often present with the classic triad of left lower quadrant pain, fever, and leukocytosis (an elevation of the white cell count in blood tests). Patients may also complain of nausea or diarrhea; others may be constipated.

Less commonly, an individual with diverticulitis may present with right-sided abdominal pain. This may be due to the less prevalent right-sided diverticula or a very redundant sigmoid colon

What is Diverticulitis :
Diverticulitis is a common disease of the bowel, in particular the large intestine. Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches (diverticula) on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if one of these diverticula becomes inflamed.

Complications:
In complicated diverticulitis, bacteria may subsequently infect the outside of the colon if an inflamed diverticulum bursts open. If the infection spreads to the lining of the abdominal cavity, (peritoneum), this can cause a potentially fatal peritonitis. Sometimes inflamed diverticula can cause narrowing of the bowel, leading to an obstruction. Also the affected part of the colon could adhere to the bladder or other organ in the pelvic cavity, causing a fistula, or abnormal communication between the colon and an adjacent organ.

Bowel obstruction
Peritonitis
Abscess
Fistula
Bleeding
Strictures
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverticulitis”

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