So friends, what are we dealing with?

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ChrisP

Last week my normally digestively healthy wife went to see our doctor after (as we thought) a nasty digestive bug. Within ten minutes he had (correctly) diagnosed diverticulitis, and she was on her way to hospital. A scan revealed 'many diverticula' (there, I can still decline a Latin neuter after 45 years!) and a burst abscess. I can't fault the French medical system for speedy and devoted treatment and care (previous such flare-ups were misdiagnosed three times in three different UK hospitals!). She is now home, taking a wheelbarrow of antibiotics, totally washed out and eating little, awaiting an appointment with the specialist in three weeks.

We have received lots of great sympathy and support. But we have also received a number of thoughtful looks, and comments along the lines of 'your lives are really going to change now'. I know she might end up joining our Community, at least for a while - this doesn't bother her over-much. But what else is in store for us? The internet is full of technical stuff, a lot of vague hints, and a fair amount of quackery. Any thoughts or advice from those here with experience to share? All ideas gratefully received, and thank you.

Chris

mild_mannered_super_hero

chris, i dont have any experience with diverticulitis....but i hope she feels better soon.

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Heidi92

HI, Chris sorry to hear about your wife. It's not as if you did not already have enough to deal with!! So, I guess that is why I have not seen you online lately. She will probably be treated with antibiotics for a while and if that does not work, she will need surgery. I hope she gets better soon!!

Mrs.A

Gee Chris,

I'm also have no experience with diverticulitis but will say some prayers for you both to strengthen you through this time. I hope the antibiotics are the answer and she doesn't need the surgery.

LadyHope

Hi Chris,I am very sorry to read about your wife and will keep all of you in my prayers. I hope the medications work for her. Take care. LH

 
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WAB

Hi Chris

I hope your wife is feeling better..............I did not know about diverticulitus also...so I went to check on internet..there is a lot of info out there and some videos for some who do not know what it is.............maybe you can check it out.....very informative........

colonoscopy of diverticulitis on YouTube

ChrisP

Well thank you all for your thoughtful messages. WAB, she's a tough cookie, and we often watch a video when it's a bad night on TV, but I'm not sure she'd enjoy a video of a colonoscopy quite yet!

She seems to be making slow progress, but three weeks in bed so far is unprecedented for her. The surgeon gave us a prescription for antibiotics and pain relief until she sees him again. This prescription caused consternation in the pharmacy because for some reason he wrote it in English! The antibiotics are plentiful, but clearly the pain is lasting a lot longer than he had anticipated, and we have had to buy more meds to keep her pain level down. This is a bit concerning.

So far, she is surviving my cooking, which is a relief! In the meantime, those who pray, please keep praying!

Thanks again,Chris

Heidi92

Chris, If she continues to have pain over the next couple of days,she should report it to her doctor. She may need a different antibiotic. I will keep your family in my prayers. Hope things improve soon.

ChrisP

The good news is that the pain has pretty well disappeared in the last 24 hours. She is still pretty washed-out, and has a tiresome mucus discharge, but there is real progress at last. Must be the prayers - and my cooking! (My cooking is best not sampled without prayer....)

Thank you all!Chris

Primeboy

Hi Chris. My brother ;was diagnosed with diverticulitis some time ago and he was treated with antibiotics which ;calmed the inflammation and left him feeling better. After several painful episodes, however, his doctor recommended he see a surgeon. Well, this past Monday he went in for his surgery and had his sigmoid colon removed. The three hour operation was performed laproscopically. He was discharged Thursday and has been eating ;well and doing light exercise. No ostomy or other complications.

Based on what my brother experienced, this is what I can share.His doctor could not perform the surgery while a section of his colon ;was inflamed. To do so would risk having to get a temporary ostomy.Also, a doctor may ;plan on doing laproscopic surgery but may have to do otherwise after the surgery has started.

Your wife's situation seems more serious than ;my brother's ;given the abscess and multiple diverticula. Still, here's my recommendation assuming surgery is necessary. See the best colorectal surgeon available as soon as possible. The best time for surgery is when there's no active inflammation. Three weeks' waiting ;is too long. She may have another attack in the meantime and then have to go on more antibiotics. Your wife's colorectal surgeon will give you a complete understanding of the process and all possibilities. Make sure a urologist is part of the operating team as complications can occur with the ureters.

Good luck to your wife. We all wish her a speedy return to good health.

PB

Immarsh

Hi Chris,

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife's illness. I know people who've had "attacks" of diverticulitis,and have been treated medically, and or surgically. I guess it depends on the amount of inflammation, and the amount of damage done in the area.I know there can be cases of perferation, which can require surgery.PB gave you some good info.....and I agree, three weeks to wait to see a specialist is a long time.I'm sure you/ she'sbeen told to "eat lite",and avoid foods with seeds/ nuts etc... I'm sure you're taking good care of her.We'll all keep praying.

I'm sorry I've been out of touch for awhile. August was a really busy month for me, with family events....some happy some sad. And then the Jewish High Holy days, began early in Sept. so I was busy with Temple activities for the next 4 weeks.OurRabbi retired, and after a 6 month search, we hired a new, female Rabbi, who has a more traditional ( than reform) approach to services and use of liturgy. It's familiar to some, and not to others, so we're getting an interesting education.But more about that another time.

Stay in touch, and let us know how your wife is doing...

Best REgards...

Marsha

ChrisP

Hi folks, just thought I'd check in to report on progress.

Rosemary has made a slowish recovery, but is out of bed and out of pain now for most of the average day. If she overdoes activity or eating she soon runs out of energy and has to retreat to bed. I'm running the domestic routine of the house, doing all the shopping, cooking etc, and generally not going far from home for longer than I have to.

Our thoughts are turning to the appointment with the surgeon in ten days from now - no doubt he will demand a colonoscopy (not without its problems: she has a heartbeat irregularity, and this will be the first general anaesthetic she has had). Then we will see what he recommends next.

Prayers still appreciated! Thank you folks.

Mrs.A

Thanks for the update, so very glad she is out of pain. Don't stress over the appointment, it doesn't help anyway. Prayers still being said in your family's name.

ChrisP

Hi folks, another progress report, with thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.

We saw the specialist yesterday, and he confirms that this episode of 'complicated diverticulitis' is safely resolved. As a precaution he has asked for a further scan, to be followed by a colonoscopy around the end of the year. Surgery is off the menu unless there are any further complications. We have been reading up on this disease in order to learn to manage it as well as possible from now on. We were quite impressed with him - friendly and open, and very much up to date with best practice internationally.

I do love the health system here. A lesurely appointment in a clean and calm hospital, and a bill at the end of just around US50 which my insurance covers anyway. Oh, and if we claim they'll pay us around US40 in travelling expenses for going there!

As Christians we thank God for this answer to our prayers: as human beings we thank the health system for good care, while devoutly hoping not to need it again for a while. And my wife claims she has enjoyed my cooking as well!

LadyHope

Chris, that is very good news. I am very happy that your wife is feeling much better. I thank God every day for the many blessings that I have in my life including awesome friends, great doctors and wonderful family members. Take care. LH

Mrs.A

So glad to hear good news!! God is awesome!! Sounds like your cooking skills are good too !

ChrisP

I am, I think, moderately domesticated.....

And God is, indeed, Awesome!

Newbie Dana

Chris, good luck to your wife. I did not have diverticulitis, but cancer treatments 4 years ago (the gift that keeps on giving, long after the cancer is gone) left me with an ulcer in the intestinal wall which wouldn't heal. Formed a pouch, kept tunneling, got infected, perforated the colon ... I think you see where this is going. After 6 weeks in the hospital on IV antibiotics, I came home to another month of oral antibiotics and a new colstomy, feeling good, no pain, but get tired at the drop of a hat. Please encourage her, it WILL get better, but it WILL be slow. My prayers are with you BOTH - it is at least as hard on the caregiver as the one being cared for!

ChrisP

It has been while since I up-dated this to report on my wife's struggle with diverticulitis.

The discomfort has grumbled on, never properly settling down, and giving her episodes of real distress. Tomorrow (Friday) she has a colonoscopy to see if it reveals any underlying problems - we wish she was in better shape for this, as we understand that an inflamed intestine makes the procedure more difficult, and increases the risk of accidental damage.

We'd be glad of your thoughts, and of any prayers you might kindly offer. Thank you, friends.

LadyHope

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your wife tomorrow. I hope that the procedure goes well and concludes quickly. Take care. LH

ChrisP

Thank you for your thoughts/prayers for R's colonoscopy today: I'm afraid the outcome was disappointing. She has a polyp too large to remove in today's procedure, diverticulitis (infection) is still evident, and the doctor was unable to safely complete the examination.

The next step is to return for a further colonoscopy under anaesthetic in a month: this will carry two levels of risk - the dangers to do with her intermittent heart problem, and the dangers of puncturing an inflamed colon. All being well the polyp (and any others found) will be removed and sent for examination to see if it is malignant. Then it seems likely that further surgery will be required to remove the damaged section of intestine.

Your continuing thoughts and prayers would be appreciated - thank you.

danieldore

Hope all goes well pa.sorry to hear the news but all the best

Mrs.A

Oh goodness,

Prayers and well wishes are being sent your way. Stay strong!

ChrisP

Scouring the internet for ideas we ran across this site.

http://www.listentoyourgut.com/symptoms/7/diverticulitis.html

It makes big claims, but what do people think - anybody tried any of the suggestions it makes?

ChrisP

OK, after three days of silence in response to that last post I think I get the point.....!

The trouble is, there is so much stuff out there that it can be hard to distinguish between genius and insanity (and possibly greed?!). When people are desperate for solutions, they can be very vulnerable. How does the old saying go? - oh yes:

"For every credibility gap, there is always a gullibility fill"

danieldore

Hahaha i did try to copy and paste your link but it just kept saying page not found hahaha

ChrisP

Ha! That won't have helped. It works for me, but maybe because it thinks I'm going to give it money.......?

pnwgirl1963

Hi Chris - I can only share with you my experience.  I was on the crew ship in August 2015 and was feeling completely fine one moment and then doubled over the next. I floated around in the Caribbean for three days before I got flown home to Portland and was diagnosed with diverticulitis, a 14 cm abscess, and a hole in my colon. I was in the hospital 11 days, flushed out, went home with antibiotics and told this could happen again (30 go on to have a reoccurrence ) and then surgery. I had three other smaller episodes then another larger episode which resulted in removing 15 inches of my sigmoid on the 18th of March. nbsp

All of my diverticulitis was removed surgically and my doctor says I'm disease free for right now. But really I don't think that's any guarantee. My surgeon says that my particular situation is genetic ( both sides of the family have it, I'm just the ingest one) and he says it's also the American diet. So I've switched over to a Mediterranean diet completely. nbsp

There is tons of quackery for sure. The only Doctor I've met who made sense nutritionally wise is Miles Hassle MD in Portland, Oregon. Your surgeon is the one who's going to know what's best for your wife. nbsp

Hang in there, just watch for fever and pain and don't hesitate to go to the ER if you are worried. nbsp

ChrisP

Thank you so much for this - but WHAT a drama! Thank you for your advice and encouragement.

You've reminded me - sorry for not updating this thread. As promised, R had her colonoscopy under anaesthetic, two polyps were removed, and she recovered safely. That was the good news - the less good was that the consultant still failed to get much further with the investigation because he judged it too risky given the extreme twists and turns in her intestine. His next trick was to suggest a new scanning technique called a 'Coloscan', which he said was almost as good as an endoscopy. This was duly set up for next week, only to discover that the prep requires you to swallow various liquids. R is autistic, and finds it totally impossible to swallow stuff like this (we're talked extreme reactions, not just dislike,) so having learned that there are no alternative preparations, that test had to be cancelled. So, we still don't have a complete picture of her condition.

The excellent news is that within days of the big polyp being removed her condition began to improve, and she has been back to (relatively) normal for some weeks now. there have been been odd glitches after she has eaten the 'wrong' thing, and we are of course watching out for any signs of the big problems returning. But we thank God that things have settled down so far. Of course she will see the consultant again.

Unfortunately, this now means it's my turn for the Colonoscopy, as my 5-yearly check is due! I'm going to the same consultant, since (unlike the others I've seen) he does speak some English. I'm not too bad in French (I've been ill in Welsh twice in earlier lives - that's a real test of learning a language!), but if she's coming with me, I'd like her to understand what's being said.

Happy Easter everybody, and thank you for your interest and prayers.

Ozzwood

Happy Easter, Chris and everyone else -- I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's distress. I was diagnosed with diverticulosis on the first follow up colonoscopy after my left abdominal resection (for colon cancer) and he'd already removed about 12 inches of colon including the sigmoid. No ostomy that time. Five years later, my cancer returned and that surgery resulted in my ostomy. Diverticulosis ;gone. Mine was never inflamed and I wouldn't have known it was there except the pictures he'd shown me on my scopes. NEver heard of Coloscan. Will have to look that one up! Very glad to hear that most of her symptoms disappeared after the removal of her polyp.

Eating a low-residue diet is usually encouraged for diverticulitis. At least it was when I was doing bedside nursing. :) It's a diet that limits high-fiber foods, like whole-grain breads and cereals, nuts, seeds, raw or dried fruits, and vegetables. "Residue" refers to undigested food, including fiber, that makes up stool.

http://www.healthcastle.com/diverticulitis_diet.shtml

I really hope she gets some relief.

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