Acute Diverticulitis

byrdsng2012

So...started eating right...nuts, seeds, veggies (lots of tomatoes) and landed in the hospital with acute diverticulitis. Liquid diet for a few days and I'm at such a loss as to what to eat at this point. If anyone has gone through this, can you throw me a few tips?

Thanks, Melissa

LyndaBSS

Did they give you a list of foods to avoid?

My MIL had this. She had to avoid anything with seeds, but I don't know more than that. I'm sorry you went through that. Hope you feel better soon.

CaptainJoy

I had the same thing happen several years ago. I avoid most fruits and vegetables with small seeds like tomatoes and green beans. Anything with a pit is good. Raspberries and blackberries are a no-no for me. I also avoid popcorn. For some reason, regular corn doesn’t bother me. Brussel sprouts and cabbage digest well. Nuts? I love them but they are the worst for diverticulitis. Smooth nut butters are okay but nothing chuncky.

Gisel2015

I avoid pop corn, regular corn and seeds. I eat mixed nuts few times a week but never more than 9 to 10 grams, and I drink a lot of water. Protein bars with nuts and seeds are mostly a NO food for me; but all vegetables, tomatoes and berries don't affect me at all, but I have to be careful with kiwi fruit, full grain breads with small seeds.

Most doctors recommend a diet high in fiber, or to supplement with Metamucil. However, diverticulosis affects people in different ways. Some people can't have vegetables or salads, while others like myself don't have a problem with them, as long as there are no seeds in the salads.

I recommend that you f/up with your doctor or GI specialist and request guidance or a referral to a dietician or a nutritionist. Other than that, it may be a trial and error.

I hope that you feel better soon and sorry about your experience.

grimendale

I'd talk to a dietitian. My wife has diverticulitis, and the recommendations are pretty much exactly opposite depending on if you're mid-flare up or not (high fiber most of the time, very low fiber during a flare up). We're talking to a dietitian tomorrow about a number of dietary issues, including this.

Emmapatterson1729

Doctors are now trying to say it's the fibers not the seeds. I don't buy it. If I eat strawberries, nuts, popcorn, etc, I'm in excruciating pain.

Lots of steamed cauliflower seems to ease my pain!

I avoid nuts, popcorn, and tiny berry fruit seeds!

HeyItsBrad

I just went through this as well. The ER doc says that different foods effect different people. So, he recommended keeping a food journal (which you may already be doing via MFP), and log when you have pain. Correlate the data and you will have a tailor made list of foods to avoid.

kshama2001

I'm surprised the hospital didn't give you a handout. Call your doctor's office and discuss with them.

HeyItsBrad

Getting an appointment with my doctor with less than a 2-3 week wait is damn near impossible. Thus the hospital visit. I think I may need a new doctor.

byrdsng2012

Thank you so much to everyone! I have a doc appt as a followup on Monday and the ER discharged me saying liquid diet for a few days and didn't give me much information besides that. Only "don't drink alcohol or eat nuts and seeds." Looking up online and I see some sites say only white bread and low fiber foods, others say a high fiber diet so I am lost as to who is right! I'll bring in my MFP food logs and let her see what I've been eating. Crazy that I start getting rid of the white bread/white pasta etc and all the sudden I get knocked down. ha!

lady_bug_jd

I ended up in hospital last December for diverticulitis and have researched quite a bit since then.

The most important thing when you’re not having an acute flair-up is fibre. Women should aim for 25 grams per day. The best advice from a nurse was to eat a serving of All-bran original cereal every day which gives you almost half your required fibre in one serving. The doctor who did my follow up colonoscopy recommended Metamucil for fibre.

The specialist I saw said that seeds, nuts, popcorn have been recently de-mythed as a cause. I eat these every day and haven’t had a flare up but I also completely changed my diet to mainly fruits, veggies, seafood, chicken and whole grains and get enough fibre. I know some people say they have flare ups after eating these so I wonder if they might have food sensitivities to these foods. I actually think inflammation might be the cause of this disease so you might have to test what bothers you. Keeping a food diary is a good idea.

If you start to have a diverticulitis flare up then immediately switch to a clear liquid diet (water, apple juice, tea, broth, jello, popsicles). As you feel better add in low-fibre foods (canned fruits & veggies, fruit juices, eggs, fish, chicken, white bread, pasta, rice). Once you completely feel better reintroduce fibre slowly and return to a healthy diet. If your situation ever worsens go to a doctor to get antibiotics.

All the best. I hope you can find a way to manage it. It’s definitely not fun!

Emmapatterson1729

HeyItsBrad wrote: »

I just went through this as well. The ER doc says that different foods effect different people. So, he recommended keeping a food journal (which you may already be doing via MFP), and log when you have pain. Correlate the data and you will have a tailor made list of foods to avoid.

This is so true. My mom has it also. She can't eat poppy seeds or pumpkin seeds, but I have no problem with these. We can both eat most grains. We've both suffered with this for years. But for both, cauliflower or a big salad with lots of veggies (none with little seeds) helps when we do have an attack. Could be the fiber in these foods that seems to help us.