diverticular disease and exercise

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niallse
niallse Posts: 58
in Fitness and Exercise
Afternoon all..

This morning my GP diagnosed me with diverticular disease (similar to IBS). Nothing too nasty, quite common and possibly known to many of you, so you may have some knowledge about my are of questionning.

For those of you in the know , at the minute I feel like someone has reached inside me, twisted my insides around a bit and then pumped them full of air! This has been going on for about 4 days now. I have been prescribed Buscipan, which I hope will relax the crampying very quickly.

Anyway, even though this is painful, I'm already wondering when I will be able to get back out there in my trainers or on the bike and just how hard to push it when i do start up again. I also would like to know from any other sufferers if there is any specific dietary advice or tricks I can try?

Thanks for your help

Mick.

Replies

  • latinahada
    latinahada Posts: 168
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    I worked for a surgeon who was very experienced and dealt with many cases of diverticulosis and diverticulitis amongst many other things. He typically recommended taking a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil or Citrucel daily to help prevent or lessen episodes of diverticulitis. He also recommended staying away from popcorn, nuts, etc. that could get hung up in the "pockets" which would then again lead to an episode of diverticulitis...A lot of doctors believe that dietary consumption doesn't play a part, but he swore by the staying away from items like I mentioned above OR if you were going to eat them, small amount and chewing thoroughly...Hope this helps! Oh and one more thing, abdominal exercises to keep your abdominal wall strong to keep your bowels regular will also help.
  • latinahada
    latinahada Posts: 168
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    One question for you, have you had a colonoscopy or did your doc diagnose you based on symptoms? Might not be a bad idea to get a colonoscopy to see the extent of the disease and what exactly you are dealing with, just a suggestion :)
  • niallse
    niallse Posts: 58
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    Hi.

    Yes I had a colonoscopy recently ( not pleasant) so the diagnosis is based on that, and of course my current symptoms. What you say about nuts could be the key. Last week I bought a pack of brazil nuts and pecans and put them on my work desk to "snack on". Since then I have had problems.... Out go the nuts!

    Thank you soo much! :-)
  • latinahada
    latinahada Posts: 168
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    You are very welcome, best of luck to you :)

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