Acute Diverticulitis

byrdsng2012 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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

HeyItsBrad · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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 · August 2019

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.

Acute Diverticulitis

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