Diverticulitis and now going to have a Sigmoid colon resection

Posted by linda82 @linda82, Jan 16, 2024

I have had 4 occurrences this past year treated with antibiotics and Mesalamine ER and now getting ready for surgery. This last occurrence I ended up in the ER and was lucky the abscess was small enough to treat with antibiotics and liquid diet.
I have been on low fiber diet and Mesalamine. The Mesalamine has been great but very hard to find and go form one CVS to another to find stock. (it is not being manufactured right now and insurance will not pay for it) I also to do not want to be on this the rest of my life or until another occurrence when it will be an emergency surgery. Right now all my blood work is great and back to normal and MRI and CT scans have been completed.
I just can't handle another episode of this and will be 60 yrs old this year. I am retired and all episodes happened after vacation and do not want to live in fear of going anywhere! I am in good health and do not take any other meds.
I am curious of others that have gone through this surgery and get helpful insight on what to expect.
Surgery will be in March and will be robotic.
Thanks in advance.

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mbiagio | @mbiagio | Jul 10, 2024

Thank you again for all of your information and insights. It really is a little scary. My main symptom is pain, and I have it frequently. I've not had any of the anti-inflammatory meds, and just the 10days of antibiotics recently. I only had a fever once, and that was only one evening and gone by morn., but I still wanted antibiotics since I've never taken or needed them for this condition. I've not even had a CAT scan, but thinking surgeon will order that.
Planning as you did, will be key for me also. I do have a sister that my mom could stay with while I'm in the hospital and during early recovery. She also does have a caregiver while I'm working, so she could also help us both if needed.
I will see how I feel after talking with the surgeons. I know they are both excellent, but guess I just want a second opinion and see who I feel most comfortable with.
I agree, a manual would be nice 😉 but glad to hear from someone who's experienced it. I will update if I decide to pursue surgical route... Best wishes!

lilbear | @lilbear | Oct 29, 2025

Did you have the surgery in March? Hope you are doing well!

linda82 | @linda82 | Nov 1, 2025

In reply to @lilbear "Did you have the surgery in March? Hope you are doing well!" + (show)

@lilbear Yes and doing very well and happy I had it!

lilbear | @lilbear | Nov 1, 2025

In reply to @linda82 "@lilbear Yes and doing very well and happy I had it!" + (show)

@linda82 oh so happy to hear that! How long ago was it?

lilbear | @lilbear | Nov 1, 2025

Yes I would love to hear your journey!

bc321 | @bc321 | Jan 14 9:30pm

I'm interested in recovery experiences specifically from common colectomy patients. Is there anyone out there fitting these conditions that can give me a description of their recovery?

- Entire Sigmoid Colon removed, and nothing else.
- Laparoscopic or Robotic Laparoscopic with no issues during surgery.
- 45-65 years old.
- No other health issues (diabetes, heart disease, obesity, fistulas, etc.)

This may be too specific to get enough input but I thought I'd try. I'm on day 1 of post-op and everything went well. I have reasonable pain but nothing too bad. However I know it is early. I'm looking for similar patients' recovery timelines and any other details you use to describe your recovery: 80%, 100%, start eating fiber, start running and/or weight lifting again, pain levels timeline, just for some examples of what I'm thinking. Thanks.

linda82 | @linda82 | Jan 15 7:38am

In reply to @bc321 "I'm interested in recovery experiences specifically from common colectomy patients. Is there anyone out there fitting..." + (show)

I have a lot under my post.

Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Jan 15 8:31am

In reply to @linda82 "I have a lot under my post." + (show)

@linda82 - are you by chance referring to a specific post you've made before on Mayo Clinic Connect? If so, will you provide the link to the post to which you're referring?

bc321 | @bc321 | Jan 15 4:04pm

In reply to @linda82 "I have a lot under my post." + (show)

@linda82 Are you referring to this one: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/diverticulitis-and-now-going-to-have-a-sigmoid-colon-resection/

bc321 | @bc321 | Jan 15 4:20pm

In reply to @gerryp "Good morning Linda. I had this surgery in 2004, when I was 44years old. Unfortunately, mine..." + (show)

@gerryp I am working on a detailed diverticulitis guide with a flow chart of complications, data matrix, reference list, glossary, etc. It is not ready for publishing yet but one data point that came up over and over was that about 75% of Free Perforations (open flow of feces into the abdominal cavity) happen on the patient's first episode of diverticulitis. The synopsis is basically that you either have a spot/spots of weakness in the colon that is susceptible to this, or you don't. So if you've had multiple episodes with no Free Perforation, you are less likely to have one. Plus they think the scaring from healing of previous episodes makes it harder to have a Free Perforation. It came from what they reference as: "The Chapman Study" - Transition rates from Phlegmon to Perforation; "First-Episode" paradox data (75%); long-term recurrence of free air. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16192818/ (Complicated diverticulitis: is it time to rethink the rules?)

FYI.