@queenie52 i’m 76 years old and had a colonectomy on July 7. They removed a foot of diseased bowel that had a stricture that was closing up because of scar tissue from two years of ongoing diverticulitis. I was in the ER four times in that two years.
Each time you get diverticulitis, I believe it increases your chances of continuing to get diverticulitis.
Mr Colon would’ve eventually closed and I would’ve needed emergency surgery.
Emergency surgery is often without a colon specialist so it almost guarantees an ostomy from my understanding. I was lucky enough to be able to be re-hooked up.
I felt it was much better to find a reputable colon surgeon and plan it..
I am also very active and in the two months that I was waiting for the surgery I was trying to eat very healthy put on weight and exercise as much as possible.
I have lost too much weight from being sick for so long.
When they removed the sigmoid (left side) it also had simmering/smoldering diverticulitis. So my assumption is that for two years it never went away. It was just their waiting to flare up again.
One thing I’ve learned from being on some of the support groups is that the earlier we get surgery the better chance we have of a better recovery.
It’s different for everyone, but the frequently ask questions above are excellent and I printed them out and highlighted.
I also had a torturous colon and I’m hoping that taking out that portion and stretching it will rectify that.
My gastroenterologist refused to do another colonoscopy until I saw a surgeon.
I also had a procedure called a colonography that took pictures of my colon and further up where the gastrologist couldn’t get to there’s a polyp so I will need a colonoscopy to remove that.
They did take the area that kept getting infected, so I’m hoping for the best, but it has been a very difficult recovery for me. I’m realizing that it’s not the same for everyone.
I wish you all the best and can associate with some of what you’re going 🙁 through.

@queenie52 Regarding your question of "If surgery is needed to do a sigmoid colectomy, what will the recovery time be like and will it greatly decrease my chances of reoccurring diverticulitis?" From what I've heard from fellow patients in patient groups, recovery time is different for everyone, and is impacted by the level of complication of the disease, other medical issues involved, age, overweightness (that's not really a word), health and fitness going into the surgery, smoking (before and after), proper preparation for surgery, proper recovery nutrition and actions after the surgery, and probably genetics. As for recurrence, as I said in the FAQ's: "The recurrence rate of diverticulitis after a complete resection is quite low. Data generally shows recurrence rates between 2% and 10% over a 10-year period. While new diverticula can form in the remaining colon (proximal to the resection), the risk of severe, complicated diverticulitis is significantly reduced. [4]" Also, if the diverticulitis occurs in the sigmoid colon, a major impact on recurrence is making sure the entire sigmoid colon is removed, not just the 'diseased part'. This is standard medical practice now but I've heard of people having, and/or hoping, that they only take out as little as possible - just the diseased part. The bottom line is that the sigmoid is the high-pressure zone and that's why diverticulitis happens there. If it happened there before surgery, it'll likely happen there after surgery. So the surgery should involve re-connecting the descending colon to the upper rectum, and that should be because the surgeon removed ALL of the sigmoid colon.

As for your comment of: "I’m 74 years old and active and the surgeon told me that as I get older, the chances of complicated diverticulitis with perforation or rupture of the area increase with each occurrence." I can't speak for how age impacts this but my research shows that 75% of patients presenting for treatment with Free Perforations have no prior history of diverticulitis. It is their first ever episode and primary complication. This came from what I frequently hear referenced as "The Chapman Study", (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16192818/ (Complicated diverticulitis: is it time to rethink the rules?)). That's not saying that you can't have a free perforation (which is what you're calling a rupture), since 25% of the patients in that study with free Perforations apparently did have a history of Diverticulitis. But my research also shows that as you have more diverticulitis episodes, the risk of complications does increase (free perforation is just 1 of multiple complications). And I won't go into all of the complications because they're all in the FAQ document I posted. The bottom line is - if you've had multiple diverticulitis episodes already, the likelihood of more episodes, and greater chance of complications, increases with time. Time also = age. So yes, as you get older your chance of complications increases but not necessarily because you're older but because you will likely continue to have diverticulitis episodes. That's not saying age has nothing to do with it, because like about any medical condition - the earlier you treat it the less severe the condition needing treatment likely is, and the ease of treating it is, and the speed and effectiveness of recovery is. But I am not a doctor and I do not know all there is to know about your condition - that's between you and your doctor. I just hope this gives you some perspective, some additional knowledge, and it all makes your discussions with your surgeon more productive so you can make a decision together sooner vs later.

I waited 12 years from my first episode til surgery (45-57yo) and finally realized it was not going away, it was only going to get worse and more frequent, every episode added a better chance of a complication, and if I was going to do it - the younger I did it the less complicated the surgery would be and the easier/more effective the recovery would be. I also know I'll need an aortic valve replacement since I was born with a bicuspid valve, so the docs said it is better to do the colon now before the heart docs say you have to get the valve fixed before you can do the colon and then I'd be stacking up back-to-back surgeries in my 60/s or 70's vs doing the Colon in my 50's and the heart in my 60's or 70's. Best of luck.

@queenie52

About 20 years ago, in my sixties, I had a sigmoid colon resection along with a bladder repair for a colovesical fistula. What started as a laparoscopic procedure turned into an open surgery due to excess weight.

My short-term recovery was complicated by an ileus. Apparently one's large bowel does not like people poking around down there and sometimes goes into opossum mode. That turned into an extended hospital stay whereby I developed great appreciation for the skill and kindness of the Mayo nurses.

I will gloss over the details but initial recovery included a catheter, liquid diet, walking the corridors and hospital bed rest.

It took several months at home to recover my strength. Loose stool was not a problem for long as my gut adjusted. The great thing is that the cramping and diarrhea I would occasionally experience are a thing of the past and the chance of colon cancer is reduced.

Hope this helps. Good luck!