Diverticulitis & Sigmoidectomy Comprehensive FAQ Document

@bc321, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You’ve put a great deal of work into compiling this resource and including the references you used.

For members wondering what is included, the FAQ covers a broad range of questions about diverticulitis and sigmoidectomy — from understanding diverticulitis and recurrence, to considerations surrounding surgery, preparing for a sigmoidectomy, and what recovery may involve. I also appreciate that you included a reminder that the information is educational and that individual circumstances and recommendations from a person’s own medical team may differ.

Since you originally developed this for a diverticulitis and sigmoidectomy patient group, it would be helpful to hear more about what you hoped patients would gain from it. At what point in someone’s diverticulitis or sigmoidectomy journey do you think this FAQ is most useful, and how do you hope members will use it?

I’ve had 2 episodes of uncomplicated diverticulitis in the past 8 months. I also have a tortuous colon and gastroparesis. I was put on Augmentin for the first bout and developed diarrhea so badly I ended up in the hospital for fluids and potassium boluses over night. For the second bout I refused to take Augmentin so I was given Cipro and Flagyl and that was quite a bit better. My GI Nurse Practitioner referred me to a colorectal surgeon. He was very thorough, went over all my CT scans with me and gave me excellent information about what was going on in my colon. I will be having a colonoscopy in a few weeks, my 3rd one in 9 months. I had a failed one back in November as the gastroenterologist could not get past the sigmoid. My question is this: 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? 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. As a retired RN who worked many years in ICU, I cared for patients who had a perforation and they were very sick, many developed sepsis and did not survive. So I’d really appreciate input from those of you who have had this procedure. Thank you!

@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.

I read the FAQ pdf. It was a wonderful compilation of everything about diverticulitis and osis. I have had multiple episodes in the past 8 years and knew I was facing surgery but didn’t like the prospect of permanently removing a part of me and ending up with ongoing complications. The document helped me better understand all that is involved and set my mind at ease. Many thanks for all the work that went into creating it. I have an app with a surgeon this coming week. Wish me luck.

@nancyclare
Thank you for your input! I had a virtual 3D colonoscopy CT scan in January and it was negative for polyps. I just hope the colorectal surgeon can get through and do a complete colonoscopy then I’ll know where I stand concerning the surgery and his ability to reconnect my colon. Also he feels he can do it laparoscopically and not with a large abdominal incision if I have a healthy rectum. How was yours done? I knew it’s an easier recovery with the laparoscopic procedure. So once again thanks for your information. And hoping your recovery continues on a positive track!

@donbarkman
Hoping all goes well with your surgeon and I hope you are seeing a colorectal specialist. I was told by my GI Nurse Practitioner that a specialist has much more experience in dealing with difficult colonoscopies and this type of surgery. She has helped me so much in the last several years with various GI problems and truly listens to me, so I really trust her judgement. Praying that you get good information and can proceed with getting better.

@queenie52 mine was done laparoscopically. Along with about six small incisions there’s a much larger one under my belly button that is maybe 5 inches where they took the diseased colon out.
I didn’t have any problem at all with my incisions healing appropriately.
Because I’ve lost so much weight because of the diverticulitis I’m down to 98 pounds at 5 foot one and I had to deal with the beginnings of bedsores which I addressed right away.
And, because of the lack of control after the surgery, I’ve ended up with a UTI that did not heal with the first round of antibiotics so I’m just finishing up the second round.
It sounds like your surgeon is doing the colonoscopy?
What state do you live in?
I’m in New Hampshire

@donbarkman you are welcome. Glad it helped. Best of luck.

@nancyclare
I’m in Ohio. And I’ve had an UTI every time I’ve had a bout with the diverticulitis! My GI Nurse Practitioner told me it’s probably due to the diarrhea that I get from the antibiotics killing all protective flora in my systems. A little advice from a retired RN (me) if and when you get another UTI… make sure they order a urine culture and sensitivity test on your urine specimen. That way then they’ll know what specific antibiotic will kill the bacteria causing the infection. Happened to me twice! Went to an Urgent Care Center, got Keflex for 7 days; took all of it and felt better. On day 10 it was back with a vengeance! Went back to the Urgent Care Center and requested a urine for culture and sensitivity test; sure enough it was still the same infection! So then I was put on Macrodantin and it was finally gone. I haven’t lost much weight, maybe 2-3 pounds. I’m 5’4” and weigh 170#. So I’m a bit chubby and have weight to spare. I really hope you continue to get better. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 Will be in touch.

@jlharsh it was meant to cover FAQs throughout the diverticulitis journey, no matter how long that road is. Some may have had 1 episode and wondered if they'll have more, and never did. This explains that many people have that experience. For those with more than one it goes deeper into the subject and attempts to answer the most common questions along the way. I hope it helps, and as always, consult your docs for your actual personalized medical advice. But we all know you only get a certain amount of time and attention from docs so hopefully this information allows patients to be better educated and allows those discussions with their docs to be more productive and to get more out of them than they would otherwise have gotten. I hope that makes sense. Best of luck to all.