Diverticulitis and colectomy

Woodland Memorial Hospital Woodland CA, Dr. Magrino

Good information. Thank you! Can I ask where you had it done?

I'm 64 and had 18" of my colon removed 2 years ago. My diverticulitis attacks were getting more frequent and between the medicine and the pain my doctor said it was time. It was laproscopic and I had a 6" vertical incision under my belly button. The first couple days were tough but the pain meds really helped. After 5 days in the hospital I came home and learned how my body would function now. I am so grateful I got the surgery behind me. I've had no issues since. I take a probiotic, metamucil, and watch my fiber intake to keep things running smoothly. It was a life changer for me. No more CT scans or painful attacks. I hope to never have another incident again!

Well, probably 3-4 yrs before surgery. The recovery was stressful. I developed an infection. Called Dr and he told me to come to his office. He discovered the infection and opened the incision (with no numbing medication, quite painful). He said the incision was still numb, surgery the day before) I made it through. NO MORE POPCORN!!

Hello @gayle2022 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm glad that you joined this discussion group on diverticulitis and shared your experience. It sounds as if you were pleased with the results of your surgery since you have only had one bout since 2007.

If you care to share more, how long had you had bouts of diverticulities before you decided on surgery? How long did it take to recover from surgery?

I had about 10 inces of my Sigmoid removed 7 years ago after having constant Diverticulitis. They were able to go in and remove the most diseased part of my sigmoid without a bag to wear afterwords. I was a very active 68 year old woman that was sick of being sick. For me, the surgery wasn't bad. I had a good colorectal surgeon that did it laprascopy. I never had alot of pain. I healed fairly fast and had to let my guts settle out and learn how to function without part of their sigmoid colon. My bowels were a little unpredictable but that settled out pretty fast. The surgery never made me nauseated or feel bad. Godbless Laprascopic surgery! You do have to be careful because you tend to forget that even though they didn't open you up, you have been through major surgery and need to take it slow for a while. If I had to, I would do the surgery again rather than risk a severe infection and perforation in the Diverticulum that results in a permanent bag after surgery. That's what happened to a friend of mine.

At age 78, I had an emergency colectomy in mid-November after perforation of my sigmoid during a severe attack of diverticulitis. I had no choice. Frankly, I'm glad it happened. Now at the beginning of March I've returned to normal and am thrilled to know that I will never be tormented again. It is a routine operation. Consider it.

I stay away from nuts, seeds and popcorn. My provider has now put me on a lo-fiber/soft diet which consists of applesauce, cottage cheese, yogurt, pasta and rice for the most part. I do eat chicken and fist at times, too. Any deviation and I start getting "full." I'm pretty set to going ahead with the surgery, I feel like I'm a ticking time bomb. I would really like to hear from someone who's been through it so I have some idea what to expect going through it and the recovery, and afterwards as well.

I also was recommended surgery, but I am still considering it. Have severe diverticulosis in the sigmoid, but I never had diverticulitis. What is your diet? I have been better with cooked vegetables, specially beets, spinach, green beans, carrots, turnips, etc., I eat fruits and have curcuma supplements. Fish and chicken. Lots of chicken broth.

it was recommended to me, after 3 attacks of diverticulitis over 3 years, to have the surgery to remove the bad section, namely the sigmoid. I was scheduled and chickened out...I thought it sounded too extreme and I could control it with diet. Fast forward to this year, and I've had the most severe attack so far, and it's been an awful 6 weeks. I'm on my 3rd course of antibiotics, too. Yuck! Anyways, I think I have accepted I am going to have the surgery. I would like to hear from others what to expect and how the recovery will be. I'm a 64 yr old active female, and the thought of being down and out and devastating to me, but I can't deal with any more attacks! Thanks!