Living with diverticulitis: How do I keep it from coming back?

@susanf22 7 in 5 years seems pretty aggressive. Of course details matter and we don't have any details on your flare-ups, tests/scans, treatment and their effectiveness, etc. But if I had it to do over again, knowing then what I know now, I'd have had my Sigmoidectomy after my 5th or 6th, or maybe even 3rd or 4th episodes. I just had it after 11-12 in as many years and I feel a bit lucky to have been able to do a planned surgery vs emergent, using laparoscopic vs open surgery technique, with a surgeon I was able to consult and collaborate with for months vs whatever surgeon is on ER duty if I needed an emergent surgery, and to do so without a colostomy bag. Surgery avoidance is a very natural and powerful reaction. But it concerns me when I see people say things like "I am not ready for that". It is a concern because it usually means they are letting it be a mental decision when it needs to be a physiological decision. Consider, research, and talk to your Doc's about questions like these:

- What are the chances you will stop having diverticulitis episodes (either flare-ups or smoldering)?
- What impact have your previous flare ups already had on your body?
- If you don't stop having episodes, what are the chances of further diverticulitis complications occurring and what risks do those have?
- What is the increased frequency indicating about the progression of your disease?
- What is the antibiotic resistance you're experiencing indicating about the progression of your disease?
- If they don't stop, will the likelihood of the need for planned surgery increase?
If they don't stop, what is the likelihood of the need for a more complicated surgery, recovery, and need for a colostomy bag versus doing it at this point in time?
- If they don't stop, what is the likelihood of the need for an Emergency Surgery?
- If I need and have surgery later, how does my age impact the surgery, its success, and the recovery from it?

Surgery isn't risk free or a promise that you'll never have a gut issue in your life again, so certainly ask about those as well. But the main point I am recommending is - make your decision based on the answers to those types of questions versus "am I mentally ready to make the decision to have surgery?".