Hemorrhoid or diverticulitis?

Posted by azcardsfan @azcardsfan, 12 hours ago

Hello all! This is my first support group ever, so be gentle... 🙂

I just recently got diagnosed with diverticulitis. From hearing stories from those who have it or know someone who does, I get the impression that my case is on the mild side, but I still don't really know how to manage this yet. I love beer, spicy food, red meat - all the good stuff that's supposed to be "bad". I've also been on an SSRI for almost 25 years, which I read can contribute to diverticulitis issues. I'm also naturally a high-stress person and, unfortunately, work in a very high stress job.

After my doctor visit where I got my diagnosis, I've started using Metamucil gummies with prebiotics; I'm trying to be more conscious of what I eat, particularly trying to choose chicken or fish over red meat when I can; and, I'm cutting back on alcohol consumption.

Any recommendations beyond what I've done to assist so that I don't have to give up these things altogether? I ate several spicy peppers, ate red meat, and drank beer over the weekend (Go Huskers!) and paid for it yesterday, with a slight gut ache and lots of trips to the bathroom.

Also, and I apologize for being graphic, but out of the 5 times I was on the toilet yesterday, 3 of the BMs were pretty bloody. The issue there is that I have had a hemorrhoid problem as well, including a transanal hemorrhoidal dearterialization procedure in January of this year. Now each time there's a bit of blood in there I am left wondering if it's due to a hemorrhoid issue or if it's diverticulitis. It did quit by the last one and no problems with that today, so I'd like to think something just irritated a hemorrhoid and caused it to bleed a bit. Anyone have anything on that specifically?

Thanks in advance to everyone for the advice.

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Hi @azcardsfan. Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I am so glad you decided to put yourself out there and posted here. Finding out you can feel better by changing your eating habits is good news and can also quickly become very overwhelming. You just found a good place for sharing and encouragement!

As you wait for others to comment, and if you haven’t read these yet you may want to see how Mayo Clinic recommends eating for each, diverticulitis and hemorrhoids. I notice they say “Painless bleeding: You might notice small amounts of bright red blood on your toilet tissue or in the toilet.“ As far as diet, I imagine trying to get both conditions under control so you can eat high fiber that helps both will require trial and error.
- diverticulitis diet: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/diverticulitis-diet/art-20048499
- hemorrhoid overview: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemorrhoids/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20360280

Has your doctor recommended visiting with a dietician?

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