Sigmoid colon stricture due to diverticulosis/diverticulitis

Posted by mbiagio @mbiagio, Feb 13 11:47am

Hi! I’m Marissa. I really appreciate this forum and learn so much from other’s experiences. So my question is this… has anyone ever had a sigmoid colon stricture that they’ve been able to clear up with a diet? I knew that I had diverticulosis, but I also thought I had a spastic colon so throughout the years I would have digestive issues from time to time and even pencil thin stools, but eventually it would clear up. I also have been treated for hypo thyroid since 1995. However, I knew something wasn’t right, and in September with my annual thyroid exam found my thyroid to be way out of whack, even though I was taking my medication’s as I always had. I feel it basically shut down the function of everything, so I was taking Metamucil and collagen and doing fine, but i did make and appt with GI doc and made appt for colonoscopy in January.

Then, in late December, I experienced what I believe to be a flareup of diverticulitis. I just powered through it not really knowing what it was and didn’t get any treatment. Then mid January I had another one which was excruciating, but after a couple days of clear liquids, and knowing I had an upcoming colonoscopy, I again got no treatment. Please keep in mind that i only assumed this was diverticulitis from looking up symptoms and knowing i had diverticula from colonoscopy in 2006. On January 22 I had my colonoscopy. The doctor said it was extremely difficult and I had severe severe diverticulosis with structure. He had to go to the smallest scope available to complete the colonoscopy. (Smaller than the pedi scope)! he then told me to eat high fiber, which I jumped into wholeheartedly eating about 20 to 25 g of fiber a day and trying to exercise 30 minutes 2 to 3 times a week. I’m also taking MiraLAX every morning and magnesium citrate every evening. This allows me to have a stool every day, but it is all pencil thin and I feel inflammation in my abdomen. I am wondering if I should turn to a low residue diet or something similar for a time to try to allow my bowel to rest? I don’t want to jump directly to surgery as this seems so sudden. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on this? Thank you in advance!!!

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You can try low fiber for a while and see if it helps. Not supposed to do long term, but some of us need to be careful how much fiber we eat.

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@oliveoyl123

You can try low fiber for a while and see if it helps. Not supposed to do long term, but some of us need to be careful how much fiber we eat.

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Yes that’s what I’m thinking…just curious if anyone had success with this approach. Thank you for your reply!

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@mbiagio

Yes that’s what I’m thinking…just curious if anyone had success with this approach. Thank you for your reply!

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I do low fiber the week before my (frequent) colonoscopies. Helps prep go much easier!

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I can't remember now where I read it, but I saw an article recently that patients with diverticulitis/diverticulosis need fiber but it needs to be the *right kind* of fiber; the *wrong* kind: nuts, seeds, whole grains, brown rice, steel cut oats, fresh fruit, fresh veggies (especially leafy veggies); the *right* kind: non-whole grains, white rice, quick (i.e., highly processed) oats, lean meats such as chicken and some fish, canned fruits, canned non-leafy veggies. So, suffering from diverticulosis/itis myself, I had to pretty much say goodbye to salads.

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Thank you for your response,I appreciate your help Salad out for me too at this point.

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@mbiagio

Thank you for your response,I appreciate your help Salad out for me too at this point.

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I agree I’ve not been able to eat salads for 2 years after sigmoid colon was removed. I really miss the fresh greens, but the repercussions aren’t worth it.

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