Preventing diverticulitis attacks

Thank you for this

Mayo online was my go-to for more information ff my 1st miserable diverticulitis diagnosis this past October. After following my pcp's prescribed protocol, I had another lesser episode because I'd reintroduced some raw veggies too soon into my diet. I charted my daily meals for weeks and was very slow after the second bout to reintroduce new foods back into my diet.

Thanks for this Mayo newsletter article. It is an inexpressible comfort to have access to Mayo online and Connect for trusted health information and a place to share with others who are walking a similar path. Would like to add that by gradually adding more fiber and starting a walking program, I've not had another bout of diverticulitis. Yay!

Lovely to hear, fiesty76! I've had pretty much the same experience, with a nasty first-time attack of diverticulitis three years ago, with hospitalization and - equally nasty - antibiotics. Changing diet really helped, and I also make bone broth and consume it regularly. Apparently the collagen helps to soothe the intestines. Never had another attack, fingers crossed for all sufferers!

I have been diagnosed by 3 different doctors over my lifetime (77) of Gastritis, Diverticulitis and most recently_IBS. Each one has different diets. The IBS was diagnosed by phone by my Gastro. doctor. In the meantime, I discontinued my Letrozole (per Oncoligist) 5 yrs. out from Mastectomy. My gut is awful right now. My Onco. put me on a soft diet. That means very little fiber. Suggestions?

I was just diagnosed with diverticulitis. They think that is where my pain and swelling are comming from. I was diagnosed with IBS years ago, but It just kept getting worse. I am trying to figure out where to start. What is a good diet for the holidays? does anyone have any ideas? Most menu show a high fiber diet with most foods my body can not handle.

First. Do. You have diverticulosis or diverticulitis? The first is the existence of diverticula, the second diverticulitis is the infection of the diverticula. And can be diagnosed by blood tests & then take antibiotics.
I take Metamucil per my Drs direct but I avoid all nuts & seeds of all kinds. Amazing how many things have all tha “good fiber”. Especially granola which I love. But I’ve become a label reader.
If I get some minor pain in lower left side I start taking Tylenol& use heat. If it doesn’t go away soon or if a fever starts I go to the Doctor.
The antibiotics are tough ones, so I avoid if possible.
Good luck.

I had my first attack in Sept. of 2019. It was bad. I was doing too much caffeine and alcohol, overweight, not walking, too much red meat, etc..poster child for a "attack"! Since then I have dropped 35 pounds, workout for 45 minutes each day, Mediterranean diet, stopped alcohol and caffeine, feeling much better. Now the bad news....so a few days ago (3/20/23) in the middle of the night, out of the blue, I get another attack. Not as bad as the first one....but absolutely an attack. I have never read that stress is a factor but that's all I could think of that would cause it. I am doing the "Diver" diet right now of clear fluids for 3 days, then the "white" foods with no fiber....thought I had it in the rear-view mirror. I am 70 and have "dense" diver, so that's all a factor I would assume. I guess just aging is probably a "cause" in itself?

My doctor suggested I keep The Four F's in mind: Fluid, Fiber, Fitness and Fruit . . . I'm not sure what the value of fruit, per se is, but I guess it includes fiber and glucose, which can move intestinal material along smoothly. I have suffered from four terrible diverticular flare-ups in the past five years (not a lot, but enough . . . .), and I can track all four back to not having drunk enough water nor having moved around much. in the end, the best action to take is to drink clear liquids for a day, or sa: coffee, bullion (especially bone broth, which provides a lot of protein), hot tea, more water, more tea) and slowly move back to a normal high-fiber diet. This remedy works every time.

Those four F’s are very good. Thank you for sharing that. My situation is that I also have gastroparesis at the other end of the gastrointestinal system. It responds best to low fiber. Trying to figure out a balance between high and low fiber is tricky! My primary physician ended up telling me it would be a matter of trial and error to slowly figure out what foods will work best for me. I am blessed (or cursed) to enjoy everything. If something turns out to not work out so well for me I’ve only suffered briefly and learned from the experience. My eating habits follow a “everything in moderation” perspective. It is all about finding a doable balance.