Hi, my name is Louise_14! Has anyone got advice for dealing with diverticulitis and IBS D?

Louise_14

I've had IBS D for years which I dealt with myself (ignored as much as possible and used loperamide) until it got an awful lot worse a couple of years ago and I eventually managed to get a face to face appointment with a doctor for a proper diagnosis. Turned out I also had a diverticulitis flare up which I didn't know I had . I'm struggling with what I should be eating as the IBS D is a low fibre diet but at the same time the diverticulitis is caused by constipation which I've never had! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!🙂

durhamjaide2001

hi there and welcome to the forum my mum has IBS I don't know a lot about it myself. I will try and avoid bread and tomatoes and anything acided like lemons and I would try and avoid tomato sauce if possible.

the other thing I would suggest is that you visit the coffee lounge for a general chat or the games den for some fun.

Louise_14

Hi @durhamjaide2001 and Santosha12

Thanks so much for all your advice! I have had 2 colonoscopies the last one was just this week. I had right hand side diverticulitis this time and I had a CT scan 8 weeks ago because they weren't sure if it was diverticulitis or appendicitis and this was the follow up colonoscopy. They've taken a couple of biopsies of the area where the diverticulitis is. The last time 2 years ago I hade biopsies as the consultant thought I might have microscopic colitis and also he found a polyp which was removed and checked too. I haven't had any advice from a professional on diet just told to take loperamide for the IBS D and over the years if this stops working to try a different medication. When it's only the IBS D I can cope with it but this time the diverticulitis lasted for 8 weeks with pain and terrible diarrhea which the loperamide doesn't work for. I had 2 lots of antibiotics but it didn't seem to help much. I think I'll try and get an appointment with my GP to get some better advice and ask for some of the tests you have mentioned. The consultant I saw 2 years ago also thought the diarrhoea may be linked to having my gall bladder removed as I felt it got worse after that. I also have osteoporosis so maybe this is linked as I was diagnosed with this at 51 (I thought it was because I had an early menopause but maybe not?). It sounds like you have had a terrible time Santosha I hope you are feeling better now and I really appreciate all your help! 🙂

Louise_14

Hi Santosha

Thanks again for all that information. When I finally did go and get checked out a couple of years ago because all my symptoms had got a lot worse I think I was just relieved that it wasn't bowel cancer because I'd began to think it might be that- there was a lot of similarities I'd chosen to ignore. Then when I got the IBS and diverticulitis diagnosis I was quite relieved so didn't really push for any more tests etc to try and improve things. The GP practice I was with at the time were not very good and I had struggled to even get a face to face appointment and was even told by one GP on the phone that " D does not warrant a face to face appointment with a doctor and to go and drink a can of coke". After that call I think I sat and cried for a while. Thankfully I've moved to a new practice now and the Doctors there are very nice and helpful. I did try low fodmap and cutting out different foods and reintroducing to see if there was any improvements but nothing seemed to help . There are times if I eat within 30 minutes maximum or sometimes less I have to go rushing to the toilet with D so it's more like the action of eating triggers this rather than the actual food I'm eating if that makes sense.

I really appreciate all your information and this is probably the longest conversation I've had with anyone who has medical knowledge/experience about my symptoms so I will definitely make a doctors appointment to ask about these tests you have mentioned and hopefully this will help improve some of the problems I'm still having.

I also really hope that you still continue to improve even though it's taken you a while to get where you are now! 🙂

Louise_14

Thank you Santosha12 and Bluebell21! After reading all the very helpful advice here I have now made a face to face appointment with my Doctor for next Tuesday so I'm planning to write a list to take with me with queries relating to the IBS D, Diverticulitis, diet etc. I'm hoping this will help me to get a better diagnosis.