Hi, my name is Lou27713! diagnosed with Diverticulitis Disease 3 weeks ago

Lou27713

Hi everyone, 
I am 43 diagnosed with Diverticulitis Disease 3 weeks ago, after spending a week in hospital on IV Antibiotics looking for any help or advice 
Thanks in advance 

Lou27713

Hi Teddybear12
Thank you for your comment, really appreciate any advice I am still in shock, I have always had a balanced diet, and kept active.

Lou27713

Thank you very much 😊 

Ross_Alumni

Hi @Lou27713

Welcome to the community  

It's nice to have you aboard, I'm sure you'll enjoy taking part here, this is a very supportive community which I hope you've already seen on this thread  

It can take a while to come to terms with a new diagnosis, even more so when it was one you weren't expecting and caused some shock. You certainly aren't alone, and I'm sure that talking about how you feel with your loved ones and on this community will help you feel better.

Has your GP or medical team supported you through the diagnosis and are they helping you to manage your condition?

We have several categories that you can browse and get involved with, and I would recommend the virtual coffee lounge in particular as a good place to start, that's where we play games and talk about more general subjects like movies or music.

Please feel free to have a look around and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. 

Lou27713

Thank you very much Ross😊 so far there has been little support apart from saying I will need an operation,  next appointment is Monday!

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @Lou27713 I'm sorry to hear that you're in hospital at the moment. How are you feeling this morning? 

Would you be able to tell us a little more about what you'd like advice on? For example, would you like advice on recovery after a hospital stay, or managing the symptoms of diverticular disease? 

I can imagine that you might be feeling a bit shocked if this happened out of the blue. Are you receiving enough support from your medical team? 

Edit: I hadn't refreshed the page, so didn't see Ross' reply before commenting! 

Will you be able to ask questions about any possible surgeries at your appointment on Monday @Lou27713? I hope that they're able to answer some of your questions, and offer you some ongoing support.

Lou27713

Thanks Tori, I am still shocked tbh luckily I have a very supportive family. 
I am struggling to know what to eat, I'm eating very plain food but get to the point of being scared incase the crippling pain returns,  I still have pain but manageable 

SueHeath

Bless @Lou27713 it doesn't sound like your not having a good time of it yet, must be a massive shock for you,
up's sorry my name is Sue how do you do - a big welcome from me to this great forum, i think as time goes on and you have chance to have a look around our friendly site, you will enjoy it and hopfully find like minded people.
I do hope the opp goes well for you and i do look forward to seeing you around, i'm usually in the coffee lounge.

Lou27713

Hi Sue, thank you so much, 
It's nice just to talk to people 
Good and bad days as I'm sure everyone has

L_Volunteer

Hi @Lou27713

I am glad you find it nice to talk to people. We do indeed all have good and bad days. We are here to celebrate with you in your good and here for support during the bad. If we can help in any way, please do just let us know 

Lou27713

L_volunteer thanks so much really appreciate everyone being so helpful 

L_Volunteer

You are welcome @Lou27713. It is the very least you deserve. How are you today? I hope you are well but if you do need anything please just give us a shout 

Lou27713

Thank you 😊,  I feel constantly drained if I'm being honest but hopefully things will improve 

L_Volunteer

@Lou27713 - You are welcome. Again, it is the very least you deserve. It sounds really difficult feeling constantly drained and I hope things will improve for you. When you are feeling drained, does anything in particular help? I know when I am feeling drained, some things I find useful include hobbies, extra sleep and some rest (e.g., just listening to music) but this varies for everyone 

Lou27713

Thank you,  I am not sleeping well at the moment which doesn't help, I get as much fresh air as possible seem to easily get tired, I'm struggling to know what to eat, sticking to mainly white fish and soup, plenty of water, I get quite scared of food, which is hard because I loved eating different things, I have a continued awful taste in my mouth,  (antibiotic side affect) which doesn't help 

L_Volunteer

@Lou67 - Thank you for your response. Sorry to hear you are not sleeping well at the moment. That sounds really difficult and, of course, struggling to sleep tends to make things feel even worse. Well done you for trying to take the steps to make yourself feel better - i.e. fresh air, eating and staying hydrated.

I have heard you say you get quite scared of food, would you like to expand on what part of food makes you feel scared? It sounds really difficult and we are here for you if you would like to share more with us. You don't have to face this, or anything else, alone if you don't want to.

Also, have you managed to talk to your GP or other medical professionals yet about the antibiotic side effect? Just wondering if there's anything that might help to make this more manageable for you until you no longer need the antibiotics 

Lou67

Hi @ L Volunteer 
Thanks for reaching out but it wasn’t me that posted.

It was Lou22713.

Tori_Scope

I can see why you might feel a bit scared of food at the moment @Lou27713, considering the symptoms you've been experiencing. Has your doctor spoken to you about what kind of foods you should be eating or avoiding? If not, is that something you'd feel comfortable asking them about? The NHS link teddybear12 posted has a little bit of information about diet, but it'd probably be best to see what your doctor recommends. 

I've also experienced having a bad taste in my mouth due to medication, so I can understand why this might also be putting you off of eating. Drinking plenty of water can help, and I've found sucking sweets or chewing gum helpful before, too, though I don't imagine that works for everyone. 

Lou27713

Hi Tori,
Thank you for your comment, all my consultant said re food was "in her experience everyone is different " it's trial and error the problem is if I eat anything and I start to get pain I panic! Which feels ridiculous 

Tori_Scope

I don't think that's ridiculous at all @Lou27713. Perhaps it'd be worth speaking to her again to see if you can get any support in reintroducing different foods back into your diet? Could being able to access someone reasonably regularly in case your symptoms flare up again, or to report any changes to, help to reduce some of your anxiety?

Lou27713

Thank you, I will ask at my next appointment on Monday, its nice to talk to people about this