Diverticulitis

[LongevitySeeker]

Originally Posted by rothbear

I just actually found this thread and read some interesting things.

Back in early 2018 I had an attack on my right side that they thought was appendicitis. Did a CAT scan and found an intestinal abcess. I went in to the hospital and had to have a drainage tube put in with IV antibiotics for a month. Things seem to clear up and then the end of October all of a sudden I doubled up in pain with diarrhea and vomiting and had to call an ambulance because hubby was away on business. Another CAT scan showed a perforation and I was immediately sent into surgery and ended up with a colostomy for 6 months. When I told the surgeon about my diet and said I loved fruits and veggies he was astounded that even with fiber I had this problem. Had a reversal in May of 2019 and ended up developing 3 (ended up being 5) hernias. Surgeon said that was out of his range of expertise and he sent me off to a nationally renowned team of gastroenterologist and plastic surgeon and ended up with an abdominal reconstruction in October of 2019. That went very well, thank goodness, and I was advised to take a probiotic as well as moderate fiber to keep things moving. I also take stool softeners to avoid constipation. I was also told I needed to lose weight in order to avoid having a "relapse" as the mesh they put in was one specially made for the plastic surgeon and would dissolve. I have lost 60# but only by doing "dirty" keto. I don't go overboard on the fats, such as eating "fat bombs" or putting butter in my hot beverages, but I do a reasonable diet and just avoid all sugars, high starch veggies and rice and breads. So far, so good. I am due for my next routine colonoscopy next year (my Dad had colon cancer) and I'm sure they will do a thorough check then. The probiotic I take is Digestive Advantage Intensive Bowel Support.

One thing I thought odd....when discussing diet with the first surgeon I said something about not eating nuts or seeds and he said that there was no overwheming evidence that seeds and nuts caused major problems. He said that as long as things kept moving along well it would be fine. Everyone is different in how they tolerate and digest things. He said to just make sure that anything I eat is well chewed.

Perforations can be caused by a colonoscopy. As people age, their intestines/colon get progressively thinner and can be easily perforated.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2811793/

"Patients over 75 years of age also have an approximately 4-6 fold rise in the colonoscopic perforation (CP) rate as apposed to younger patients. Possible explanations for an increased rate of CP in patients with advanced age include the fact that the elderly have a declining colonic wall mechanical strength as recognized in colonic diverticular diseases....."