Diverticular Disease: What it is and How to Treat It

The first part of the problem is called diverticulosis. The second part is called diverticulitis.

The symptoms of diverticulosis may be mild or actually nonexistent so that you do not even know you have it unless it is seen on an x-ray film or during a colonoscopy or perhaps a sigmoidoscopy. If you do have symptoms they may mimic other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. If you have reoccurring constipation, mild abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, and bloating you will want to keep a record of your bowel movements to take to your doctor with you so you can discuss the possibility of diverticulosis. I know, this is not something most people are eagar to talk about. Seems like a kind of private matter; but remember this is your doctor you want to discuss this with.

Diverticula are little pouches or pockets that form in the walls of the colon. There is some debate about why the pouches develop but common medical thought is that it is caused by increased pressure in the large intestine. In simple terms, that means when you get constipated or when you ignore the need to move your bowels because it is an inconvenient time and the pressure builds up. Try to develope a routine time when you go to the room of neccesity to have a bowel movement. Many people train themselves to go every morning just after that first cup of coffee and before starting the days activities.

Usually the musculature in the large intestine moves waste product along in rhythmic waves by contracting and relaxing. When you are constipated the waste material gets too hard and dry to move along easily and the extra pressure can cause weak or overly stressed areas to balloon into little pouches. The pouches are more likely to form when a person does not exercise enough, when there are major changes in lifestyle and routines, during pregnancy, when a person is plagued with stress or is consistently anxious, when regular bowel habits are not adhered to, and sometimes as a side effect of medications.

The second part of the diverticular disease equation is called diverticulitis. Any time you see the suffix "itis" attached to an anatomical word it means "an inflammation of" that body part. Diverticulitis then refers to the inflammation of the little pouches in the colon that can occur when certain foods or a bout of constipation forces material into one of the pouches and it gets trapped and putrefies.

Diverticulitis can be a serious condition that may range from abdominal pain and cramping that is severe enough to interfere with your normal activities to nausea, vomiting, fever and severe constipation. If your bowel is compromised by frequent bouts of inflammation or you have a severely inflamed area of bowel and are constipated and unable to move the waste product that is causing the problem you can actually have a perforation of the bowel which is life threatening.

If you experience reoccurring problems and think you may have diverticular disease you must see your doctor. Be prepared to give a history of your bowel habits, your dietary habits, exercise patterns and a history of the progression of the symptoms. Your doctor will probably want to order blood tests to see if your white blood cell count is up (an indication of infection), x-rays of your abdomen, and perhaps a colonoscopy.

If your diagnosis is diverticulosis, meaning you have the little pouches but they are not yet inflamed, your doctor may recommend that you increase your activity, drink more water, and increase the soluble fiber in your diet. Some foods, while high in fiber, may be irritating to your already stressed colon. Nuts, corn, grape seeds, and some other common foods can pass thru the digestive tract essentially whole and can get lodged in diverticula and should be avoided while you are symptomatic. Your doctor can give you a list of acceptable fiber sources.

If the diagnosis is diverticulitis, which means you have one or more inflamed pouches you may be prescribed antibiotics and put on a liquid diet to allow your stressed colon to heal. If the inflammation is severe or if you have repeated and frequent attacks your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the damaged section of the bowel.

The best course of action of course is to prevent the problem in the first place. Preventing and managing diverticular disease is relatively straightforward.

A.) Eat more fiber: ½ cup of spinach has 3.5 grams of dietary fiber; ½ cup of pinto beans has 7.7 grams of fiber, 1 cup of dried prunes has a whopping 12.1 grams of fiber. Read the nutrition labels on your grocery purchases and be sure to provide for 38 grams of fiber a day for men and 25 grams of fiber for women.

B.) Drink more water. You should drink more water as the weather warms up and your fluid intake should avoid caffeine, sugar, and other additives....good old water and lots of it, is the key to vibrant good health of your whole body, but especially your colon. (Yep think of that ...a vibrant colon).

C.) Do not ignore the body's cues. When you feel the urge to use the facility of convenience do not put it off. The consequences can actually have long term health affects that you do not want to deal with.

D.) Exercise regularly. Exercise aids digestion, stimulates bowel action and increases blood flow which helps keep the bowel healthy.

Working as a surgical nurse in a large hospital in Portland, Oregon has given me a unique understanding of how people get into trouble with chronic bowel problems. Our lifestyles often have us in rush hour traffic when the urge to go to the toilet occurs. Then we arrive at the office and there is the morning rush of work and the body gives up giving signals. The day is busy, sometimes coupled with hot weather, and it is easy to forget to drink enough water. Our days are stress filled, so anxiety, lack of exercise, and the commute home all combine to create constipation. The pattern is repeated over and over because people from all walks of life are busy doing what people do and not paying attention to the little schedule changes that would allow them to take care of themselves in a regular and predictable way.

To avoid the problems associated with diverticular disease get in the habit of eating fiber at every meal, drink plenty of fluids, and exercise regularly.