4 Day Fast: Thanks, Diverticulitis

(Geoffrey) #21

So sorry you’re having to deal with this Robin. I don’t have any advice since I’ve never experienced what you’re going through. I’ve got diverticulosis but it’s never gone past that.
I’ve heard many stories that carnivores were cured of their diverticulitis but I guess that’s not always a guarantee.
My sympathies darlin, I hope you get over it soon.

(Robin) #22

Thank you! All things are better with a little sympathy and to be called darlin.

You’re gonna make a killing when you start that tee shirt line.

#23

I merely reacted to things in this comment, I still can’t say anything useful, of course but good luck and as little difficulties as possible, Robin! My wish doesn’t do much but I can’t do more, sorry.

Fortunately eggs has nothing to do with dairy :slight_smile:

At the moment, I go for minimal coffee and dairy. I mean, as little as possible for me. (I still have more than a bag of cream to eat before its close expiration date! You can’t argue with that, my SO doesn’t eat cream.)
They actually are hand in hand, at least coffee and cream. If I have one, I probably have the other.
I have difficulties but keep trying! :smiley:

Giving up dairy, that won’t happen. I only would do it if it would be life or death - or if it was easy but I am not quite there yet. I slowly diminish the amount, that is doable when there is a good reason!

I am so, so glad I am not sensitive to eggs or dairy. That would be difficult. I still try dairy free now and then but it never lasts long. I mean, 1 day, maybe, I think I had 2 once…?

I am not. It was about the chances of one day CONSIDERING giving up something. Of course bacon never will go there! It 's like we talked about me ever considering giving up eggs! Trying to give up coffee completely at least has some virtual possibility…

I see you never get bored of this :smiley: Good, I always smile when reading it…

I agree, we humans may change our views but we originally got taught, that is pretty stubborn and most people probably don’t even challenge it later. I do but even I experience that some stubborn old thinking is hard to change. Not so much dietary things in my case as I never was sure about many things there (it’s not like anything gave me education about nutrition, I picked up only a few things but mostly saw people eat in some way and I still find part of it quite right for me - like high-fat - and it was VERY obvious high-carb isn’t so great, I couldn’t ignore the constant feedback of my own body. and the numbers were off if I ate a ton of carbs and fat, that’s another strike and actually, one was enough) but there are odd exceptions. I do know some food isn’t good for me but I (probably emotionally? but maybe habitually too? I can’t figure it out right now) still can’t look at it and see it BAD. It’s good I can find peace in using lowered amounts and frequency… But if even I have difficulties, some ignorant, less health conscious, more authority respecting people have no chance to ever see what is good for them and for humans in general.

(John Bradshaw) #24

Robin,
My wife saw her GP (MD) recently, who is also a LOW-CARB Specialist. My wife has had really bad gut issues for decades (horrendous burping/constipation /diarrhoea). The Doc recommended cutting back on the amount of water she was having, from 2.5L to 1.2L per day. She said it was diluting some of her electrolytes.
Too much water causes more urine which reduces salt which then causes you to be thirsty and so the cycle compounds itself.
After reducing the water my wife felt a lot better within a day or two.
Just something for you to consider.

(Robin) #25

Thanks, John. I appreciate the info and will look into it.
I don’t have “gut” issues, per se. Aside from my occasional flare of diverticulitis. I have no problem with gas or bloating and am thankfully regular. But I will bring this up with my doctor.

(Central Florida Bob ) #26

I should thank you, Robin, for starting this thread and everyone for contributing to it - I found it an interesting read.

I’ve never been given a diagnosis of diverticulitis, but at my last colonoscopy five years ago they told me I had diverticulosis and I’ve been trying to understand how to keep -osis from becoming -itis. The doc said “eat hippopotamus levels of fiber” and while I’m one of the 25 or 30% that seems OK with fiber, I didn’t go to the epic levels he recommended. I have one teaspoon of psyllium a day (Metamucil).

Except that I think I’ve had several instances of a something that might be diverticulitis and it’s only by trying to put 2+2 together that I reach that conclusion. Infrequently, like maybe every month or two, I’d get a very sharp pain somewhere around my abdomen, but not directly feeling like my abdomen. That doesn’t even make sense to me, but it will be like maybe around the tops of my thighs, or around my butt, never in any area I think of as my abdomen. I have felt like I needed to get to a toilet, but nothing is ever there. The pain lasts a few minutes at most, and is pretty intense but then goes away.

These typically happen in the middle of the night, like a week or so ago it work me up at “midnight - thirty”. I woke up, ran to the bathroom and then realized it was just one of those sharp pain incidents. I can think of only one time it wasn’t in the middle of the night and that one was on a morning bike ride. That felt like I need to find a gas station or a 7-11, but then I realized it was one of those pains while riding.

I don’t know if it’s diverticulitis or just what it is. Other than crazy painful for a few minutes every month or so.

#27

sorry on this R! Hope u are improving! bad issue for many, Late to the game on chat on it,
but there is a way to prevent. inflammed comes from what foods we are eating to start that issue and then ya got those pockets that will easily trap undigested foods like nuts, seeds and undigestibles that have to go thru the system etc

my hubby had it severe for several yrs and in the end off all all smaller stuff like seasame seeds on a bun when he ate a fast food burger or if he watched intake of ‘small hard stuff’ he improved along with drinking natural organic Aloe juice which soothed his inflammed guts but in the end, if we prevent the inflame and pockets one can control the ‘worst of it’ but yes, one can’t cure it literally unless one knows their eating pattern and inflame issues etc, cause it is a food reaction and what your gut system is like and how you are sensitive now to that gut system causing you more troubles than another.

You know the route to go. Clean protein. Start there of course and heal the guts back and move forward again as you see fit,

but if infected anitbotics etc must come into play so fix you as required and then be sure ‘CLEAN’ eats come after that suits you best.

my hubby is not zc like me but we can control his issues working off a very big ‘what the hell he eats’ and did improve him alot.

best of luck forward for you!!! :slight_smile: hugs

(B Creighton) #28

You may not like my answer, but I believe psyllium powder will pull the stuff in pockets out. I have used it after I got food poisoning years ago, and had an appendectomy. Worked wonders. Everytime I got irregular, I used another psyllium “drink”(it becomes a gel). I know you are carni, but this hardly counts as a carb, since you can’t absorb it, and if anything it will become some short chain fatty acids in your gut. My two cents. I suggest this brand as it has been tested as being quite low in lead:
https://www.vitacost.com/yerba-prima-psyllium-husks-powder

(Robin) #29

I know for a fact that fibrous veggies were my first cause of developing diverticulosis. This was long before keto. Every one was raving about the celery juice diet. Juice being the operative word.
As is my nature, I assumed the whole dang thing must be even better. So I ate tons of raw celery. Boom.

My diet now is incredibly non-inflammatory. My previously arthritic joints will attest to that.

My best bet now for avoiding future flares is smaller meals, chewed into mush and enough water. I had been eating OMAD…. A big one.
Plus adding magnesium powder to my water keeps my stools on the loose side.

I’m over it now and feeling fine.

(Robin) #30

I’m going to look into this, for sure! Thanks.
Does it have a flavor? Wondering if I could add it my morning coffee like my Collgen powder?

(B Creighton) #31

not that I am aware of. There are brands which have flavors.

Yep, but it will turn the coffee into a gelatinous goo…

(Robin) #32

Well, Bob… this sounds nothing like diverticulitis.
That pain is absolutely positively in the area of your colon… most commonly the first experience is in the lower left side of your colon. Front/Tummy side. Not your back. At least that is the classic experience.

However, there are always exceptions.

If I were you, I’d be asking a doc about this since it’s fairly regular.
Sounds maddeningly mysterious!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #33

Another possibility is that the pain is simply from gas trying to negotiate a fairly sharp corner.

The good thing about a ketogenic diet is that the β-hydroxybutyrate has just as beneficial effect on the colon lining as the butyrate from fibre, if not better.

(KM) #34

Not really, no. The best way to take it if you’re just going to consume the powder is to add it to a very cold liquid and just chug it down as quickly as possible. I’ve left it sitting and it refuses to come out of the glass!

This stuff soaks up water like crazy, so make sure you are drinking plenty of water with and following it, or it can make you even more constipated.

#35

I agree. Drink it quickly! For those who are not carnivore, it is in a lot of DietDoctor baked recipes.https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/the-keto-bread Make sure you get the powder and not the husks. Sometimes it will turn baked goods purple. Not sure why but I have eaten them when that happened and was fine. @scaperdude I had no idea about the lead. Is it in all psyllium? I just did a Vitacost order but I think that is the brand I use

#36

No gaps really, but MiraLax helps since it specifically pulls water into the colon, much more of a car wash effect to flush everything out, and since it’s not a “real” laxative, you can beat that one up a little when you need too.