When we age, we develop little "pockets" that protrude off our colons. That's called diverticulosis. The older we get, the more pockets, and by the time we're 80, all of us -- that's 100% of the American population -- will have diverticulosis. You don't know you have it unless you have a colonoscopy.
When these little pocket get infected, then it's called diverticulitis. The pain is excruciating, stabbing pain in the very lower part of our gut, down by our ovaries, and it's so bad you're doubled over and have to hold onto the furniture. No IBS medication will help, not even Donnatal. When you have diverticulitis, you know it! You just wanna go to the hospital, that's all you care about. They give you a catscan, which locates the infected pockets.
When you develop a lot of these pockets, and they get infected more than, say, four times, the GI wants to surgically remove the portion of your colon where these pockets are located. After only one attack, my GI pushed for the surgery. When I refused, that's when he was no longer interested in my welfare and showed me the door -- and I never heard from him again; he even refused prescibing medication for me.
Me thinks perhaps some GIs just like to operate.....
Any-who, antibiotics kill the infection, so the diverticulitis goes away, but the diverticulosis is always with you, just waiting for the next attack.... The only resource you have is to cut all all seeds and nuts from your diet; those things love to get stuck in those little pockets (or "diverticuli").
Lovely subject, ain't it?
Ew.
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis
