Ileostomy and diverticulitis

Sam61

Hi Sam

I'm very sorry to read your post and that you've were passed around by three nurses this afternoon without someone suggesting an examination by a doctor.

When you had diverticulitis in the past did you have the same symptoms. Have you any other symptoms, I know you said you feel well in yourself, but is there anything else that's causing you discomfort.

I should mention that I'm not a doctor and anything I say should NOT be taken as medical advice but just my observations.

You are correct that because of your ileostomy food should not be getting near your colon at your left side so watching what you eat is irrelevant. Pains in the area you are talking about can be an indication that something is not right and an examination by a doctor could exclude anything else.

I have two suggestions for 

1. Phone as soon as you read this, hopefully before 8 pm, 0808 808 0000 and ask to speak to one of the specialist nurses and explain the problem and ask for advice but I am afraid that the advice you will receive will probably  be the same as No 2 below.

2. Phone NHS 111 as soon as possible and explain the problem to the advisor who answers, hopefully he/she will make arrangements for the duty doctor to contact you and again hopefully the doctor will visit you or make other arrangements for you to have medical attention, it maybe something silly like the chemo affecting your bowels but you need to have it investigated especially as the nurses have said it could be a flare up of diverticulitis.

There is a third suggestion and that is you present yourself to A&E under your own steam but in all honestly I think the way to go is No 2 above and phone NHS 111 (or the equivalent if you live in the other 3 countries of the UK).

I hope you get it resolved soon and you can start to get on with your life very quickly

If I can ask you to do one thing for me when you have time and are able would it be possible to come back to me and let me know how you got on.

Good luck in whatever path you follow this evening

Ian

RHi

Thanks for your help last night. I called the Macmillan helpline and on their advice got an appointment with my GP this morning

Looks like in my case food does still circulate past the areas where I’ve had diverticulitis, so looks like I’ve had a flare up again. So it’s back to the beige diet and adding foods back in slowly to see what sets me off. He’s also put me back on some tablets I was taking before.

I know our NHS are great and overworked but I really think if sometimes someone would take the time to listen and talk to you as an individual, rather than trying to get you off the phone ASAP, it could save them time - and make patients feel better. Even the GP said now I’ve got the major things over with, I’m focusing on minor things, but ongoing discomfort doesn’t feel minor when you don’t know what’s causing it.

Thanks again

Sam61

Hi Sam

Thanks for getting back to me and that you were given advice to see your GP and hey ho he confirmed your suspicions and has started treatment. I must admit I did not know about still being able to bypass the ileum.

I tend to agree with you about people not listening to you and only picking up half the story or in my case recently less than a ⅕th, I am suffering from pains in my feet, ankles, lower leg, upper leg and hip and visited my doctor and pointed as I was explaining the points of pain, the doctor decided to send me for a xray and off I trotted to the hospital to have it done, when I arrived the radiologist said so it's the right ankle to be xrayed my response no it's my full right leg, sorry the form says right ankle go back to your GP. But having said this I have found that when they find something wrong they are not slow in getting me into hospital, suppose taking the rough with smooth is better than nothing.

Do you keep a food diary to record everything you eat and the symptoms you experience it's very helpful to you and others to eliminate foods that cause problems.

In case you missed this a few weeks ago here's another copy of a food diary I came across which may be of help to you and your nurses (if they're interested!)

Food Symptoms Diary

Don't hesitate to contact me again if you need any more help on anything

Regards

Ian

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