Divirticulitis - My Husband

This was originally written on Friday, December 19, 2008:

Wow, what a week. I still haven't written my update because my husband was home Tuesday thru Friday from work due to having a condition called Diverticulitis!

It started on Monday when I had a horrible headache all day. I was sooo nauseous I couldn't see straight. As soon as Joe got home at 4 pm I went upstairs and took an hour-and-a-half nap. I felt better afterwards and it was a good thing because I had to be a single mom this week! (How in the world do stay at home moms whose husbands are deployed do this? I thought it was hard even with Joe's help for a few hours every evening, but this week I didn't even have that.)

Anyway, when Joe handed me Logan on Monday evening I noticed he wasn't moving/walking properly. He said that he'd had a hard time lifting Logan during that hour-and-a-half because there was a pain in his side. I asked if he'd pulled a muscle and he said it wasn't that kind of pain.

On Tuesday morning when he awoke he couldn't move AT ALL. The pain was so severe that he couldn't even get out of bed. I was like, "This sounds really serious, you need to go to the doctor!"

Somehow he made it to the doctor's office (not far from where we live; a guy recommended to us by my wonderful OBGYN) and the doctor said he was pretty sure Joe's colon was inflamed. He sent him to the hospital for a CT scan and, sure enough, that's what it was. Here is the medical definition:

Many people have small pouches in the lining of the colon, or large intestine, that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Multiple pouches are called diverticula. The condition of having diverticula is called diverticulosis. About 10 percent of Americans older than 40 have diverticulosis. The condition becomes more common as people age. About half of all people older than 60 have diverticulosis.

Diverticula are most common in the lower portion of the large intestine, called the sigmoid colon. When the pouches become inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. Ten to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis get diverticulitis.

The most common symptom of diverticulitis is abdominal pain. The most common sign on examination is tenderness in the lower left side of the abdomen. Usually, the pain is severe and comes on suddenly, but it can also be mild and become worse over several days. The intensity of the pain can fluctuate. A person may experience cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, or a change in bowel habits.

Diverticulitis can lead to bleeding; infections; small tears, called perforations; or blockages in the colon. These complications always require treatment to prevent them from progressing and causing serious illness.

Although not proven, the dominant theory is that a low-fiber diet causes diverticular disease. The disease was first noticed in the United States in the early 1900s, around the time processed foods were introduced into the American diet. Consumption of processed foods greatly reduced Americans’ fiber intake.

Diverticular disease is common in developed or industrialized countries—particularly the United States, England, and Australia—where low-fiber diets are consumed. The disease is rare in Asia and Africa, where most people eat high-fiber diets.

Doctors are not certain what causes diverticula to become inflamed. The inflammation may begin when bacteria or stool are caught in the diverticula. An attack of diverticulitis can develop suddenly and without warning.

Uncomplicated diverticulitis with mild symptoms usually requires the person to rest, take oral antibiotics, and be on a liquid diet for a period of time. Sometimes an attack of diverticulitis is serious enough to require a hospital stay, intravenous (IV) antibiotics, and possibly surgery.

Treatment for diverticulitis focuses on clearing up the inflammation and infection, resting the colon, and preventing or minimizing complications.
-----

This was pretty shocking. Joe has never had any issues with this area of his body before and is only 29. Although I've given him a hard time for years as far as not eating enough fruits and vegetables and too many processed foods, he's never had any signs that he was low on fiber--even this week. If it hadn't been for the over-the-top pain, he never would have known. But thank goodness he was diagnosed because, as you read, it can be serious if not treated. Even with treatment, this is forever something that he's going to have to be careful about because otherwise it is guaranteed to happen again.

All week he has been on an all-liquid diet, meaning he's only had water, juice, chicken broth, jello, and pudding for the past four days. Tomorrow he's going to switch to a low-fiber diet (he's supposed to actually avoid fiber until he's completely healed) and then you can be sure our house will be stocked with high fiber foods when he can return to a normal diet! (He'll also be taking a fiber supplement.)

I guess something positive to come out of this is that I'm motivated to cook healthier. Even though we've been eating organic the past year-and-a-half, I admit I've taken the easy way out and still don't do much cooking from scratch.

For those who know me well know that I've never been Betty Crocker. This is not to say I don't want to be--when I have tried complicated recipes, I usually enjoy the experience, and although I've messed up a lot, several recipes have come out just fine. But I'm self-conscious about cooking for others. I've always admired my grandmothers who spent their lives in the kitchen making everything homemade, and wished I could prepare meals like that for people. (My grandmothers are the best cooks ever; my dad's mom is German and my mom's mom is full-blooded Italian.)

In reality, I haven't had the patience to spend the necessary hours on developing this craft. And, if I mess up then I get frustrated and feel I should have been doing something else since there aren't enough hours in a day as it is. My philosophy used to be, if you like what you eat and it's pretty healthy, then why spend over a half an hour cooking? Also, Joe prefers to stick with his favorites rather than trying a variety of meals (he's kind of picky), and so there really hasn't been motivation.

During my pregnancy sickness, however, I became tired of the same old menu we'd been following for the previous 4.5 years. The thought of any of our usual meals caused me to scrunch up my nose. When I found myself watching the food channel while I was in bed with nothing else to do, I began to gain motivation for "creating" an entire new menu.

For my wedding I'd received several cookbooks that had made all of my kitchens look quite lovely. I never intended them to just be decorations, but sadly I can easily count how many recipes I've made from all of them. So, last year I went through every single one and wrote down ALL of the recipes I would first be interested in trying! Then, I went to the grocery store and bought ingredients for four of them!

I have to say I felt kind of dorky because I was so inexperienced. I'd never bought an onion. . .or a pepper. . .let alone did I know how to cut one correctly. The time I've spent in the kitchen has always been on desserts. I feel much more confident when it comes to baking cookies, brownies, lemon bars, etc. But buy something like a pork loin???? Still, I managed to get everything on my list and we had four terrific homemade meals -- and then the holidays came and I put my new plan to the wayside.

But now I have a son and I want Logan to be as healthy as possible. I can't help but feel partly to blame that Joe came down with this condition since I'm the one who buys the food and fixes it. I used to make his lunch, which at least gave him a healthier option than when I stopped two years ago and he started eating fast food most of the time for lunch. We don't go out to eat/order in as often as we did before Logan (back then it was 2-3 times a week), but when we do (once every other week) it's usually not nutritious.

Even though his cholesterol and those tests came back with flying colors over the summer, doesn't mean he can just eat whatever he wants and stay healthy. This is an indication that his body isn't getting enough fresh food. Obviously I eat a similar menu which means I'm not either, so maybe I'm on the brink of getting this as well. Rather than wait to see if it happens, I'd like to take this opportunity to change my eating habits. Especially, since Logan's going to start eating our food soon--I want him to see us as good examples and for me to feel I'm doing the best I can with having healthy food for him. Right now I know I can do better. So after the new year I'll be posting new recipes that I will try to keep myself accountable :)

Thankfully, Joe has been feeling better the past 24 hours. He had a bad reaction to the first medication that he was on Tuesday & Wednesday, but has had no side effects with the second set Wednesday night thru today. He'll be on it until the 28th which means he probably won't be able to enjoy Christmas food by Thursday. :( He said he's used to it since one Christmas he had jaw surgery, another one had his wisdom teeth removed, and more than once had the flu.

Tomorrow's going to be the first day that he tries to return to the land of the living, as we plan to take Logan to the mall to sit on Santa's lap and to finish our Christmas shopping. Hope you all are staying healthy!!!!!