What It Is
Diverticulitis happens when small pouches in your intestine wall become inflamed or infected. During a flare, it can mean severe pain (usually lower left), fever, nausea, and a complete disruption to your life. Between flares, you're managing what you eat, watching for triggers, and trying not to live in fear of the next one.
Common Symptoms
Abdominal pain
Often lower left, sometimes constant, sometimes cramping
Bloating
Uncomfortable distension that clothes make worse
Changes in bowel habits
Constipation, diarrhoea, or alternating between both
Nausea
Feeling sick, especially during flares
Fever during flares
Your body fighting the inflammation or infection
Fatigue
Your body is fighting — exhaustion follows
What Actually Helps
Know your trigger foods
Everyone's different. Keep a food diary. Common triggers include seeds, nuts, popcorn, and high-FODMAP foods — but it varies.
Stay hydrated
Water, water, water. It keeps things moving and reduces strain on your gut.
Fibre (when not flaring)
Gradually increasing fibre between flares can help. During a flare, low-residue diet until things calm down.
Rest during flares
This isn't a "push through" situation. Rest, liquid diet if needed, and call your GP if fever appears.
Stress management
Stress doesn't cause diverticulitis but it absolutely makes it worse. Your gut and brain are directly connected.
Real Talk
Living with diverticulitis means living with uncertainty. You never know when a flare will hit. Social plans become tentative. Eating out becomes stressful. And because it's a "gut thing," people either don't understand or don't want to hear about it. Here, we talk about it openly. The embarrassing bits, the scary bits, the "I cancelled plans again" bits. No judgement.
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