Coping with Diverticulitis: Soothe and Heal Your Gut

by Peter Cartwright

Overview

Diverticular disease (DD) is a digestive disorder caused by enflamed diverticula, or pouches, in the colon. A common cause is constipation due to lack of fibre in the diet. Diverticulitis is very common, with about 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the UK and 300,000 in the USA. Symptoms are usually persistent abdominal pain plus disturbed bowel function (constipation or diarrhoea or alternating between the two). Diverticulitis sometimes becomes very severe leading to perforation of the bowel, forming an abscess or rarely peritonitis. This best-selling book looks at the treatment and self-management of DD - while the doctor can help, particularly with antibiotics, much can be done by the individual to minimise the effects of this condition.
This new edition updates this best-selling book. Topics include:
The medical treatment of diverticular disease
Probiotics (‘good’ or ‘friendly’ live bacteria and yeasts said to be good for digestive health
The increase of diverticular disease in the population
Effects of diverticular disease

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847094384
Publisher:	John Murray Press
Publication date:	09/15/2016
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	734,231
File size:	792 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter Cartwright has 20 years experience of working for patient and self-help associations, as Assistant Director of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, Director of the British Stammering Association and National Development Officer of the Self-Help Alliance. He is a Trustee of the Bladder & Bowel Foundation. Peter has an MSc in Microbiology and an MA in Sociology. He is the author of three books for the general public on intestinal health, two of them for Sheldon. He has given over 40 lectures on DD and on probiotics to doctors in 10 countries.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgements ix

Note to the reader x

Introduction - the basics of diverticulitis 1

1 What causes diverticular disease? 13

2 Diagnosis and tests 28

3 Symptoms and treatments 40

4 Diet 53

5 Living with diverticular disease 68

6 Surgery 77

7 Living with a stoma 90

8 Special circumstances 101

9 Future developments 108

Useful addresses 121

Further reading 123

Index 125