Coping with Diverticulitis

‘A major step in patient education and participation in the management of diverticulitis’ – Professor Frank A. Frizelle

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.

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

Author Biography

Peter Cartwright has 17 years’ experience of working for patient and self-help associations, including as Assistant Director of the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. He is a former Trustee of the Bladder and Bowel Foundation, the main UK charity providing information and support to people with diverticular disease. Peter has an MSc in Microbiology, a BSc in Biomedicine and an MA in Sociology, and is the author of Coping Successfully with Ulcerative Colitis (Sheldon Press) and Probiotic Allies: How to maximise the health benefits of your microflora (Prentice Publishing). Peter is married with two grown-up children and two grandchildren.