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Diverticulosis and IBS driving me insane!

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/30/2013 10:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi I'm hoping some of you can give me some advice on how to deal with these two debilitating diseases.

Three years ago I was diagnosed with diverticulosis and was already suffering from IBS for years.
My gastroenterologist prescribed Asacol EC 400 MG tabs. 2 tabs, 3x's a day.
I've was taking the Asacol for three years with some success. I'd get flair ups whenever I ate something I knew I shouldn't have but for the most part the Asacol was doing the job.

Now my insurance won't pay for the newer version of the tabs which are very expensive. So my doctor prescribed Delsicol DR 400 mg. 2 caps three x's a day.
This drug had no success on stopping the cramping and diarrhea.
So he then prescribed Apriso ER 0.375 gram caps.
This medication is also not working. In fact my diarrhea and cramping is getting progressively worse. Consequently I am suffering very much.

Can someone recamend some other drug or natural remedies?
Posted 12/30/2013 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
There are a lot of different mesalamines on the market. I take balsalazide, which is a generic of Colazal. Surely your insurance company would cover that. I don't know why a mesalamine would help with diverticulosis but I suppose it's worth a shot.
Posted 12/30/2013 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
Little confused. 5ASA drugs like asacol are for colitis. Not used for diverticulosis or IBS. Maybe you have UC or Diverticular colitis?. Balasalzide(colazal) and mesalimine enemas are usually generics. You might also have diverticulitis which is an infection of the diverticulum. This is normally treated with antibiotics or surgery. You should call the doctors office and get clarification.
Posted 12/30/2013 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
I was wondering the same thing as AZ. It's a shame your insurance won't cover Asacol HD. That's kind of stupid in a way because the medicine is the same exact price as the old Asacol except for the fact that it is twice the cost but you take half the pills as the old Asacol, equaling the same price. Did you try taking the Delzicol capsules apart and just taking the inside? Inside the capsule is one of the old Asacol pills.
Posted 12/31/2013 12:57 AM (GMT 0)
Here's a little FYI for y'all :) Diverticulosis (but mostly in Diverticulitis) can cause inflammation in the large intestine around the pockets of the diverticulae. The 5-ASA's we take reduces inflammation for our Uc but it can also help with the inflammation found in diverticulosis as well as ease inflammation found in other types of colitis.

Jimmychick, do you know how severe your Diverticulosis is? If the pockets are deep and causing more issues than not, have you talked to your doc about resections? But I also vote for the Basalazide like Kazbern mentioned. Most insurances will cover this med. Have you looked at your diet lately? Have you been avoiding the no-no foods for Diverticulosis such as seeds, nuts, popcorn, celery and corn? (there is some literature that states that seeds and nuts have no effect on Diverticulosis, but I know it kills me! A little ole pickle seed sent me to the hospital!). As with the IBS, it helps if you can find your trigger foods. Try keeping a food diary and see if any certain food causes you issues. Write everything down even if it's a piece of chewing gum. But keep in mind that it can take 12-72 hours before a food reaches our intestines. Also a high fiber diet is recommended for both IBS and Diverticulosis, have you been following a high fiber diet?
Posted 12/31/2013 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Diet modification is what I do for IBS. Keep a food journal and when you find the foods that cause it don't eat them. Easier said than done, huh? Took me a long time to figure some of them out, in some cases because they didn't react every time I ate them, but eventually it became clear.

My UC did not allow me to eat a high fiber diet but if you can then do that.

I take Balsalazide for inflammation but I know it has no effect on IBS.
For cramping Bentyl has always been my go to med. Cheap, cheap,cheap.
Posted 12/31/2013 5:21 AM (GMT 0)
Imagardener2 I am starting to do what you advised on keeping a food journal. It's the only way to figure out what triggers my flair ups.My doctor told me that eating seeds,corn,popcorn and nuts were ok? But I am not going to eat any of those foods again!

I do take Bentyl for cramping and it does usually work but this particular flair up is very bad and so I did call my doctor but he is so booked up I won't be able to see him until Feb 12th 2014!
He told me my diverticulosis is not sever but man you could of fooled me! He also said I don't have UC and as far as I know I don't have Diverticular colitis?

I have just restarted taking Metamucil again to see if it can really help me because it didn't really do much when I first started to take it last summer? I am eating a cereal in the morning that has flax,wheat and oats along with some soy milk. Hoping it helps but so far no good results. Right now the only thing I can eat is apple sauce. This really stinks!

Garylouisville I did take the Delsicole capsule apart and yes there is an Asacole tab inside it? Don't understand why it didn't seem to help me? Is it really an Asacole tab? And why does taking the capsule off of it make a difference?

Do you all think if I took the balsalazide it would help me out? I have to suggest this to my doctor.

Thanks for all your replies!
Posted 12/31/2013 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
Lol my Gi told me that mine is not severe either so I would hate to see what severe is! I've had to go to the ER 3 times when I was first diagnosed because I also did what my doc told me I could do (eat seeds, nuts etc). I learned the hard way that the literature doesn't speak for us all. Since avoiding those things, my life has been MUCH easier.

I also have IBS and I found it's quite a tricky little bugger to figure out. Some foods bother me and than it doesn't. But I managed to narrow down the foods to avoid or do in moderation.
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