Coping with Diverticulitis

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 bo