Kinda OT - Diverticulitis

[Stephen Baker]

Having just discovered yesterday that my current woes are due to this
obnoxious-sounding condition, I have to ask

a) does anyone else out there have this,
and
b) if so, does it affect your biking. Or, more importantly, does your biking
affect the condition.

Replies by email would be fine, so as not to gross out the other denizens of
this ng.

Thanks,

Steve

[cyclist101]

Stephen Baker wrote:

You have a lot of courage to tell us of your intestinal complaints and
use your name in the process. :-)

> Having just discovered yesterday that my current woes are due to this
> obnoxious-sounding condition, I have to ask

Obnoxious-sounding? Try obnoxious. Little sacs in your intestines called
diverticula are impacted with feces, man, and have become infected. That
has to hurt!

> a) does anyone else out there have this,

I don't, but my step-mother has for some time now.

> and
> b) if so, does it affect your biking. Or, more importantly, does your biking
> affect the condition.

The old woman used to ride a mountain bike (she's developed all kinds of
other maladies in her older age), leisurely of course, but it never
stopped her from plodding around. That little bit of exercise, which is
about all she ever got, probably helped more than it hurt. I never heard
her complain about the bike aggravating her, ummm, condition.

The only way I can see how it can affect your riding is that your doctor
has probably placed you on a very high fiber diet which could make
nature call while you're out on your bike. Oh yeah, you'll probably
experience some bloating and gas (drastic gas) until your intestines
adjust if you're not used to a high fiber diet. At least you don't pedal
with your intestines, but everything's better when they work right.

I'll give you the same advice a dirty old bartender told me when I was
12, "If it feels good, do it. If it hurts, don't." I'm sure that's as
apropos for biking with diverticulitis as it was for whatever he was
talking about. 0:-)

> Replies by email would be fine, so as not to gross out the other denizens of
> this ng.

And ruin the opportunity of publicly discussing intestinal health? Not
on your life!

[Stephen Baker]

cyclist101 says:

>You have a lot of courage to tell us of your intestinal complaints

That's called "guts", dude.... ;-)

>and
>use your name in the process. :-)

"Like the pine trees lining the winding road....."

>Try obnoxious.

Ummmmmm - yeah....

>Little sacs in your intestines called
><snip>
> That
>has to hurt!

Uh-huh!

>That little bit of exercise, which is
>about all she ever got, probably helped more than it hurt. I never heard
>her complain about the bike aggravating her, ummm, condition.

i'm more worried about the "bouncing", shall we say, upsetting the diverticula
to the point of bursting. But the "If it hurts, don't" thing should help
there.

Thanks for the reply.

Steve

[Taywood]

"Stephen Baker" > wrote in message
...
> Having just discovered yesterday that my current woes are due to this
> obnoxious-sounding condition, I have to ask
>
> a) does anyone else out there have this,
> and
> b) if so, does it affect your biking. Or, more importantly, does your
biking
> affect the condition.
>
> Replies by email would be fine, so as not to gross out the other
denizens of
> this ng.

What meds are you on and what dietary changes have you made.
Did the doc give you any advice about active sports.
Mike

[Stephen Baker]

Taywood says:

>What meds are you on and what dietary changes have you made.

Hefty antibiotics. dietary changes are waiting until I'm off the antibiotics,
as they have theor own specific diet so my stomach survives them ;-(

>Did the doc give you any advice about active sports.

Not yet. I asked about biking, but he didn't seem too worried. Mind you, he's
a runner and swimmer, so what TF does he know ;-)
I'm more interested in MTB-ers experiences at this point (since it will be a
few days till I feel up to hitting the saddle again) which I can combine with
"Doctor's Orders" to try to figure out if I should worry or not.
The reason i ask is that there is history of the diverticulae bursting in the
family, resulting in some very unpleasant cutting and sewing procedures. I
don't want to tempt Providence any more than i have to, and would rather stop
riding off road than risk being shuttled out with a split lower intestine. ;-)

Steve

[Peter]

I'm an internal medicine doc who is also an avid biker.
Your condition should not affect your riding AT ALL. Don't worry
about doing any damage to your diverticuli by riding - just avoid
riding when you're having a full blown attack.
Make sure you follow your doc's dietary orders to prevent the
condition from getting worse...the main thing you have to do is
increase your fiber intake to prevent constipation.



(Stephen Baker) wrote in message >...
> Taywood says:
>
> >What meds are you on and what dietary changes have you made.
>
> Hefty antibiotics. dietary changes are waiting until I'm off the antibiotics,
> as they have theor own specific diet so my stomach survives them ;-(
>
> >Did the doc give you any advice about active sports.
>
> Not yet. I asked about biking, but he didn't seem too worried. Mind you, he's
> a runner and swimmer, so what TF does he know ;-)
> I'm more interested in MTB-ers experiences at this point (since it will be a
> few days till I feel up to hitting the saddle again) which I can combine with
> "Doctor's Orders" to try to figure out if I should worry or not.
> The reason i ask is that there is history of the diverticulae bursting in the
> family, resulting in some very unpleasant cutting and sewing procedures. I
> don't want to tempt Providence any more than i have to, and would rather stop
> riding off road than risk being shuttled out with a split lower intestine. ;-)
>
> Steve

[Stephen Baker]

Peter says:

>I'm an internal medicine doc who is also an avid biker.
>Your condition should not affect your riding AT ALL.

<snip>

....the main thing you have to do is
>increase your fiber intake to prevent constipation.

Thanks, Peter. That is _exactly_ what I needed to know.

Steve

[Neil Rogers]

(Stephen Baker) wrote in
:

> Peter says:
>
>>I'm an internal medicine doc who is also an avid biker.
>>Your condition should not affect your riding AT ALL.
>
> <snip>
>
> ...the main thing you have to do is
>>increase your fiber intake to prevent constipation.
>
> Thanks, Peter. That is _exactly_ what I needed to know.
>
> Steve
>

Just to make a point. Diverticular disease is a very common condition
that results in outpouchings or "herniations" of the large bowel wall.
These outpouchings are called 'diverticulae.' They are usually associated
with constipation and the typical North American diet does not help much.
I agree that high fibre is the right answer. In this state, patients
feel no pain and most people are not aware that they have the disorder.
Occasionally diverticulae can bleed and this causes a great deal of alarm
for patients but is is usually nothing to worry about.

Diverticulosis is the condition mentioned above. DiverticulITIS is what
happens when one of those outpouchings gets blocked and infected. THEN,
a patient will experience a great deal of pain, usually in the left lower
part of the abdomen. The infection is usually treated with antibiotics
and rarely with surgery. It is during the 'ITIS' part of the disorder
that a diverticulum is at risk of rupturing, whereupon surgery is almost
always necessary.

So, in answer to your question, diverticulosis itself is no concern for
mountain biking. Diverticulitis, should it develop, might be a reason
not to mountain bike during the flare up. Most people, when they have
severe abdominal pain and fever don't really feel like biking anyway.

If you have had diverticulitis, and the pain and fever has settled fully,
I don't think there is any reason not to bike.