My sympathies Kendall! I can tell you that besides being stung by a sting ray and having a caesarean section without anesthetics. ...the pain of diverticulitus is the worst! That is when it festers to the point of bursting! When that happens you are only inches away from having a bowel resection or a bag! The only remedy for the infection is antibiotics ( perferably the kind they treat antrax with)and that is on a a drip in the hospital for 10 to 14 days! The only way to manage the disease is to pay attention to your diet. Do not eat seeds, nuts ,grains or insoluable fiber for a year.. believe me it takes that long to heal your colon. I cannot eat berries ( including jam) rhubarb, peas, corn, cornmeal, tomatoes, cucumber, whole grain breads, brown rice, beans of any sort, potato skins ( especially new potatoes), or nuts of any kind. When you are experiencing pain, do not eat solid food. Water, tea, apple juice, clear soup and jello is about it. Usually during a flare up you'll notice very little bowel activity,,, when things start to move again and the pain is gone you should maintain a diet of refined foods for about a week. This includes white bread, rice, pasta, eggs, cream soups, cream puddings, plain yogurt etc. Once you feel better, you should introduce fibre slowly into your diet. Start your day with a high fibre cereal, drink lots of water and avoid the nasty things that can bring on another attack. Please remember Kendall that if you've been in pain for this long.. it means that your body has been suffering with a low grade infection for along time. Most people over the age of 40 have some degree of diverticulosis... because of our western diet. BUT diverticulitus is when the colon is inflamed. This is serious stuff.   Diverticulosis can be managed with diet... diverticulitus requires medical attention. When this is brought under control... I promise... you will feel so much better. Good luck Kendall.

LL