NikkiDenning,50,a
university receptionist
who lives in Kent with her
husband and two grown-up
daughters, suffered from
constipation.
Constipation has been an issue for me my
whole life, but I never really realised it. I had
one bowel movement a day but had to strain
- it’s not something people really talk about.
I grew up eating a very low-fibre diet - lots
of white bread andprocessedfoodandnot
many fruits and vegetables.I’vestruggledwith
my weight over theyearsanddonelotsoffad
diets, too. I neverreallythoughtabouthow
much fibre I waseating,althoughI wasaware
that I probably didn’tdrinkenough only
two cups of tea orcoffeea dayandnothing
else. I just never seemedtofeelthirsty.
Last March, however,myeatinghabits
caught up with me.I developedpainful
stomach cramps thatcontinuedforseveral
days. My symptomsgraduallygotworse,andI
also felt very coldanddevelopeduncontrollable
shivering, I just couldn’tgetwarm,even
when I was wrappedina blanket.Inthe
end my mother calledanambulanceand
I was blue-lightedtohospital,whereI was
diagnosed with aperforatedbowelandsepsis.AN INFLAMEDBOWEL
My stomach lookedliketwoballoonshad
been inflated insideit.Myconsultanttoldme
unless I respondedtoIVantibioticsI might
need surgery to removetheinflamedpartof
my bowel and a stomabagwouldhavetobe
fitted. Luckily, I respondedtotheantibiotics
and was allowedhome,butI stilldidn’tknow
why it had happened.
A week later thepainsstartedagain,andmy
temperature begantospikeeveryfewhours,
so I went back toA&E.DoctorsdiscoveredI’d
developed a 5cm abcessinmyperitoneum,the
lining of the abdominalcavity.This,too,was
treated with antibiotics.Afterwards,I wastold
my low-fibre dietandtheconstipationit
caused had led tometodevelopdiverticular
disease. This is themedicalnamefora
weakness in the outermuscularlayerofthe
large intestine. It allowstheinnerlayerofthe
intestine to push throughtheoutermuscular
wall and form a pouchcalleda diverticulum.
If a diverticulum becomesinflamed,thisis
known as diverticulitis.Symptomsinclude
severe pain and tendernessinthelower
abdomen, and thishadbeentherootcause
of my abscess andperforatedbowel.
When I came outofhospitalI wasnervousMY EATING HABITS FINALLY
CAUGHT UP – MY LOW-FIBRE
DIET AND CONSTIPATION HAD
LED ME TO DEVELOP
DIVERTICULAR DISEASE
‘My constipation
caused an emergency
but a new
diet has cured me’
CASE STUDY
7
SUPER DIETS