Diverticulitis is a situation where there have been spasms in the large bowel preventing a free passage of fecal matter for periods of time. This stasis can result in areas of the bowel becoming very irritated and sore and the lining, which protects the muscular walls being eaten away...
GastroIntestinal Tract (GIT) health depends on all the organs supporting the digestive system performing in harmony and the gut itself functioning calmly and moving food along through the various stages of digestion until it is converted into a normal stool in the descending colon and discharged.
These sore places in turn tend to spasm to try to protect themselves from further irritation and can develop in pockets with irritated linings where liquid and fecal matter can become trapped, further compounding the situation.
If untreated a severely ulcerated and pocketed bowel can result causing periodic or continual discomfort and bloating and greater and lesser degrees of pain. Such serious breakdown of the tissues of the bowel can also cause waste products to be recycled into the blood stream and ultimately result in toxaemia. It is at this stage that the surgical removal of a section of bowel may become necessary.
The original reasons for this spasm pattern can be emotional...
The Diverticulitis sufferer is most likely to be a person who finds it uncomfortable to deal with emotional situations affecting them openly. Rather than express their worries or stand up for themselves, they try to deal with their stresses on their own, internally. This results in interference with the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for peristalsis, the regular muscular spasms which transport digesting material all the way through the system.
The origin of most gastrointestinal problems from reflux at the top end to piles at the bottom end is rooted in this same sort of nervous system interference with normal gut functioning.
Treatment therefore must include provision for reducing the tendency to spasm by relaxing the parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers peristalsis. It also needs to support the healing of the damaged areas of bowel lining.
I always try to explain to my patients in terms they can relate to the sorts of emotional pre-conditions which seem to be involved in Diverticulitis and encourage them to make whatever changes are necessary to alter this gut reaction to stress.
McDowells Product Recommendations
Firstly, a course of Slippery Elm Bark Powder.
One dessertspoon daily mixed into a paste with cold Chamomile Tea and taken for a continuous period of 12 weeks. Slippery Elm provides a protective lining to the mucosal lining of the gastrointestinal system, and in 12 weeks will completely heal any irritated pockets.
Secondly, a herbal mixture to support the healing is made up from the following ingredients: Chamomile, Slippery Elm, Elecampane, Alfalfa, Uva Ursi and St Mary's Thistle with the Bach Flower Remedies Walnut, Agrimony and Wild Oat. This mix is taken at a dose rate of 20 drops three times daily in a cup of cold chamomile tea.
The treatment must be maintained initially for at least 3 months and most folk find that when they have finished with the Slippery Elm they generally benefit further from maintaining the herbal tonic as a supplement for longer, usually until their bowel behaviour has been totally normal for 6 months or more.
