I'm being really careful with my diet. I tried this diet my brother told me about and I did really well on it. Still had all the joint stuff but my digestion was working well until I went off the diet and ended up with diverticulitis again. It's really a simple diet and I never felt hungry on it. It basically eliminates all foods that are known to be be allergenic (dairy, eggs, gluten, etc.). It's called the UltraSimple diet. I'm back on it but modified a little. I still have the lemon and olive oil "shot" in the morning, a smoothie with rice milk, rice protein powder, flaxseed, and fruit (I don't use bananas because I am allergic to those), then vegetable broth mid morning, 2 cups of well cooked veggies and 1/2 cup brown rice for lunch, veggie broth mid afternoon, and 5 oz of protein (chicken or white fish for me) with 2 cups of well cooked veggies and 1/2 cup brown rice. If you feel hungry you can have another smoothie in the afternoon or after dinner. The kinds of veggies you can have are specific but definitely a good variety. It really seems to help me. I didn't read the book but this diet is said to create a more alkaline environment in our body which helps with inflammation and disease. I did have more energy by the end of our 7 day diet. I stayed on it a couple of weeks longer than my brother and SIL and I was feeling pretty good until I started introducing other foods. Gluten seems to be a big no-no for me, even in small amounts.

Erin - Saying some prayers for your mom as well as you and your family.

I'm not sure what the joint stuff is but I am leaning more towards the rheumatologist dx of lupus. It does seem to fit and I'm wondering if some of the digestive issues I'm having are related to that. It just seems that the diverticulitis is inflammatory in nature and not so much an infection.

I try to avoid ibuprofen if I can and try to manage without it. It upsets my digestive system as well and that doesn't feel too good. It's a catch 22 and finding something that works is hard. I am planning on starting the Plaquenil soon as I just don't know what else to do. However, they say it can take up to 6 months to start working with some noticeable difference within 2 months. Sigh. But I'm really at a loss. I hope you too find something that will work for you.

Wiz - What the heck? They won't give you a note that you can sit down but feel it's okay for you to go to work on Percocet? Huh?!?! I've only taken hydrocodone once and it knocked me out cold. Never again will I take it, if I can avoid it. I hope that your manager can help you get in to a management type position soon. How about doing online sales/support? Would the pay be the same?

Sally - Sorry if my whine was a little over kill. I just laid it all out there because, well, it sometimes just sucks for all of us and I know many of you can understand where I'm coming from.