PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “back to normal” after recently being diagnosed with diverticulitis, Malacañang said on Monday.
The 68-year-old Marcos was admitted at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City on Jan. 22 due to “discomfort.”
“We can say that our president is doing well because he is currently in a meeting,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino in a press briefing, referring to Marcos’ private meeting with the government’s Economic and Development Council.
Castro also tagged as “fake news” reports circulating online that Marcos will be undergoing surgery related to the condition.
“We can say that he is back to normal,” she said.
The president himself earlier assured the public that “the problem has been fixed” and that he is already “feeling different” from when he was placed under observation.
What is diverticulitis?
In an interview with The Manila Times, Dr. Paolo Demapelis, a gastroenterologist, said diverticulosis is often discovered incidentally during colonoscopies, and it can sometimes lead to complications.
“Diverticulitis starts with what we call diverticulosis. Diverticulosis is an outpouching or pouches in the colon. It can happen to anyone, but it’s more common as we get older. Diverticulitis is the infection of the diverticulum or diverticular bleeding, or bleeding of the diverticulum,” Demapelis said.
He added that factors like a low-fiber diet can increase the risk of developing these pouches in the colon wall.
“Even if your digestive tract is okay, the older we get, the higher our risk for diverticulosis,” Demapelis said.
He added that diverticulitis can range from mild to severe. Mild cases, known as uncomplicated diverticular disease, often present as abdominal pain.
“It usually presents with just pain in the stomach. It can be in the right lower part or left lower part, but virtually anywhere in the stomach,” he said.
These can often be treated with oral antibiotics. More severe cases may require hospitalization, intravenous antibiotics, and further testing such as CT scans.
While there are concerns that diverticulitis is becoming more common among younger people, Demapelis said this is likely due to increased health-seeking behavior.
“It’s not necessarily more common in younger people, but it’s just seen because they are being diagnosed,” he added.
He noted that routine screening for diverticulosis is not recommended for everyone, as it is often found incidentally during colonoscopies performed for other reasons, such as colon cancer screening.
“It’s not cost-effective to screen for diverticulosis, but it’s cost-effective to go on a high-fiber diet,” Demapelis said, emphasizing that prevention is better than cure.
He said incorporating high-fiber foods in meals — such as fruits, vegetables, oats, chia seeds, and flax seeds — can help keep the digestive system healthy and may reduce the risk of developing diverticulosis and its complications.
