As a brief note, I took a very long time — more than a year — before writing this blog post because I wanted to be sure about what I’ve experienced. But I believe it to be correct, so I’m now sharing it here.
Collagen and diverticula pain
In short, I believe that collagen products like these — which I have bought many times on Amazon, as shown below — help to significantly diverticula/diverticulosis pain:
And when I say significantly, I mean like an 80% reduction in diverticula/diverticulosis pain.
Please note that if you are currently dealing with diverticulitis, you need to be in a hospital — as I was — or taking antibiotics that are prescribed by a qualified doctor (gastroenterologist). I state this as someone who has had a PICC line in his arm because of a diverticulitis infection. To be clear, collagen is not going to do anything to help with a diverticulitis infection. (And if you have an infection, this is no time to fool around; an infection can cause your colon to rupture, and that can cause sepsis and kill you.)
Both products are unflavored, though of course they have a little flavor in them. Jennifer Aniston used to be a spokesperson for Vital Proteins, though I don’t know if she is any more.
Update: February, 2023
I spent about seven weeks traveling from November, 2022, to January, 2023, and during that time (a) I had relatives who wanted me to eat meat and other foods that are hard to digest, and (b) I did not have my collagen supplement with me during this time. By the time I got home in mid-January, I ended up at the ER of a local hospital with excruciating colon pain.
If I was unsure about collagen supplements before then, I’m not anymore.
Update: March, 2022
As a brief update to my original post, I feel like I need to add these statements:
- A medication named Trulance is enormously important to how I feel today. It helps to relieve pressure in the colon, which in turn reduces diverticula pain. (Trulance works much better than Linzess for me.)
- I probably also take more Miralax on a daily basis than 99% of the population.
- I believe that collagen is an important supplement to Trulance, Miralax, and proper diet and exercise.
- The combination of these items has reduced my diverticula pain probably 80-90%, and reduced diverticulosis events by 80-90% as well.
I’ll write more about these statements/beliefs over time, but since I don’t have much time atm, I just wanted to get this out here. I just felt it was important to say that collagen is a part of the solution, not the entire solution.
Types of collagen are important
On a personal note, I switched away from Vital Proteins because they do not make it clear what types of collagen are in their product (see below for more information on types). That being said, I did notice that I had reduced diverticula pain when I used their product.
But being an engineer by training, I prefer easy to read labels, and the Collagen Peptides Powder makes it clear that their product includes both Type I and Type III collagen.
In theory, a product that also contains Type II collagen may help even more, but I have currently only tried these two products.
A brief disclaimer and notice
First, as the usual disclaimer goes, check with your doctor before taking any supplement.
Second, as I note on the Terms and Conditions page of this site, the links I use to Amazon on this page are known as “affiliate links.” This means that if you click an Amazon link and buy the product, Valley Programming — the owner of this website — gets a small commission. That being said, this website contains over 10,000 posts, and less than fifty of those are about my health, and like this one, there are just a few where I write about a very specific product that I strongly believe in. Put another way: I don’t write articles like these to make money, but because I’ve had to deal with things like mast cell disease and diverticulitis, I don’t have a problem recommending these specific products.
More collagen/diverticulosis details
Lest you think that I’m just some shmuck that’s writing some crap about this, my background is that I have had several bouts of diverticulitis, I had a partial colon resection (removal), and I still have diverticula in what’s left of my colon. You can read more here if you’re interested:
And here:
This image of my purchases on Amazon also show that I have put my money where my mouth is:
Longer story
The longer story is that during the diverticulitis ordeal, I asked several doctors if there was any way to strengthen the colon, or the colon wall, really. They all said no.
So after seeing some biotin-related commercials about health hair, skin, and nails, I began investigating biotin, and somehow that led me to collagen.
So I began investigating collagen, and websites like WebMD and the Cleveland Clinic — which are both well-respected websites — say that collagen offers these benefits:
- Maintains skin elasticity
- Eases joint pain
- Strengthens bones and muscles
- Increased muscle mass
Other websites like healthline.com mention things like this:
- “Collagen is found in connective tissue, skin, tendons, bones, and cartilage. It provides structural support to tissues...”
Once I started reading multiple articles that mention that collagen is related to connective tissue and cartilage, I started wondering if it could help with my diverticulosis. And again, I strongly believe that it has.
I also want to mention that I probably don’t get enough protein in my diet, and because collagen is related to protein, that may be another reason that collagen has helped me.
Types of collagen
One thing I didn’t know initially is that there are multiple types of collagen. As noted above, I have used only these two products:
But there are many different types of collagen. vitalproteins.com mentions these types:
- Type I collagen (“type one”) is the most prevalent type of collagen in the body. This is the type of collagen you’re probably thinking about if you’re interested in preserving the levels of collagen in your skin, hair or nails ... Because it is so prevalent in the connective tissues, we often see the decrease of type I collagen resulting in characteristics such as sagging skin, fine lines, brittle nails and thinning hair. But Type I collagen isn’t just a beauty-related substance. It’s also a major component of the tendons, organs and bones.
- Type II collagen is extremely important. It is the main component of cartilage and is extremely healthy for the skeletal system. Active people who need to rely on their joints may also benefit from adding type II collagen into their diet.
- Type III collagen is also found in Vital Proteins’ line of collagen products. The third commonly found type of collagen, Type III, is generally found in reticular fibers, such as in the bone marrow.
Other websites say there are more types of collagen. For instance, cbsupplements.com mentions these types:
- Type I
- Type II
- Type III
- Type V
- Type X
An abbreviated version of their descriptions goes like this:
- Type I: 90% of your body’s collagen. Found in hair, skin, nails, eyes, ligaments and tendons, organs, blood vessels, bones.
- Type II: “Promotos joint health and helps support digestive and immune function.” Found in joints, cartilage, gut lining.
- Type III: “Helps intestinal health (and more).” Found in organs, blood vessels, muscles.
Then these two types that are not mentioned in the previous resources:
- Type V: Found in: placenta of an expecting mother, eyes (cornea).
- Type X: Found in: Bones, joints.
That website also mentions that there is a Type IV collagen that is found primarily in the skin, and aids in the filtration of the kidneys and other organs.
So I think these descriptions help explain why Types I, II, and III are the most popular/prevalent.
Also
I also need to mention that after the partial colectomy I started using these two prescription medications:
- Trulance (plecanatide)
- Linzess
Basically they are like Miralax on steroids. You use only or the other, and I started with Linzess, but now use Trulance. Trulance works better for me, but it’s also more expensive.
Summary, and the future
In summary, I’ll again state that (a) I wouldn’t write this article if I didn’t believe what I’m saying, and (b) I believe that collagen has helped to drastically reduce my diverticula/diverticulosis pain. These are the only two products I have used so far:
I recommend the first product because they are up front about the types of collagen in their product.
In the future I will try to remember to try a Type II collagen product, and if/when I do, I’ll report back here about that experience as well.
In the meantime, if you are dealing with pain from diverticula and diverticulosis, I recommend trying a collagen product for a few weeks or months to see if it helps to reduce your pain. I am confident that in combination with the Trulance, collagen has helped to reduce my pain.
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