Diverticulitis causes several noticeable changes in your poop, including altered color (bright red, maroon, or black), different shapes (thin, pellet-like, or irregular), and unusual texture (watery diarrhea or hard constipation). These changes happen because inflammation and infection in your colon affect how waste moves through and exits your body.

This guide will help you understand all the ways diverticulitis affects your poop. We’ll cover the colors, shapes, textures, and smells to watch for. You’ll also learn when these changes mean you need to see a doctor right away.

What Is Diverticulitis?

Diverticulitis happens when small pouches in your colon get infected or swollen. These pouches are called diverticula. Think of them like tiny balloons that poke out from weak spots in your colon wall.

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 35% of U.S. adults younger than 50 have diverticulosis, and up to 58% of people over 60 have these pouches. Although diverticulosis is common, diverticulitis is an uncommon complication. It affects about 4% of people with diverticulosis. Many people have these pouches but never get sick from them. Problems start when food or poop gets stuck in the pouches and causes infection.

The infection makes the pouches swell up and hurt. This is what we call diverticulitis. It can make your belly hurt and change how you poop.

Normal Poop vs. Diverticulitis Poop

Before we talk about sick poop, let’s look at what healthy poop should be like:

The normal stool consists of the following essential characteristics: Colour: A normal stool should have a colour ranging from medium to dark brown because of the presence of bilirubin, which forms when red blood cells break down. Odour: Normal stools have a strong smell because of the breakdown of bacteria. Texture: The normal texture of stool is between soft and firm. Shape: Passing stool in a single piece or a few smaller pieces is considered normal. The shape should be long and sausage-like, corresponding to the colon shape.

When you have diverticulitis, your poop can look and smell very different from this normal picture.

How Diverticulitis Changes Your Poop Color

Bright Red Blood

The most scary change is when you see bright red blood in your poop. The inflammation and irritation of the intestinal walls can cause small tears or ulcers, leading to bleeding. Bloody stools with diverticulitis can appear as bright red streaks on the surface of the stool or darker, tarry stools if the bleeding is higher up in the digestive tract.

If you see bright red blood, this means the bleeding is happening close to where the poop comes out. The blood hasn’t had time to turn dark.

Dark or Black Poop

Sometimes the poop looks black and tarry, like road tar. Black or tarry stools when the bleeding is higher up the intestinal tract This happens when blood comes from higher up in your gut. The blood has time to get digested, which turns it dark and sticky.

Maroon-Colored Poop

You might also see maroon or dark red poop. This color is between bright red and black. It often means bleeding is happening somewhere in the middle of your colon.

Diverticulitis Poop Shape Changes

Thin and Pencil-Like

Soft, narrow “pencil stools” due to intestinal stricture When your colon gets swollen from diverticulitis, it can make the space inside smaller. This squeezes your poop as it comes out, making it thin like a pencil.

Small and Pellet-Shaped

Narrow or pellet-like stools: if you have advanced or severe diverticulitis, your large intestine may narrow, causing stool to become thin, narrow or pellet-shaped. Some people pass small, hard pieces that look like rabbit pellets. This often happens when you get constipated from diverticulitis.

Irregular Shapes

Irregular Shapes: Inconsistent shapes and sizes can result from spasms in the colon or irregular stool movement through the digestive tract. Your poop might come out in weird shapes or different sizes each time. This happens because your colon muscles aren’t working normally.

Texture Changes in Diverticulitis Poop

Hard and Constipated

When experiencing diverticulitis flare-ups, hard, small, and pebble-like stools are common due to constipation and slowed intestinal transit. Many people get constipated during flare-ups. The poop becomes hard and difficult to pass.

Watery and Loose

On the flip side, some people get diarrhea. Loose, watery stools during episodes of diarrhea The poop comes out very watery and you might need to go to the bathroom many times.

Mucus-Covered Poop

Mucus-covered stools due to bowel obstruction or infection You might see slimy, jelly-like stuff covering your poop. This is mucus that your body makes when it’s fighting infection or inflammation.

When disease irritates the mucosa in your large intestine, your mucosa reacts by releasing more mucus than usual. That excess mucus can end up in your poop, floating in the water in your toilet bowl or on toilet paper after you wipe.

Smell Changes

Especially foul-smelling stools due to infection or the pooling of blood in stools Diverticulitis poop often smells much worse than normal. The infection and bleeding make the smell really bad. Some people say it smells different than their usual poop smell.

How Often You Poop With Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis messes with how often you need to poop. a change in your normal bowel habits, such as constipation or diarrhoea, or episodes of constipation that are followed by diarrhoea – a classic pattern is multiple trips to the toilet in the morning to pass stools like ‘rabbit pellets’

You might go from being constipated to having diarrhea, or switch back and forth. Some people have to rush to the bathroom many times in the morning.

When Diverticulitis Poop Means Emergency

Some poop changes with diverticulitis are scary and need a doctor right away:

Whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with diverticulitis, you should seek immediate medical care if you experience the following signs or symptoms:Rectal bleeding, blood in stools, or tarry stoolsFever over 100.4 FNausea and vomitingSudden, severe, or worsening belly or back pain

The Mayo Clinic emphasizes that complications from diverticulitis, while uncommon, can be life-threatening and require immediate medical attention.

Go to the emergency room if you have:

• Lots of blood in your poop
• Black, tarry poop
• Fever higher than 100.4°F
• Really bad belly pain that gets worse
• Can’t stop throwing up

Why Diverticulitis Changes Your Poop

Understanding why this happens can help you feel less scared. Diverticular bleeding due to straining or when hardened stools scrape against the wall of the pouches can also lead to abnormal stools. Diverticulitis can also cause gradual narrowing of the intestine, known as a stricture, which can affect the shape of stools.

Research published in Gastroenterology shows that inflammation from diverticulitis can cause the colon walls to thicken and narrow, directly affecting stool shape and consistency. The infection makes your colon swell up inside. This changes how poop moves through and comes out. Hard poop can scratch the infected pouches and make them bleed. The swelling can also make the space inside your colon smaller.

Different Types of Diverticulitis and Poop Changes

Mild Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis poop may look normal, especially in mild cases. When diverticulitis is mild, your poop might not look very different. You might just have some belly pain and not feel well.

Severe Diverticulitis

But narrow or pellet-like stools can occur if you have advanced or severe diverticulitis. This is because the large intestine may narrow, causing stool to become thin, narrow, pellet shaped. When it’s bad, you’ll see bigger changes in your poop shape and color.

Getting Diagnosed

Your doctor will want to check your poop if they think you have diverticulitis. Stool test. A provider collects a sample of your poop to test in a lab. A stool test may show signs of infection or gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.

They might also do:

• Blood tests to check for infection
• CT scans to see the infected pouches
• Physical exams to feel your belly

Treatment and Poop Recovery

Most people with diverticulitis get better with the right treatment. Diverticulitis is most often caused by a bacterial infection. In such cases, the primary form of treatment is antibiotic drugs accompanied by changes in diet to aid with the healing.

Your doctor might give you:

• Antibiotics to fight infection
• Pain medicine (usually not ibuprofen)
• Special diet instructions
• Advice to rest

As you get better, your poop should slowly go back to normal. The blood and mucus should go away. The shape and texture should improve too.

Diet and Poop Changes

What you eat during treatment affects your poop. To aid with healing and prevent a recurrence, providers will commonly recommend a clear liquid diet to start with, transitioning to a low-fiber diet consisting of foods like applesauce, well-cooked vegetables, milk, yogurt, eggs, oatmeal, ground lean poultry or meat, pasta, white bread, and white rice.

Starting with clear liquids helps your colon rest. Then you slowly add soft, easy foods. This helps your poop become more normal as you heal.

Preventing Future Problems

Once you’ve had diverticulitis, you want to prevent it from coming back. Once you’ve had it, you have a 20% chance of getting it again.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recommends lifestyle changes that can help prevent diverticulitis recurrence. You can help prevent it by:

• Eating more fiber (fruits, vegetables, whole grains)
• Drinking lots of water
• Getting regular exercise
• Not smoking
• Maintaining a healthy weight

A study from Johns Hopkins Medicine found that people who follow these healthy habits have significantly lower rates of diverticulitis flare-ups.

If you have ongoing gut problems, consider seeing specialists who offer chronic disease management or digestive health services.

Living With Diverticulitis

Only a few patients will experience severe diverticulitis, and even fewer will require surgery. Even complex diverticulitis often responds well to treatment, clearing up the condition entirely in most cases.

Most people do really well with treatment. Your poop should get back to normal, and you can live a healthy life. The key is catching problems early and following your doctor’s advice.

When to Call Your Doctor

Don’t wait if you’re worried about your poop changes. Call your doctor if you notice:

• Any blood in your poop
• Big changes in poop color, shape, or smell
• Going to the bathroom much more or less than usual
• Poop that looks like the changes we talked about

If you need help with ongoing digestive issues, consider getting annual physicals to catch problems early. Some people also benefit from stress management, since stress can make gut problems worse.

Final Thoughts

Diverticulitis can make your poop look scary and different. The good news is that most people get better with the right treatment. Your poop changes are signs that your body is fighting infection and inflammation.

Remember that blood, black poop, or really bad belly pain means you need emergency care. For other changes, call your doctor to get checked out. With proper treatment, your poop should go back to normal and you can feel better.

Stay in touch with your healthcare team and don’t be embarrassed to talk about poop changes. They’re important clues that help doctors take care of you. Most people with diverticulitis recover well and can prevent future problems with healthy lifestyle choices.