Painful/Discomfort To Touch

Hi there, welcome to our support group.  At some stage we've all been diagnosed with DD all at various stages and outcomes.  I would certainly try to read through all the comments/conversations on here if you have time as everyone will have found some kind of way of dealing with diagnoses as well as pain etc.  I think that a lot of us have started taking pre and probiotics which we, I think mostly, have found to really help.  Hope this helps a little.

Hi there. I'm new to diverticulitis and diverticuliar disease. I was diagnosed in March 2016 after 9 years of stomach and bowel problems. Just told was ibs. I saw a retired locum doctor who felt my stomach and told me it was something to do with my colon. He was right. I've found that probiotic drinks really help. My symptoms have really calmed down. Although I read an article in the daily mail yesterday saying probiotics drinks were useless. We are a good bunch here so don't feel alone. I find when I feel my stomach there are lots of weird lumps almost nodules.

The pain from diverticulitis is as you describe. I could not even rest my arm on my stomach. If I was lucky enough to fall asleep I always woke up from any pressure on my stomach. Another tell tale is being unable to sit for any period of time. Its excarcebating the pain. Any form of exercise also makes it worse. I got really bloated, people thought I was pregnant. Just have plenty of rest and go on liquid diet. Stay clear of fibres. Make sure you go toilet too, plenty of number 2s. If I get backed up at all it sets it off again. Probiotics are found to be helpful in people who have problems with their intestine where there will be a disturbance in the flora. They don't do much for healthy people though. I think that's what is circulating in the press right now. For us divvies its certainly safe to say we have disturbances. I take anti inflammatory supplement such as turmeric and ginger. I also avoid sugar. It curbs the inflammation in the guts.

Hi welcome 

yes I to get very tender tummy also , and can take a while to go 

Hi ManicAardvark, it doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have diverticulitis. Although the infection does exist within your colon, so the pain is usually in the mid to lower left part of your abdomen where the colon lies. Just below your rib cage on the left. Sometimes if it's swollen enough, I can feel it. Yes it is uncomfortable to have weight or pressure on it. I've tried to explain this to other people and they don't understand. I think because it's so common in people over the age of 50, no one considers it to be that big of an issue. If I wear high waisted pants and sit for an extended period of time, it hurts. When I tell people that, they just tell me I need bigger pants. Lol. There's not much you can do about the pain until the infection clears up. Then I find, the pain goes away for the most part. But if you're in the middle of a flare, stick to clear liquids and easily digestible foods. Otherwise you'll be dealing with quite a bit of pain. It sounds like your infection is pretty serious if you were hospitalized. So make sure you're following your doctor's orders. If you're feeling uneasy, like maybe you were misdiagnosed, consider a second opinion or discussing your symptoms more with your doctor. I was diagnosed by colonoscopy, so there were clear images of what my colon looked like showing there were infections. Good luck with everything. I hope you feel better. Let us know how it works out.

Just to let you know, my first bout of diverticulitis lasted over 5 months. Mainly due to misdiagnosis. They took my appendix out as my pain is on right side. It does however travel. Side to side. Colposcopy post infection aims at confirming diagnosis and to rule out any other conditions. Ctscan is a very good diagnostic tool to use for this disease. This is how I was finally diagnosed despite even having had surgery!!! during the acute stage . yes it hurts like nothing else a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Thanks for the reassuring replies, I was not given much advice by the sprecialist at the hosptial who described it has "natural wear and  tear due to age' I'm 52 btw, my GP did not seem to know much about it and printed off information from this website on my last visit. After reading this forum I have started to to keep a food diary and some nights do have a slight improvment and other nights wake with a massive jump due to feeling uncomfortable due to what I ate the evening before. I have been taking Holland & Barrett Ultra Maximum Acidophilus Capsules for just over a week, to no avail but I will persevere with them. TBH this has knocked me back a tad, because I have never really had a medical problem before.