23 years old with diverticulitis
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hey what's up everyone :D
I've been seeing everyone's posts and how positive and great the community has been so i decided to make an account and make a post of my own of my experiences this last few months.
So it all began when i suddenly had started getting lower abdominal pain ( something that i had experienced before and thought it was always just gas pains) but this time it didn't go away and just got worse. On the second day when i still thought it was bad gas pains i took gasx in hopes that it would go away the next day. It didnt. Finally I think on the third or fourth day the pain was so bad that i couldn't even move without clinching at my stomach or groaning so i went to the emergency room. At the beggining because i told them where the pain was ( lower right abdomen) they thought it was appendicitis but after a ct scan they found that it was diverticulitis of my sigmoid colon which had a micro perforation that had allowed a small amount of gas to enter my abdominal cavity which gave me sepsis and had made pretty much everything in my abdominal region inflamed. I was in the hospital for 4 days i believe on IV with antibiotics levaquin and flagyl. They said i didn't need surgery since the perforation was so small and would most likely just heal on its own. (all of this happened in October by the way lol).after i left the hospital they gave me generic versions of the antibiotics i was on named cipro and metro for short. Which i wasn't on for a very long time(about three days)since i started to get a small rash on my arm then when i went to the emergency room again they took me off the medication for fear of an allergic reaction. They replaced my medication with amoxicillin clav which i think was 850mg/125mg for 14 days. Everything stopped hurting and i was feeling a lot better but with a few bad decisions on my part with not walking everyday and not looking into the diet enough i got a few minor problems during the next couple months which would only last a few days and resolved on their own ( mostly just bad dietary choices). Now it is January and im sure I'm having another attack but i don't think there's perforation since the pain isn't nearly as bad. Im starting to consider surgery because i don't want to have to deal with this my entire life and not eating what i want and constantly worried about what i eat just sucks. But i think I'll hold it off for awhile just to see if i can better my diet and get those 30 minute walks everyday and see how much it helps. I have a doctor's appointment today and hopefully i can figure if i need antibiotics again or not and if i can meet up with a dietition to figure out all this new diet stuff. I also meet with a GI in march so hopefully i make it to that time without any crazy problems along the way D: wish me luck
I appreciate any response to my post and hopefully some more shared experiences and maybe some advice on dealing with this. I'll make sure to stay consistant with posting on my progress. Thank you 
1 like, 7 replies
alexandra62000 Lewis_R.
Posted
Hi Lewis, you are young to be getting this problem, but it can be managed without having to resort to surgery (definately the last resort! ). Avoid skins, seeds, pips, nuts, there's a whole load left you can still eat so don't despair. Stress can affect things adversely too.
This may sound odd, but I have found that if I am getting pain then climbing stairs, steep hills etc makes it worse, so stuck to the flat with your walks when you are uncomfortable.
Your existing diverticula will not go away, your aim must be to ensure it doesn't get any worse by managing your diet and avoiding stressful situations. Good luck.
youngatheart1 Lewis_R.
Posted
Hi, sounds like you could be allergic to the coatings on the pills, I have diverticular and if I take anti b's the burning around the middle and left hand side is hell. My GP said that some of us have a reaction to the plastic cases. I had this happen and it took 6 months to clear up the pain, then in November had to take anti-b's again and same again stomach stinging, burning and gassy again. I take pro-biotics, buscopan (am in UK) and drink loads of water. Tomatoes, sweet corn and seeds are a pain for me, beige foods are best, biscuits, potato, porridge, rice, plain chicken just for a while until stomach settled. Does your pain move around, mine has just gone from left to right all along the bottom and back again, bowels movements all ok and right colour (sorry) so I know that it is nothing sinister, I just have to wait for it to go. Take care
Guest Lewis_R.
Posted
Hi Lewis
Sorry to hear you have joined the DD club at such a young age. I agree with alexandra62000 that surgery is absolutely the last resort, particularly at your age. I am guessing from the words you used in your post that you are USA based, where it seems surgery is suggested far too quickly (hey - surgeons want to make/take money - your money). In the UK, our NHS is strapped for cash, so surgery is only done for emergencies, like major perforations, fistulas, peritonitis. Once you have this disease you have it for life, and if you have part of the colon removed, it can move on to another part and so on! I suggest you trawl the posts of the experiences of people who have had the surgery - it's very mixed, and quite a few have reported a return of the symptoms after a time.
The best way really is to try and control it with diet and Julia1040 has made an excellent post on foods. There are also supplements you can take which help the passage of stools and aid digestion. I take psyllium husk mixed with water twice daily and it bulks/softens the stools and keeps your system regular and clear. Brand name in the USA is Metamucil. I also take digestive aids - pure Aloe Vera juice and probiotics.
I suggest you keep a food diary and see if it helps you identiy food that triggers your pain. Once you have identified good and bad foods for you, it will be easier to make eating choices. Everyone is different, so it is trial and error. My triggers are gluten and fat, but for others it is things like nuts, seeds, popcorn.
The pain can sometimes last for quite a long time, weeks or even months, whilst your insides heal. Hard though it is, you might just have to have patience. This forum will give you a wealth of information. Good luck
52331 Guest
Posted
Best regards,
Guest 52331
Posted
You were right, it has made a difference - I now get up more during the night!! Joking aside I am now virtually free from pain, even before I go. I'm still going 4 - 6 times a day, but easily, well formed and no strain. I can live with that. In fact I've gone ahead and booked another holiday. Only one blip since Christmas and that was my fault. Cheers.
52331 Guest
Posted
That's fantastic news. Think about this your colon is like a fine tune engine and its operating in cruise control. Your going more often and now your colon is cleaned out regularly at a much faster pace which means less time of processing in that area. If the colon is clean your not going to suffer.
This was the game changer for me and the reason I have not had any flare up in six years.
Keep it up and live pain free. Have fun on your vacation. 😀
Lewis_R.
Posted
Thanks so much for all the replies! I went to the doctors and i had some tests done to check for infection but before it came time for any results to come in, my stomach returned back to normal and I'm starting to eat more solid food gradually. I think now my biggest problem is malnourishment and making sure i stay active to keeps things rolling along(i got a bad habit of being lazy lol). I got a referral to see a dietician because all of this stuff is so much for me right now and I'm pretty afraid to eat anything. So far I've noticed that sugar and pepper seem to be triggers for me. I think another big contributer might be constipation but I'm not quite sure exactly how to prevent it and I've heard mixed responses for different methods so I'm just afraid to try anything new D: (keep in mind that the constipation wasn't that bad so I'm just not sure)