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Diverticulitis pain-Does anyone get pain in the lower center of the abdominal area?

Posted , 6 users are following.

sandiishealthy
sandiishealthy

My pain seems to be different than most. I get most of my tenderness and irritation pain in the center of my abdomen from the navel down to the pubic bone. With the pubic bone area the absolute worst. Then I get what seems like trapped gas pain that comes in waves when I eat. Sometimes I pass gas with a bit of relief and sometimes I don't. The pain is unbelievable. Does anyone else get pain in the middle lower abdomen?

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • angela55814
    angela55814 sandiishealthy

    Posted

    Hi,

    Yes I also get the pain in the same place as you. I was diagnosed by colonoscopy 5 yrs ago. I have only had 3 flare ups the last being a couple weeks ago.Yes pubic area agony especially when you bear down on the toilet. I also get bloody mucus (gross I know) My consultant told me to eat my normal diet as it had been unproven that certain things cause flare ups. If you are having a flare up start a very bland diet with no fibre then gradually introduce other foods and fibre once you are better. My bowels are only just getting back to normal after this last flare up. I haven’t ever had the pain on the left side. Try not to get constipated and drink enough water every day. Hope you feel better soon.

    • sandiishealthy
      sandiishealthy angela55814

      Posted

      Thanks so much for your response. Weird thing is my bowel movements are normal through this and always have been. I've NEVER even been constipated. Only once after having an epidural during the birth of our twins. I don't get any blood and VERY infrequently mucus. I just don't understand why I have it. Maybe genetic?

  • glenda_82112
    glenda_82112 sandiishealthy

    Posted

    It depends on where the pockets are. Have you done a colonoscopy yet? I'm with Angela, stay on a bland diet for a few days. I've had the surgery so thank God I am done with diverticulitis. For 2 years I could never get beyond the soft diet. Red meat, gassy vegetables, salads, etc. would trigger major attacks. Also fried, spicy foods. Keep in mind that moderation is the best when you eat. Never eat more than the size of your fist.

    • angela55814
      angela55814 glenda_82112

      Posted

      Good advice Glenda. This forum is so good and helpful for advice and reassurance.Diverticulitis is so miserable. Do you live in USA? They don’t seem to operate as much here in the U.K.
    • glenda_82112
      glenda_82112 angela55814

      Posted

      Yes. They had no choice, I had 14 confirmed (CT scan) attacks in 11 months. My 1st attack was July 2016, turned out I should've had the surgery then. My colonoscopy wasn't scheduled until November, so from July to November I had 4 attacks. To make a long story short , they should've done something in July, and if my GI doctor had gone just a few inches more during my colonoscopy he would have seen scar tissue, holes in my colon. I had my surgery (after demanding a referral look letter for surgery from my doctor) last May. If I had waited 1 week I would have died. All my organs were so infected (stomach down) they were almost twice the size they should've been. Fortunately they only had to remove 4".

    • sandiishealthy
      sandiishealthy glenda_82112

      Posted

      I've had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed 15 years ago with diverticuliti. I think I've been having mild episodes for awhile but though they were urinary tract infections because of the location. So I'd treat it holistically and it would go away. Then this past February it had a rupture on the left side. This happened suddenly. I didn't need a drain or anything just iv antibiotics for 2 days. Then fast forward to the last 2 weeks is when I found out through a cat scan that the pain I though was a bladder infection was in fact diverticulitis. I see a surgeon on Monday.

    • sandiishealthy
      sandiishealthy glenda_82112

      Posted

      Wow Glenda, I hope you are doing better now. How was the surgery for you. Has it made a difference?
    • angela55814
      angela55814 glenda_82112

      Posted

      Goodness md Glenda thank goodness you had that op when you did. They are very slow to operate for DD in the U.K. however I think if it was as bad as yours something would have been done quickly. Hope you are doing well now you certainly deserve to be well after what you have been through.
    • glenda_82112
      glenda_82112 sandiishealthy

      Posted

      It was a blessing. I had open cut because of my situation, supposedly lapriscopic healing time is shorter. I will not lie, the surgery pain was excruciating. The good part was the diverticulitis symptoms went away immediately, I was able to maintain the pain with the thought that the surgery pain was healing pain unlike going through the diverticulitis crap. I was in the hospital for 6 days. They do try to get you to walk after surgery. I got myself into the routine of after meals, walk as many times as I could, then take the pain medication. If they ask you if you want a blocker before your surgery....YES. Once you're home stay on a soft diet for at least 6 weeks, even if your doctor tells you that you can eat anything. Remember what goes in your mouth has to come out. After my 6 weeks I've been slowly reintroducing foods to my body, I still stay away from gassy foods. I found that drinking lots of water, 1 Gatorade/day, walking after every meal helps tremendously with digestive problems. I have 3 more months before my muscles and nerves are completely healed, 9 months before my stomach, and organs completely heal. My situation was dire and because of insurance reasons I almost died. Everyone is different, and be patient during the healing process.

    • glenda_82112
      glenda_82112 angela55814

      Posted

      Unfortunately I'm on Medi Cal since I'm not working and they are notorious for approving surgery. They really had no choice.

  • ann55375
    ann55375 sandiishealthy

    Posted

    Has this affected how your bladder is working at all or is it purely bowel. Mine has affected both
    • sandiishealthy
      sandiishealthy ann55375

      Posted

      I'm not sure. It seems my bladder function is different sometimes but it is very subtle.

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