Diverticulitis symptoms won't go away even after treatment!!!

Posted , 19 users are following.

Two weeks ago I was in the ER with my first bout of diverticulites.Cipro and flagl for 10 days and told uncomplicated case.10 days later and I STILL had pain and terrible low back pain so was told stay on medfor 14 days and my blood workon the 10th day showed my White blood count went from 16 in the ER to 10 so looks good w infection.But I still had pelvic pain /spasms.I called the Dr and he sent me for more blood work to check infection ( I get results tomorrow I hope).I thought I was getting better with two good days but now I have bloating and nausea along with cramping on and off.I have lost 20lbsand feel weak from being afraid to eat.I live on toast eggs and chicken sometimes.I feel sick to my belly right now and think I have thrush from the meds that I finishe two days ago.

Can the symptoms last even after infection clears?I know this is not something to mess with so I get nervous thinking should I go to the hospital.I dont want to jump the gun either.I guess the blood work will show more.Does this crap take this long to clear up.?Makes me nervous.I didnt have nausea before in the beginning bu now i do.Whats going on?

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  • Posted

    Holy smokes..not one reply!!!
  • Posted

    How did they diagnose diverticulitis and do you have any other symptoms? Which side of pelvis is pain on?
    • Posted

      So sorr it's taken so long to answer you.I went to ER with lower abdominal pain and back pain.They did a cat scan  to see it.It was my first time.My pain was more on the left,although after 5 weeks of healing I feal pain on the right now.I think some have it on both sides.My only other symptom was back pain.Fever can be a tell tail sign w the pain as well
  • Posted

    I'm just out of hospital with a diverticularitist flare up, and I still don't right, hoping rest will get me stronger. It's one of the worst 14 days I've had.
    • Posted

      i think I just spoke to you on your thread,lol.I am 6 weeks and still not right and have pain.I hope and pray it gets better.I was treated at home with meds.
    • Posted

      We did just chat kelly, I was in hospital and given drugs intravenous and. Then sent home with oral ante biotics, he was frank enough, his reason being that I had a good support network at home, and they needed the bed. Or I would have been in at least 7 to.10 days. That's the nhs for you!
    • Posted

      I know this was posted almost a year ago but I was diagnosed by Ct 6 weeks. Ago. Still in pain. Had another Ct they said was clear. When did your pain go away. Thanks Shawn. I'm scared

  • Posted

    Hi Kelly

    Hope your back to your self by now.

    I was admited 6/30 an released on 7/4. My second attack. Currently taking prilocect and stool softners. I feel discomfort on my left side and lots of blotting and gas this time around has taken me longer to heal. It sucks i too im afried of eating to scared to get sick againg. This stuff is no joke.

    • Posted

      Your not kidding, I'm still recovering from my second flare up also, and that's been 4 weeks now, it takes its toll on your body

  • Posted

    That's me now had third flare up and it's getting beyond a joke, my body is now exhausted with the constant infections, don't know how long I can bare it😠

    • Posted

      Eight years ago I had series of 13 infections. One was a perforation (micro) A kind GI doctor, older gentleman came and sat by my hospital bed and said..."three of these is more than enough. you don't have to have more. you need a sigmoid resection (which i was terrified of). He said I had a lot of life force energy and good years to live and I should do the surgery. I did. it was on the daunting side but I expected that. i was free of any attacks for 8 years. i recently had a recurrence at the sight of the anastamosis. 18 days IV antibiotics. A repeat CT scan 2 days ago showed the infection had cleared. No belly pain since about day 6. We will see!

  • Posted

    Symptoms can take weeks to resolve and even then the pain may not go away sometimes for a long time. Avoid high fiber diet and take a stool softener. Avoid narcotics
  • Posted

    Hi Kelly! I am going through the same thing! I was diagnosed with diverticulitis by a CAT scan in late October 2016 . Put on Flagyl and Cipro for 10 days. Started to feel a bit better but by Christmas it started flaring up again and I had to postpone my colonoscopy until January. The doctor called in more Flagyl and Cipro. Again started feeling better. Here it is January 12, 2017 and I am still not feeling right. Still tender and afraid to eat. Went back to my doctor and she is baffled because most of my pain is in the transverse colon..she said until I get the colonoscopy and see the GI doctor we won't have many answers. At this point I am considering heading to the ER so the colonoscopy and further testing can be done before the end of January. You are not alone and I pray you get relief and answers soon! Take care!

    • Posted

      I had 7 flare ups last year, I'm now seeing a consultant, ct scan showed that diverticular has spread however we still don't know if going to leave it and keep treating it with antibiotics or operate, but I think my body has totally been affected by the constant symptoms. It's so confusing as I think  doctor reluctant to intervene as I'm trying to cope at home without being admitted each time when it flares up. So I'm in limbo x

    • Posted

      Ugh so frustrating! I feel like I have it all over the colon.....if I don't eat I am ok but who can live like that?! I hope you find some relief and answers soon. Stay strong.

    • Posted

      I too have diverticula pouches all through my colon.

      First flare up almost 25 years ago, changed my diet (already a vegetarian)

      and increased fibre. Only two minor attacks then nothing until last December after taking my first Immodium tablet ever. Ended up with a fistula, which healed after 5 weeks. No more pain, until I had a 'difficult' colonoscopy. Now in constant pain, and on antibiotics for three !months. GP can't intervene as under hospital. CT scan with contrast dye found no evidence of fistula (whew) neither did colonoscopy. But consultant in Castro surgical doesn't accept this and will see mne to discuss treatment options in a few weeks. Can't live with this pain until then. I'm 69 and otherwise healthy apart from arthritis and slight heart problem.

      Should I be on high fibre diet or low fibre? No help from anyone until I get the appointment.

    • Posted

      High fibre diet, also fybrogel, it's a drink to help bulk your fibre up x

    • Posted

      Thanks, I'll give both a go. I had a really bad weekend, constant pain. I've decided to do a liquid diet for a couple of days and then I'll try building up to my normal high fibre one. After all, it's kept me flare up free for 25 years! I'll get some fibrogel too. I'm pretty sure damage was done during the colonoscopy. At least no suspected cancer was found, nor any polyps, nothing untoward from the CT scan either. I'll just concentrate on the diet and gradually build up the fibre. Thanks again foir the advice.

    • Posted

      Hi. How long did it take for your pain to go completely away. Thanks.
    • Posted

      Sorry, haven't been on this site for a while. It took three and a half months of antibiotics for the pain to subside. Now, almost four months later I have just finished a course of antibiotics for another flare up. I tried to do a liquid diet but I had to eat solid food once a day when I had the doxycycline as it makes you very sick. I was also on amox. I'm still in pain, mainly lower left and right. I will try a few days liquid diet again. I can only eat white bread and pasta, eggs and cheese, potatoes, no skin, and bananas. Not exactly healthy or slimming. I just read about a trial being done by King's College Hospital on the effect of probiotics on diverticulitis. King's is the only place in the whole country where there is a research clinic dealing with the causes of this awful disease. It seems in this country only the effect, not the cause is dealt with. Wish I'd heard of the trial sooner. And I used to work there too, when I lived in London. I hope you are not in a flare up right now, it completely takes over your life, you are either in a flare up or dreading one starting!

    • Posted

      I'm sorry to hear about your flair.  I also had another one.   My other three were 5 years apart.  I only got 16 weeks this time before I had another.  I was extremely sick with fever 102 and felt so bad.   I took the prescribed cipro and flagyl and slowly got better.  I am female 53.   I am about 8 weeks out now and still having what I call left hip pain. Sometimes twinges in my left lower abdomen when I eat slot of fiber but mostly this pain around my front hipbone.   I was actually sent to a surgeon this time.  He could not tell whether the hipbone pain was caused by the diverticulitis or something else entirely.  But I got it for the first time during an attack and have it during this atteck also.   I go back in three months.  I guess he wants to see if I can go that long without having another attack.  I don't want surgery and will not have it unless  absolutely necessary.  I have been taking oil of oregano foe the last two weeks as a natural antibiotic.   Is also have taken grapefruit seed extract  10 drops two or three times a day.  I take a probiotic and also tumeric for inflammation.   I'm trying anything to ward off another attack. I also supplement with dictating D which some doctors do.   Theres something that makes some people get the attacks and other not.  I wish they would research what that is.  Most people over 50 have the pockets but only a small percent get the inflammation.    

    • Posted

      Hello, I hope the pain in your hip has been resolved? It doesn't exactly give you much trust in their knowledge when a surgeon can't tell you if the pain is related to your diverticulitis or not, does it? So much of the treatment of diverticular disease seems to be just guesswork. I don't want surgery either, particularly as I have the pain in both lower right and lower left bowel. Two pieces can't be removed at the same time surely, and I don't want the whole lot taken out. It seems only the result and not the cause is all that concerns the medical fraternity.

      I had one bad and two minor attacks 25 years ago, nothing else until last year, when it wasn't another attack that took me to my GP surgery. I had a sudden bleed, after taking Immodium to stop diahorrea. It was pretty catastrophic and caused a fistula. I was booked for a colonscopy. By that time the fistula had healed. The consultant who performed the procedure said it was very difficult as I have many and diverse diverticula. But he found no evidence of cancer, polyps or fistula. Phew! But, no infection was mentioned either. The next day I went from being pain and symptom free to being on various anti biotics, strong pain killers and constant pain for 14 weeks. Now I have this flare up, four weeks in, but no fever, just pain and cramping. All I'm told is that surgery is likely. I don't want any more colonoscopies, or surgery so, like you, I am going to try as many alternative options as I can to get my bowel back the way it was, and the way the vast majority of people with diverticulosis feel - pain and worry free. I just wish that there was medical expertise to guide me there. All we are offered right now is antibiotic treatment and surgery. Again, treating the result, not the cause. I can't see this attitude changing any time soon, so we have to try ourselves to do almost 'clinical trials'. My daughters just treat it as cramps, not the scary life a threatening thing that it is.

      I really wish you all the luck with your self treating, and would like for you to let me know how you get on if you can. I'll try the strong probiotics etc for a couple of months to see how that goes, if I have enough time before another episode. By the way, I am 70 next month, have been fairly healthy most of my life, but these past few months have really made me feel OLD!!

      Good luck, keep fighting and be as strong as you can with this awful disease.

      Best wishes.

    • Posted

      Hi so far so good with my alternate treatments.   I went to my regular P.A. And she seems to think the hip is a bursitis type problem.   I will take the oil of oregano capsules and the grapefruit seed extract and tumeric as preventitives.   I can't take anti inflammatorys because of the diverticulitis so that's a problem with getting the hip well. I hope you are doing well.  And I hope we both heal up well and stay well smile

    • Posted

      Hello, pleased to hear your hip problem could be nothing to do with the dreaded big D! Not being able to take anti inflammatories is a huge problem, I have a lot of arthritis, so I sympathise. Fingers crossed for you and the natural treatments. I have found cutting out all purines from my diet has helped the arthritis too. Keep fighting and I hope to hear you are successful in keeping any bad symptoms at bay. There must be a way to manage diverticulitis without going under the knife. Best wishes to you. Take care. x
    • Posted

      Hi everyone

      I went in septic shock on March 3rd I was taken to Er and they told me I had diverticulitis psedumonas and the flu.

      I was on iv and 3 different antibiotics for 5 days thankfully they worked and I'm went home, Its been 6 weeks since my attack I am feeling about 75% off my old self, I have gone on a strick diet no I quit drinking and I sleep 8/9 hours a night, the scary part for me was they don't know the causes diverticulitis or psedumonas or at least that's what I was told why would medical professionals say that if it were not true .

      So I did everything to change my lifestyle eating habits and quit drinking

      I feel really good i lost 20 lbs and go back to my doctor on a regular basis

      Listening to what some off you have gone through make me feel very lucky and I wish you all could have the same results, it's a very serious disease and needs to be taken seriously.

      I found the comments on here very usefull and uplifting I wish you all the very best with this disease.

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