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Fever with diverticular disease and othr questions

Posted , 8 users are following.

patricia35043
patricia35043

I am new to this site and am reading so many informative posts here.  One thing I have not read is anyone who ran fever with their attacks.  In early June, I started having pain in my upper right abdomen.  It started mild, and progressed to being quite painful.  First thought was appendicitis.  When pain was most severe, I had chills & fever (101) for 1 day.  I took Tylenol and fever subsided.  Went to Primary Dr on 6/11 and she diagnosed me with diverticulitis.  Put me on augmentin which I took for 2 days and had to stop.  It gave me terrible stomach pains and gas.  Switched to a week of Cipro and all symptoms subsided.  During this time I ate regular diet which my Dr. OK'd.  Felt great for a week and then this past week end pain returned with fever one day of 101.  Went back to Dr., and she has me on another round of Cipro.  Again, she said to eat as normal. She also had me get a C-Scan which came back as "diffuse colonic diverticulosis without inflammatory changes"  Not sure what that means about the "changes"  I have appt. w/GI Specialist this coming Friday which may give me more insight to this condition. 

Is fever common with diverticulosis, diverticulitis?  Does it come and go often like I have experienced?  I notice so many people on here stick to special diets, even though my dr. said I don't need to avoid any foods.  Is the consensus on this site to the mayo clinic recommended diet for diverticulosis?  I read about that a lot here.  My Dr. told me to suspend probiotics while on the antibiotics, but I see many here take both.  That is confusing to me also.  We are planning a vacation out of state in 2.5 weeks and I am nervous to go away while dealing with this problem.  I don't want to be in the middle of a national forest and finding myself with a painful attack.  I was hoping my first attack was my last, but from what I read here this is going to be a lifelong thing.   So many people here have been hospitalized with this disease.  Is that the norm with this disease or more a more uncommon side effect.  Other than this new ailment, I am a healthy, very active 67 year old woman.  These "colon" events have taken me by surprise.  I hope to get some good advice here.  Thank you in advance.

2 likes, 32 replies

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  • jayne63223
    jayne63223 patricia35043

    Posted

    I had two attacks two weeks apart   Last one sent me to ER 103 fever. Gave me morphine and stayed 2 nights with IV   Went home with Augmentin. Had to stop because of diarrhea. Fever of 100.7 for 10 days required 2 more weeks of antibiotics Flagyl n Amoxicillin. Made me sick   Finally after 6/7 weeks I’m well. No pain but can’t bring myself to eat seeds or nuts 
  • miredo222
    miredo222 patricia35043

    Posted

    Hi Patricia

    I just finished TWO episodes withing 4 weeks.  Pretty hellish. Both times I ended up at the hospital because of the pain AND fever.  The first time the fever was around 100F, and lasted 2 days, + 2 more days after I was put on meds.  I was put on Cypro and Flagyl at the same time, for 7 days; the fever lasted two more days, then I stared to feel a lot better.  Liquid diet for 2-3 days, the really light and bland diet, probiotics between doses.  Second episodes started about 5 days after I was finished the antibiotics, and it was a new region that was inflammed.... Unbelievable.  The Dr. at the hospital put me on 10 days of amoxy-clavulin.  Fever again, higher this time (about 102F) lasted 2 days, then gradually dropped (over 4 days).  Pain is sign of inflammation, fever is sign of infection.  It has been a week since I finished the 2nd round of antibiotic, and my guts are still messed up - event though I keep taking the probiotics.  Some say this could last week longer.... I just began taking enzymes with each meal, and I am on a very light diet : bland foods, boiled meats and vegetables, small amounts.  I introduced more fiber on Sunday, it actually seems to help a bit.  Good luck.

    • miredo222
      miredo222

      Posted

      PS yest: the antibiotics made me really sick too....  Flagyl & Cypro gave me pains everywhere, dizziness, difficulty sleeping.  Amoxy-clavulin is probably why I<ve had so much diarrhea.... It's been a hellish June, and now July!

    • patricia35043
      patricia35043 miredo222

      Posted

      Hey Miredo, thanks for your reply.  It sounds like you have "it" worse than I do.  I am sorry to hear that you are still inflamed.  This is certainly a bad ailment.  What amazes me is how fast it comes on.  You can feel great one day, and go to bed and wake up in the worst pain with a high fever & chills.  Like today,  I woke up and felt pretty good.  Of course there were 2 bouts of diahrrea but then all seemed OK.  I took a long walk, returned home and did some chores around the house.  By noon, I felt awful, pains in abdomen and chills.  Didn't eat much today, and now this evening I feel OK again.  I will be glad to see GI specialist Friday and maybe get better advice about what to eat and how to manage this disease.  So glad I found this site, good advice here but scary seeing how many people are affected by diverticulosis and that it can be a lifetime disability.  Trying to stay positive.  smile

  • ellen_46197
    ellen_46197 patricia35043

    Posted

    Hi I also had fever 102 after antibiotics kicked in fever at 99 to 101 for a few weeks doctor said it was due to inflammation your colon is angry and I tested high on blood work it's called CRP which is inflammation My GI also told me to eat anything I could eat before being hospitalized twice in 6 weeks with infection diverticulitis I know better now I stick to strict diet adding 1 new item every day or two No red meat no soda I can finally tolerate coffee and juice Good luck hope you begin to feel better I also still take probiotic daily and eat at least 2 hours before going to bed

    • patricia35043
      patricia35043 ellen_46197

      Posted

      Ellen thank you for your reply.  Are you sticking to the Mayo DD Diet?  Plain chicken, fish, veggies and fruits w/o seeds?  How about dairy and eggs?  I see lots of people on here avoid those two foods.  Question, did you take Probiotic while you were on antibiotics?  My Dr. said to suspend probiotics for now.  I know, a lot of questions, sorry, but appreciate your help.
    • vickie47128
      vickie47128 patricia35043

      Posted

      I never ran a fever with my diagnosis, just no appetite and horrible lower abdomen pain on left side. Also developed anxiety and panic attacks. Yes go by Mayo Clinic diet. Then go by low FodMat diet to slowly introduce fiber back into diet. And yes definitely be on probiotics I took Florastor while on antibiotics. Keep a food journal daily so you know what foods upset tummy. And no dairy caffeine nuts or seeds. Drink a lot of water and beef bone broth . This is a good forum, lotsa good advice and suggestions. Best wishes for a speedy recovery 🌸🙏

    • patricia35043
      patricia35043 vickie47128

      Posted

      Vickie,  I had just started taking CVS brand Maximum Strength Probiotic.  When compared to Culturelle it has 10 billion more live Probiotic cells per capsule.  It also contains 3 strains of probiotics compared to only 2 strains in Culturelle.  I only took it for 3 days and then I got this current flare up.  My dr. told me to suspend probiotics until I finished my Cipro, so it really didn't get a chance to do any good for me. 

    • jayne63223
      jayne63223 patricia35043

      Posted

      I have no desire to eat red meat or drink red wine. Not even ham. Chicken, fish, salmon, potatoes, Raisin Bran Crunch, blueberries, bananas for breakfast.  Coffee with cream tastes good now. I drink water with Propel n Diet Sprite occasionally.  Tuna fish and smoked turkey for sandwiches. It seems only foods that r light n color appeal to me!  I tried some white wine chilled for first time and it tasted good.   Just want to feel normal again.  
    • ellen_46197
      ellen_46197 vickie47128

      Posted

      I take Open Nature but my son said there are better ones more expensive but more bacterial benefits he said easily found in health stores I'm gonna wait to this bottle is gone and give it a shot and remember most probiotics have to b refrigerated or they lose effectiveness

    • ellen_46197
      ellen_46197 patricia35043

      Posted

      I took antibiotics and probiotics together the surgeon at the hospital said I had to they sent all prescriptions to pharmacy along with the probiotics even though it was over the counter The doc said probiotics for 2 years daily After taking antibiotics it takes your gut 2 years to get the good bacteria back the antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria I'm avoiding eggs I tried a few mornings just one egg plain omelette Made me bed bound for a couple days I've started dairy again not to much and so far so good No red meat fresh vegetables or anything fried yet Looking forward to big ribeye steak lol So I stuck to Mayo diet for 16 days lost 22 pounds in 6 weeks I have gained 3 back yay Add foods slowly eat small amounts and if you can eat at least 3 hours before you go asleep I can drink coffee again it took about 6 weeks from first infection to tolerate it Drink as much water as you can and apple cider and cranberry juice helped me No carbonated drinks Good luck it takes time still scared to eat like I use to I have to take Metamucil daily good luck to you

    • ellen_46197
      ellen_46197 vickie47128

      Posted

      To vickie and all wishing you all the best 4th of July as possible don't overdo it ! I'm gonna try a bbq turkey burger and a small amount of beans afraid to eat potato salad Does BBQing food have bad consequences? Any way make the best of your day 😎

    • patricia35043
      patricia35043 ellen_46197

      Posted

      Happy 4th to you too.  Good luck with that turkey burger!  We are planning family BBQ on Saturday with beef burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, birthday cake.  Ha... all planned before this problem.  Not sure what I will eat.  It's trial & error at this point.

  • cindymae
    cindymae patricia35043

    Posted

    With My first attack I did have a fever of 101. My Dr. had me on two different antibiotics. The probiotic I could but at least an hour in between. You should be on a clear liquid diet for a minimum of 3 days(I think I went 5) and then soft foods. I stuck with jello, mashed potatoes, mushy canned green beans. You need to let your colon rest as much as possible so the inflammation goes away. Use heat on your lower abdomen. When I go on vacation my Dr. gives me a prescription for antibiotics just in case. If you feel it coming on switch to liquid diet to prevent a flare up. Good luck!

    • patricia35043
      patricia35043 cindymae

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply.  Very strange that my Primary Dr. told me to just eat normal foods.  I see a lot of people here that say I need a liquid diet for 3 days and then soft foods only.  I will be seeing a GI Dr. on Friday and maybe she will advise differently.  Are you eating normal foods now CindyMae?  Your suggestion about getting a prescription for antibiotics before you leave on vacation is a good one.  I have been debating all day if we should cancel this trip in 2 weeks or go and pray for no problems.  At least if I had the antibiotics I would be prepared.  Thanks for your help!
    • ellen_46197
      ellen_46197 patricia35043

      Posted

      My primary care physician was so lost with this disease that he put me on the cave man diet Any red meat I wanted to eat ! I can't remember the name oh yeah Paleo diet Huh !!! Then when I finally got into GI doc She said food does not cause flare ups She said no scientific evidence So stupid me got vanilla shake what a mistake 😣I now follow suggestions on this forum and having more better days than bad

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