How long does diverticulitis last?

this is a good question!  I was also diagnosed 7weeks ago with diverticulitis also by ct scan. I was given 14 days of flagyl and Ciprofloxacin. My main symptoms were diarrhea and left sided abdominal pain. No fever .  The diarrhea continued the whole time I was taking the antibiotics but most of the pain went away. I am now three and a half weeks post antibiotics and I still have diarrhea, going 5 to 7 times every day mostly in the early part of the day. By mid afternoon I have no more diarrhea but feel full and bloated. The next morning it all starts again!

i hope that someone has so ideas for us both

Having them left and right too close !!’

For me, I’m not even in the post-pain phase. The pain just won’t go away. 

I was diagnosed with chronic Diverticulitis in July 2016. I had 4 total attacks in 4 months. I had both constipation and diareah, lost 25 lbs because I couldn't keep nothing down or in. The usual course of antibiotics is 10 days. Be extremely careful on what you eat. No fresh vegetables or fruit, corn, tomatoes and tomato based sauces, & red meat. There are several sites on line that gives a better accurate list. No this disease does not ever go away unless you have surgery.  It took me 1 1/2 years, 14+ ER visits,  practically living on the antibiotics before I finally got approved for the surgery. I am 2 weeks out of sigmoid colectomy and feel so much better. No more extreme stomach flu like symptoms and was extremely lucky. If I had waited 2 months I would have been dead. Scar tissue from the condensed Diverticulitis pockets was causing the blockage which can and will inflame your stomach and esophagus.  Usual after 2 attacks it's recommended to do the surgery. Living with Diverticulitis is no life at all.

Don't panic!  You will get better.  You will hear from other people who have lived a normal life and played sports etc with this disease.  The key is finding what foods you personally can eat and that may be difficult at first.  

I had my first attack on Feb 1st this year.  No one gave me any information and I ate normal and ended up having a 2nd attack or else the first one never cleared up.  I researched online in the recliner with a heating pad on my abdomen and stumbled on this forum.  I read every single post.  I learned a lot from others and started eating much smaller portions- think half a sandwich.  Soon I was feeling much better and then finally I felt normal.  But I was concerned I was not getting enough vegetables or healthy foods so I asked my Dr to recommend a dietitian.  She helped but also suggested I get oatmeal back in my diet.  I have eaten oatmeal daily for over 30 years.  I started with an 1/8 of a cup for 2 weeks.  It seemed I was doing great with it until this week. Now I am having another attack.  I am almost certain it was the oatmeal.  I too despaired and wondered if I will ever be completely well.  But I have been well for several weeks and there is no reason to think this attack will not clear up too and I will be better.  So will you.  We just have to find out what to eat and what not to eat and that is difficult.  I have not had the colonoscopy yet and it is scheduled for June 6 unless it is pushed back because of this attack.

My advice is to get enough rest.  You are healing and you have a disease.  The good news is you are not having to get chemo or radiation.  There are worse things out there.  People live with this.  We can adjust to this. 

What was working good for me before I started more foods was a set routine.  I had an english muffin for breakfast, half a turkey sliced very thin sandwich for lunch on white bread and a white pasta with olive oil and sea salt and carrots and spinach cooked and some diced pickled beets with turkey or chicken cooked in the crock pot.  Life felt good but tasted very boring with the same menu day after day. 

I felt so good I decided to be brave and brought in a few new foods which I may post in a new discussion and see what the problem was with those foods.  Then I felt the normal twinges and soon I was in a lot of pain and on a liquid diet again.  So here I am in the recliner yet again with a heating pad.  But I can speak from experience that I did get well and had a lot of energy and felt my old self.  Food is just food.  We need to eat to live but we don't have to make it the center of our life.  This is what I am telling myself.  I have not had a pepperoni pizza since Feb 1.  It was the last thing I ate when I had my first attack.  So it has been 4 months since I ate all the usual foods most people like.  I rode by a fast food place yesterday and thought I will never have another burger from there again.  But you know what?  I may be healthier because of it.  

Read and research and learn from others. So many people have this.  Some eat completely normal.  I will not be one of those people because I will avoid this pain if at all possible.  So I will eat carefully for life.  But please don't be afraid. You will get more help from those who have this disease than the medical field so talk to others and see what worked for them.  As someone on this site said- most people get well on this forum and leave and so the people you hear from are those struggling too.  But one day you will be better and move on with your life and probably move on from this forum.  I hope you feel better soon.  You will get well again. It just takes longer than a normal sickness.  Give it time. Drink lots and lots of water and walk 30 minutes a day when you feel up to it.  Hang in there!  You are not alone!

Blessings,

Georgie

You will get better, and life will become almost back to normal.  MY first attack wasu the worst because I didn't know what it was and waited so long that i had a small rupture and ended up in the hospital for a few days with IV.  Came home on 2 antibiotics (flagyl and levaquin) - but could not tolerate the levaquin orally, even though I could through IV.  I felt terrible, anxious, on-going diarrhea, and though I would never enjoy life.  I am here to tell you you will get past that phase in recovery.  Take probiotics - that really helps the medicine-induced diarrhea, watch what you eat - liquids first, then soft - low fiber foods - then add more one at a time to see if you can tolerate.  Many also suggest fiber supplement.  Because I also have IBS - fiber does not help me much, tends to make me bloated and uncomfortable.  Since then - 10 years ago - I have had two additional attacks- and usually because I stopped watching my diet, or I think stress also played into it.  So now I am totally eliminating corn, popcorn, anything with seeds and nuts.  Seeds are the worst to avoid - includes so many things I like (tomatoes, okra, squash, berries, etc.)  Research says these things don't cause this, but my doctor said he would still advise staying away.  Drink lots of water, and if you start feeling pain, immediately go back to liquids for a little while, then soft, etc.  YES, you can live without surgery, but every situation is different.  Find a good GI doctor if problems continue, and would strongly advise a 2nd opinion before having surgery.  You will get better, but at the time, it seems like a forever situation.  It will cause some changes in lifestyle, but it becomes the new normal.  Hang in there - at some point you will find you have gone more than an hour or two without thinking about it.  

I know a lot of people on here are saying this DOESN’T go away and they’re probably right,  but the literature I’ve read says you can have one bout of diverticulitis and never see one again. I just can’t find anything on how LONG attacks (inflammation) typically last.

My CT scan did not indicate the presence of extensive diverticulosis (only the one inflamed diverticulum) or other disease which is why I’m crossing my fingers this just happened to be one bad infection of one diverticulum. Also, I was on orlistat for weight loss just prior to the inflammation and that probably didn’t help.

Does anyone know any good GI or colon specialists in Canada?

There are people who "live" with this disease.  In my case it had progressed so fast and developed scar tissue which indicated abscesses and perforations.  The scar tissue actually in one sense saved my life but also caused blockage. I followed every rule I could find. Ate smaller portions, stayed away from red meat, fresh vegetables and fruits,  basically lived off of eggs, cream of wheat, white bread, chicken, bone marrow broth and homemade soups with peeled diced potatoes, carrots,  celery and green beans.  I love Brussel sprouts, cabbages,  cauliflower,  broccoli but could not eat them.  I was constantly in pain, nausea and on the antibiotics which couldn't have been good for my liver and kidneys.  Tomatoes and tomato based sauces would trigger attacks.  I would drink 1 tsp of Metamucil,  2 Tbs milk of magnesium every morning.  My surgery has been a blessing and in my case saved my life. My best advice is to listen to your body. Everyone is different. 

As I said, my CT findings showed one inflamed diverticulum without perforation or abcess. There was no comment on the diagnosis indicating presence of other diverticulum in the colon and all other organs looked normal. Hoping my age and relative good health will work for me here. 

Please let us know how you progress.