Is this diverticulitis?
Posted , 1 user is following.
Hello, I just found this forum and I was wondering if anyone could weigh-in with an opinion. A few months ago I had bright red blood in my stool and a dull pain/pressure on the left side of my lower back. I've had chronic constipation my entire life so it isn't uncommon for me to see blood when wiping from hemorrhoids or tearing, but this is the first time I had blood IN my stool and not on the paper. Both symptoms only lasted one day. Then about a month ago I had the same two symptoms. Blood in stool and pain/pressure in the same area of my back. It persisted for two weeks before I saw my doctor. she thought that my symptoms and a slightly elevated WBC count meant diverticulitis. She prescribed me metronidazole and also recommended daily miralax so that I would have a daily bowel movement. My symptoms didn't improve. Its now two weeks later and I'm waiting for my CT scan referral to go through. The pain that was always in my lower back has started to sometimes radiate into my left butt cheek and cause tenderness in my hip. Sometimes my back hurts to the touch and sometimes its a really vague pain. I haven't been able to detect blood in a few days, but there is visible mucus, and I also think my stool shows signs of malabsorption (could this be from the laxatives?) . The pain seems to get bad when i sit, and go away when i straighten my spine so I have wondered if it could be a herniated disc and not related to the bowel problems. But activity relieves it, rather than making it worse. And on days I dont have a bowel movement, the pain increases until I do. Sometimes it feels like a cramp in my back. I rarely have abdominal pain, an occasional cramp now and then. My doctor didn't recommend any dietary changes and what I eat doesn't seem to make pain any better or worse. I decided on my own to try a liquid diet the past few days and I don't think it made any difference at all. I'm feeling very unsure and can't stop googling all the possibilities while I wait for my CT to get scheduled. Does it sound like diverticulitis? If you read along this far, I give you tons of credit. Thanks.
0 likes, 0 replies