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Im 36 and I ended up going to A&E on Wednesday with pain and blood from back passage. After blood tests and history of polyps I was diagnosed with Diverticulitis. I'm due a colonoscopy in a few weeks to confirm.
I was discharged with a 5 day courselves of Cipro. (I see many say 10). I'm wondering if I'll need a longer course?
The pain has subsided but they also gave me cocodomal which helps.
What can I expect once the anti have finished? I haven't had a bowel movement since and am terrified to eat so didn't eat for 3 days. Had soup yesterday
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susan95516 Elliesel
Posted
Co- cocodamol constipats so that might be you haven't been to the toilet. Have a word with your GP to give you something to help you go Hope you are feeling better soon
Guest Elliesel
Posted
You are doing the right thing in not eating whilst taking the medication, until the pain eases. You should be sticking to fluids only to give your bowels a rest and a chance to heal. I take things like clear soup, black tea/coffee, clear juice like apple. Fibre is a strictly no-no, so with so little going in, you cannot expect much to come out. Then you should slowly start on a more substantial fluid diet, for example, yogurt, meal replacement drinks, soup (blended until smooth). Then you can start to introduce foods like mash, steamed fish, vegetable puree (spud, carrot, swede, parsnip). Basically soft pap that will slip down. You probably need to follow this for a couple of weeks, and slowly reintroduce SMALL amount of soluble fibre back into your diet.
Eventually you should move to a high fibre diet to ensure smooth passage, but introducing too much fibre too quickly can actually make you worse. There are plenty of posts here advising you on foods you can eat. I recommend you keep a food diary to see what foods if any trigger your symptoms. For me it is gluten and high fat, like ice cream. For others it can be all sorts of things - nuts, pips, seeds, popcorn, red meat, dairy, skins (apple, potato) etc. Everyone is different - you have to find your own triggers by trial and error. That is why the NHS gives so little helpful information - there are no set rules.
Your colonoscopy should confirm the diagnosis - they don't like to do it until after the infection and inflammation has gone, hence the wait. Once confirmed I would recomment you take a daily soluble fibre supplement like Fybogel (mine is prescribed by my GP for my DD but it is available over the counter or on the Internet and is a recognised treatment). It bulks and softens the stool and acts as a mild laxative. Basically it clears out the colon to prevent particles of food getting trapped in the diverticula and causing another infection. I also take pure aloe vera juice (revolting but helps with pain and internal healing) and a probiotic drink daily.
The process in the UK differs greatly from the USA. They use different drugs and for much longer. My flare ups are controlled by 2 drugs, one for 5 days and one for 7 days. If you are concerned when the course ends you will need to go back to your doctor.
So what can you expect in recovery? Firstly, there is no quick fix and feeling better immediately. It takes time and patience for your insides to heal. My first attack in 2001 took 4 weeks before I felt normal again, and you will see for some people it takes longer. I had a flare in August, which started to settle in December. Then I had another flare in January and am now just about back to normal. You can expect to continue to get occasional stabs of pain, wind and bloating. Also possible the odd spotting of blood and passing mucus with your stool. These are all fairly common. Hopefully most of the time you will feel OK. I would advise you to be careful how you bend and lift as both might cause pain.
What may take time is for you to recover your confidence. This is initially a very scary disease and many people fear eating or going out. I know I did at first many years ago. But you make changes to your lifestyle, your eating habits, being prepared. In other words you adapt and it becomes a way of life. I carry spare pants and antiseptic wipes when I go out in case I need the toilet and want to clean myself. Speaking of toilet, you will find it takes some time for your bowel to settle down and re-establish a rythym. You will have been eating and drinking things your system is not used to and is very low fibre. You will probably have loose stools mixed with a touch of constipation (which of course medication will cause anyway). You can expect in future to have more frequent bowel movements, particularly if you are prescribed a stool softener (whatever you do, try not to strain). I go 3 - 6 times a day, but you pee that much anyway, so I don't find it a problem.
I have had this disease 16 years and this is what has helped me. I went 6 years between flares 1 & 2, and a further 6 years to flare 3. During this time I lived a normal life and participated in competitive sport. I did have to modify my diet. People come to this forum in pain and fear, wondering how they will cope with their families, jobs etc or if they will ever feel better. For the majority they take the advice, slowly recover, and then vanish from the forum. So please bear that in mind when you read the posts. I have stayed so I can relay my experiences and let people know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Now to the colonoscopy! For most people the worst part is the prep. There are plenty of posts about the prep and procedure. The best advice I can give is read them, stay VERY close to the toilet, prepare in advance, do NOT go to work after you have taken the prep, have someone take you, request the sedation. You will need someone to bring you home and stay with you for 24 hours. You might experience some pain, bloating, wind afterwards, but look on it as having given you a very thorough clean out! I found it actually helped me heal.
All the very best.
Elliesel Guest
Posted
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond this was all reassuring. I need to accept it's diffrent from a chest infection and everything will return to normal after the antibiotics.
The hospital didnt give me any advice about diet or anything they just gave me antibiotics and pain meds and sent me on my way. So reading this and these have helped.
I imagine I will be given more info once I get a positive diagnosis. I'll just keep on with the soups for now. Until I've had some sort of bowel movement.
Again thank you so much!
linda822 Elliesel
Posted
linda822 Elliesel
Posted
On the other hand you might be one of the lucky ones and never have it again, I hope so. I had my 1st attack on january 16th .I was diagnosed by a CT scan. I was on antibiotics for 10 days which left my bowels a wreck, after a 3 day liquid diet when I got diagnosed and then 2 weeks of low fiber diet I was better. After a total of 5 weeks I finally felt normal again. . I am back to a regular diet with no restrictions per my doctor and I feel fine. I did take a probiotic to get my system back on track around week 4. I had a colonoscopy after 8 weeks which confirmed the itis had cleared up. I do have multiple diviticula but hoping drinking more water will help to keep things moving. I did feel some discomfort 2 weeks ago for 1 day but it never developed into a flare probably because I upped the water. It's been 3 and a half months now so i'm keeping my fingers crossed.
linda822 Elliesel
Posted
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