On antibiotics pain stopped but has returned

Note from fellow diverticulitis sufferer. I have not had a flare up in many months. My onset was 2016. I had a poor diet, very little fiber, did not drink enough water. I manage DD now with lots of water, 64 ounces per day, fiber in the form of oatmeal and/or Metamucil. No alcohol whatsoever. Would you categorize yourself as overweight? If so, change your eating habits; otherwise, you're looking at possible surgery, which I have not had, but I hear it has complications. All the best to you. This is a great forum with lots of great input from people who are going through just what you are.

Hi there Amanda, I'm at the opposite end of what the first response says. I'm a 60 year old woman who had diverticuli for 15 years before I had any symptoms. I've always eaten well. No dairy, gluten free, small amounts of grass fed beef, no junk food at all throughout my whole life and has NEVER been constipated. I was told by many doctors that they don't really know what causes this disease. Mine is probably hereditary as my 93 year old father who still cooks his own wholesome meals also has it and had a abscess many years ago. 18 months ago I started getting symptoms. In the course of those months I had 2 abscesses and 2 difficult flares that landed me in the hospital 4 times. I was a very clean and careful eater. It didn't matter. The disease still progressed to the point the sigmoid colon was so scared that it was closing up. I had elective surgery May 6 this year. 8 inches removed. I went in on Monday came out on Thursday and went grocery shopping although slowly on Friday. I had absolutely no complications and feel FANTASTIC! I eat whatever I want that is healthy as I did before. Complications are more common when the surgery is an emergency and not elective. I was told I might have a bag when I woke up. But I didn't. I had 1 month to prepare for it. I tried to manage my condition the best I could prior to surgery. So I ate lots of soup and fresh bread chicken, fish, potatoes. After surgery I was able to eat fresh fruit and veggies way more and lots of nuts and seeds again. I would do the surgery again if I had too. However I was told the chances of having issues again are slim to none. Like you I was off and on antibiotics which was horrible in itself. I never felt completely well and it didn't matter really what I ate. It's possible your antibiotics are not doing their job and you need to be switched to another one. Don't let it go on for too long before you get checked out again. I've had so many CT scans because I kept going to the hospital even though my symptom picture was not the norm. I never had any of the symptoms other than some lower left quadrant pain that was more nagging than sharp or intense. I hope you feel better soon. Pm if you have any questions. Take care.

I am sorry you joined our club. In my experience yes pain comes and goes antibiotics or not. How are you eating? Are you following the Mayo Clinic low residue diet? Google it if you aren't. Hot water bottles and heating pads help with the pain sometimes. Rest and rest some more because between the illness and the antibiotics you are getting your butt kicked. If you are worried about the pain see you doctor but if it should happen to get really bad then go to the hospital if you can't see your doctor. I hope this helps you some. Lots of people get really anxious when diagnosed. Post more questions anytime. I hope you feel better soon.

Julie

You've had several different perspectives and here is yet another one. I was diagnosed in 2000 after a flare with bleeding, and have been managing by diet (high soluble fibre and otherwise healthy eating) alone plus a daily dose of psyllium husk, and pure Aloe Vera to keep the stools soft and the bowels moving. During that time I have had 6 flares requiring antibiotics, but was never hospitalised. I went 8 years between attack 1 and 2, and 6 years between 2 and 3. My last 3 attacks were one after the other in 2016. Each of the first 3 times it took 4 - 6 weeks for the pain to go, but in 2016 it took over a year.

The point being, each of us is different - many people just have one attack, or like me widely spaced attacks because I look after myself and don't have complications. Others do have complications, like an abscess, fistula, blockage which do require surgery. The disease is for life and does get worse with age. The people who post here are weighted towards the people who have developed complications who have required surgery.

In the USA the trend used to be "chop it all out before it gets worse" but the medical profession is now becoming more conservative in its approach. I would be horrified if you were told surgery during the first attack, unless there was a life threatening emergency.

Whilst having pain you should follow a clear liquid diet, then after 48 hours or so, a low residue diet for about a week. Then slowly re-introduce soluble fibre into your diet. Sometimes more than one course of antibiotics is required, and they do knock the stuffing out of you. If you get repeated flares, or the pain doesn't go, then you may have an underlying condition and may require surgery. Surgery should not be undertaken lightly - it is a major operation, and there can be complications. As you have read here, some people have no problems at all, but others do.

But you should be offered a colonoscopy 6 weeks after diagnosis, when the inflammation and infection should have subsided. If not do ask for one. It is not a pleasant experience but if you are lucky, you will be asleep during it. Give it time, but don't be afraid to go back if you don't improve, or get worse.

Just bear in mind that antibiotics kill bacteria and and our gut is an amazing community of - bacteria! Our microbiome is gradually being revealed as billions of different bugs all doing a fabulous job of digesting our food for us and also looking after various moods and other aspects of our well-being.

Whenever you take antibiotics (and there are many different types so it's actually quite important to note what the doctor gives you), you are slaughtering your friendly bugs as well as the bad guys that are causing your problems. Remember to do yourself and your gut a favour and always take probiotics whenever you take antibiotics. These will help replenish the good guys in your gut and your body will thank you.

When you take probiotics (live yoghurt will do the job or you can buy capsules), leave about 2 hours either side of the antibiotic so both get a chance to do their job.

Some of the stronger antibiotics (e.g. Cipro) are actually known to cause C.diff infections as they kill off the competition that keeps C.diff in place.

Take care and I hope you get sorted out soon.

Amanda - Wondering how you are doing 4 days after your original post. I have had the exact same thing happen, and I'm really suffering anxiety from it. Went to ER 6 days ago - CT scan showed diverticulitis (4th flare in 10 years) - but had no fever and white blood count was normal. Sent home with Flagyl and Bactrim - can't take Cipro. I was getting better although meds were horrible and greatly contribute to my anxiety. This afternoon my side started hurting again, not as badly, but worse than it had been for a couple days. Mine is almost at my waist and hurts around into my back. I still have 3 days of antibiotics left, so guess I will finish those and then see. Don't have a lot of faith in my doctor and they are being very slow about referring me to a GI. Wants to send me to a surgeon instead.

Amanda,

Everyone has a different experience with DD. It will come and go on its own terms and I can say from personal experience I had no way of knowing exactly what was causing my pains, i.e. trigger foods, smoking, drinking, etc. A year ago I had three visits to the ER in 2 months. None of the antibiotics worked that long. A few days of apparently being on the mend on antibiotics and then it would just turn bad again before my prescription was even out. I eventually was on a nothing but soft diet in order to assure the least amount of flare ups. This went on a year before I decided to do the resection surgery. I would advice you immediately set up an appointment with a Gastro specialist. My GI told me that after my third attack that my risks of not doing to the surgery were higher than avoiding surgery risks. I am 8 weeks prior my surgery and have a whole new life now. Get a hold of me if you have any questions. Best wishes to you.