return of symptoms relating to diverticula disease

Thank you susan95516. It's reassuring to know others understand what's going on.

Please let me know if you do. I seam to take 2 steps forward and 4 back

It doesn't pay to be a stress bunny I have found to my cost!

Since my last post I've received normal full blood count. This reduced anxiety levels but now full on worrying as no answers. It's like groundhog day waiting for symptoms to bubble up which they always do. may have to ask for anti-depressants to help get a grip.

Hi redstar. I'm 53 and this bout of diver really got me down. Hadn't had one in 5 years. It's been 8 weeks today and I'm still having symptoms. You can go on this page and see my full story. I had to go on celexa an AD because I couldn't handle the stress of it all. I will pray that all turns out well with you. ShawnPs female.

Thanks Shawn77296. I am almost paralyzed with anxiety- I must ask for something to help me get through this phase. I cannot think positively about what's going on inside me.  

Well you are definetley not alone. I a man also taking a small dose of klonopin until the celexa kicks in I've been on it almost 3 weeks and it takes 4-6 to be fully effective. I have not had a menstrual cycle for 7 months and just started a bad one. So it's hard to tell which is causing my pain now. I've pain free hours then super low sharp pains on. Oth aides then menatrual pains. Then I will have regular bowel movements then urgent diarrhea. It's been 8 weeks. I done know what's going on. No fever which I have had all three times.If after this menstrual cycle passes I'm waiting for the 10 week mark if I'm still in pain I'm going for a second opinion. I'm here if you need to talk..Shawn

Thanks so much.

Thank you for your reply Yvonne. Can I just ask, do you get periods of wellness and then sudden relapse? 

Hi Redstar,Yes i do,somedays are good and otherdays i can get cramping, pains on both sides of my tummy and needing the loo alot,i find the less i need to poo the better i feel,its as if the movement in my bowel causes pain,i take fybogel and loperomide as recommended by my GP.i eat healthily,i find too much red meat is not good for me,wine and now drink decaf coffee.and salads seem to affect me badly aswell.

Hi Yvonne what is loperamide. I take albran and a antispasmodic before meals plus a probiotic drink x

Hi Susan,its the generic name for Immodium,i was scared to take it at 1st but my GP said it was ok as long as i dont suffer from constipation,which i dont generally.

I take Imodium if I get really bad It usually stops me for a couple of days x

Hi I was wondering if you could help me. This is my third flare. First two were waist high and cleared immediately with antibiotics. I went to the er 7 weeks ago with stomach pain very low abdomen. I had a d an c 6 days before and though I had a pelvic or uterine infection. Ct scan confirmed diverticulitis. I was given augmentin and flagyl for 10 days. I was still having some twinges weeks later. 4 weeks after er visit I had colonoscopy with biopsies. Biopsies fine. Colonoscopy showed a diverticuli still inflamed. I was put back on flagyl for 10 days. I was having more pain like period cramps. And left sided twinges I was also very stressed as it was raising my anxiety bc I could still feel everything. My gi sent me back to er for Ct scan this was the last day on flagyl and about 5-6 weeks from start. Ct scan was clear showed no inflammation. I still feel off and on lower abdomen cramping and strange darting pains on both sides. Sometimes 3 and 4 bms a day. I'm better if I'm busy worse if I'm sitting. I am now 7 weeks out and followed all eating rules. No fever. No bad pain. Have I given myself ibs by worrying myself to death. I had to go back on anxiety medicine last week which I haven't been on for years. Can I be making my own stomach hurt. Has it turned over sensitive. Please help . Ps. I'm female 53

I get all those symptoms I don't think worry can make things so bad sometimes it can take a long time to clear up. I always have leftsided pain I feel sick sometimes and depressed. I don't go out much due to fear of needing toilet DD has changed my life not for the better Hope you feel better soon

Hi there,it can take awhile after a flare up for things to calm down,you say the Ct scan showed no infection so give it time ,don't know much about IBS ,I think It usually shows up in younger people.I suffer pains on and off which is quite common for me .What about your diet ?do you suffer from diahroea if so a fiber supplement might help,if things still don't improve go  back to your doctor that's what they are there for.I hope things improve for you,but it can take awhile for you to manage this disease,I was diagnosed in November 2014 and I'm still learning .This site is very good and lots of tips and ideas are given ,you are not alone.

Thank you for your reply. Sometimes it seems never ending.It's depressing me. I don't really have diarrhea I alternate between normal sometimes and what I call several a day fluffy. Yuck. Hopefully it will even out soon. The pain freaks me out.

Thank you Susan. I hope you do also.

Yes my BM were like that and as the day went on they got looser and the cramps got worse ,that's when i started on the Fybogel and Imodium type capsules ,the doctor told me to open the capsule up and empty some out if they bunged me up so that's what I do..They have helped me carry on with a fairly normal life.

Hi Shawn

I'm female, 67 and have had this disease for 16 years.  What you describe sounds exactly like the typical aftermath of a flare up, and exactly how I am.  I'm sorry to say it can take quite a long time for everything to settle down, from a few weeks if you are lucky, to a few months.  Now your infection has gone, you have Diverticulosis, and are still healing inside from the original infection.

I had a flare last August, and finally started to settle down in December, when I started taking pure aloe vera juice and a probiotic drink daily, on top of my prescribed Fybogel.  Then I had another flare in January, and am finally settled again.  Mostly good pain free days, with fairly normal bowel movements 3 - 6 times a day.  Additional BM is something most of us get and it's a good thing, as it clears out the colon, stops a build up of food that can get trapped, and thus prevents re-infection. 

You are going to wee 6+ times a day anyway, so I don't find it a problem.  I just carry spare pants and some antiseptic wipes so I can clean myself if I am out.  I get the occasional niggle, but can usually associate it with overeating or eating one of my trigger foods.  For me it is gluten and ice cream.

Worrying is inevitable, but please be assured that for most of us things do get better slowly.  I do not let the disease dictate my life or stop me from doing anything.  I have played competitive sport throughout.  Yes, I am aware of the niggles, have to follow a different diet, have to be careful how I bend or lift, and sometimes feel bloated.  It can be difficult when you have a family to run and a job to do.  But I have adapted and it just becomes a way of life, something that seemed impossible at first, both for me and a lot of others who post on this forum.  But occasionally someone comes back to the forum several months later, to report they are now feeling much better.  Best wishes

I was 70 on Monday I was diagnosed last September but I think I have had it for years I am having abit of a flare up at the moment only thing I can think of is I had a small bit of chocolate and that's kicked it off.

I find that it's what I ate one and a half to two days previously that gives me grief. I think it tends to take that long to reach the end where the problem is. I find too much rich and fatty food can do it, like anything with melted cheese or too much cheese. Also too much red meat and processed meat like bacon.

I had chocolate on Wednesday so what you say fits Thank you I will remember that

I woke up this morning to get ready for church so depressed. I asked god to please help me through the day and to give me strength not to let this rule my life and I received your message.Prayer answered. Thank you so much !!!!

Hi Felina,you are so supportive and positive,thankyou for all your posts,i come on the forum daily and read them all and they immeadiatly make me feel better,im sure we all get down at times as i do ,No one day is the same for me.Im sure i would have 3 or 4 BM per day but they make me feel unwell and crampy so i take the immodium for that really and so far so good.as long as i go about twice per day i feel i will be ok,I think we all  get used to using public toilets eventually as needs must.Thankyou again.

So pleased I could help.

Thanks.  Funnily enough I find that being positive for others makes me more positive for myself.  As you say we all have our ups and downs, including me.  At present I am taking antibiotics for a bladder infection, with the side effect that I have less BM at present, and actually feel a bit constipated.  I don't know if others have found this, but I seem to get lots of bladder infections since my DD went from moderate to severe.  Perhaps just one of the symptoms we have to live with.  Or I'm just getting old! lol

Hi Felina. I'm sorry to hear about your bladder infection. They have always checked my urine to make sure I didn't have a fistula between a diverticuli pouch and my bladder which would cause frequent bladder infections. My urine has always been clear. Have you been checked for a fistula. I don't think it's very common and likely not the caSe. Just wanted to mention it if your infections were getting more frequent. You are quite knowledgeable so I'm sure you have already been aware of this. Hope you feel better soon. Thank you for your posts.Shawn

Hi Shawn

Yes I was aware of the possibility, because my cousin had one.  However he had both blood and stool leakage in his urine, which is how his was picked up, as well as severe pain.  I had a CT scan only a few months ago and think a fistula would have been picked up then (or I hope it would!!!).   I am due to see my doctor in a few weeks to see if we can get find the reason, as this has been going on now for several years.  One possibility is my atrophic vagina, but there are other possibilities as well, all of them common and annoying, but not serious.  At least with the antibiotics now, I am sleeping at night, not getting up 5 or 6 times!

I hope they find the reason. That's about the only thing I've never had. A Bladder infection I mean. I'm still wondering if the d and c I had somehow caused this flair being i got the flare 6 days later and hasn't had one for 5 years. I also have a rectocele which I am on estrace vaginal cream for. I'm wondering if the cream is causing some of my pelvic cramping so I'm stopping it for now. As that is a side effect.I hope we all find some answers. Take care. Shawn

Hi. I have another question if you dont mind. I wang to state also bf this bout of diver I had no digestive issues and no pelvic pain issues all was normal in both areas. Only some acid reflux.My question is I'm getting cramping after a bowel movement achiness sort of like period cramps and also sometimes after I eat. Is this normal after a flare and is there something I can take for it.Thanks. Shawn

Sorry I missed this.  It's not something I've come across, but perhaps someone else has.

Hi. The reason for the cramping is no longer a mystery. I had a period after 7 months. Thought I was done with that. Now back to just the twinges in the original spot if I have to much fiber. My dr thanks I might have had an undetected microperforation which can take several months to fully heal.

Hi Shawn

Well that was a bit unexpected!!  Sometimes a period pain is just that - a period pain.  But we get so sucked into thinking about Diverticulitis, we can forget the other things.  I have been told (by a nurse who also has DD) that it can take up to a year to fully heal.  And then sometimes there is residual pain from scarring if you've had several flares.  But glad it's just twinges for you now.  I was a bit naughty and had some ice cream, and am paying for it.  Back on 3 days of fluids and already better after one day.

I see my GP this Tuesday about the increased bladder infections I have had since my DD worsened.  I think I have part of the answer though.  The NHS is so stingy I was only given 3 day courses of antibiotics, and when I went back still having symptoms, was told it was thrush and to buy caneston over the counter.  Needless to say this didn't work and I was still getting problems.  But the new doctor actually gave me a 5 day course and it seems to have worked - same drug just longer.  I think I had just been fighting a lingering bladder infection for months, but didn't like to make a fuss until it became unbearable.

I'm off on holiday in a week and just hope no more problems.

Wow. I am in the US. We get two antibiotics for 10 days. I did two courses. I think I actually went for my second ER trip for the menstrual pain. But I had no way of knowing and it continued until the period showed up two weeks later. I hope your bladder infections get better and you have a nice holiday.

Thanks.  I guess either you or your insurance has to pay for your medication.  With the NHS ours is free, but they always go for the cheapest shortest option.  For the bladder, it is one medication for 3 days.  For Diverticulitis, it is 2 medications, one for 3 days and one for 5 days.

Our A&E (ER to you) is so overstretched you wait hours, there are often no beds, and we get horror stories of seriously ill people being misdiagnosed and sent home.  Some have actually been reported in these forums. 

For chronic and non life threatening conditions, you wait months or even years.  Imagine thinking you have bowel cancer (which most of us with Diverticular Disease do) and having to wait 6 months for a Colonoscopy.  No reassurance by a doctor would stop you worrying.  Having said that, in an emergency and correctly diagnosed, they are very good.  Best wishes

I feel so lucky I went to the GP who sent me down the 2 week cancer route I had my colonoscopy within 2 weeks they took a polyp out the same time everything was ok except for DD so I was referred back to GP I will only see 2 GPs who seam to understand DD a little the others in the practice haven't got a clue

I had no idea. We have a copay with our private ins so meds are very cheap. But of course not everyone has ins. I went to the emergency room twice had the bloodwork Ct scan and the whole works and was completely done in 3-4 hours. And my gi Dr did my colonoscopy 4 weeks later. I was into see him 3 days after the er visit. I guess our quickness is good and your free care is good. To bad it can't all be together. Best wishes to you also