tickled1
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I suspect that I have diverticulits and haven't put 2 and 2 together for a couple of years now but have been having severe pain on and off that whole time.
I have a question about diagnosis. I have been having a lot of pain over the last few days but today it is better. Can it only be diagnosed while the pain is occurring and will testing such as a CT scan not show anything if the pain has already passed?
Am I in danger if the pain has subsided? Can attacks pass on their own and are we no longer in danger if pain is not happening. How do I go about getting this diagnosed if I may or may not be in pain at the time of an appointment? Thanks!
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tickled1
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BTW, I have all kinds of GI problems including chronic gastritis presumably from H. Pylori, delayed gastric emptying and reduced motility and I recently had C Diff as well and have D Lactate Acidosis and unidentified yeast/fungi.
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Kudzuslipper
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My understanding is you will always have diverticulosis. The pain happens when the pertruding pouch becomes infected and becomes diverticulitis. The pouch is always there so they could see it any time.
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tickled1
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So if the pain happens if the pouch becomes infected and the pain has passed does that mean the infection can sometimes clear on its' own?
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Catgirl
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I had a diverticulitis attack once after eating chia seeds on a salad. I thought I was dying. Definitely worse than labor.
The best way to deal with diverticulitis is diet. Eat fiber and lots of greens. Avoid small seeds (poppy, chia), and eat more fiber and more water too. Fyi, nuts and popcorn never bothered me (even after the attack), just the tiny stuff. Also, avoiding gluten helps.
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tickled1
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So do I do anything right now if the pain has subsided or do I need to go to the doctor during an attack? Does it make sense that cheese would trigger an attack for me (binding!)? Would I have pain w/out infection or does pain always indicate infection? Is anyone on the younger side for diverticulitis like me at 37?
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Kudzuslipper
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I got my first attack at 42. a weekened colon is what causes it to pertrude. so a history of GI problems could make sense. but if you think cheese is the culprit it may just be gas or upset. the only way to really know if Diverticulitis/losis is a problem is to have a scan or a colonoscopy.
Usually if you have diverticulitis meaning it is infected, you have a fever too. I was unable to get off the couch the pain was so bad. I don't think it is always this way, but in my case going to the doctor was not a question.
I would say if the pain is gone, try to adjust your diet, if the pain still comes and goes I would get it checked out. you don't want to mess around with your colon.
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tickled1
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Thank you everyone. It's like I have a very sore spot inside radiating to the abdomen, lower back and then down to my um....rear. Along with this I often have SEVERE lower back pain so bad I can't get out of bed sometimes and I've been thinking ankylosing spondylitis for awhile.
Sounds like if there was serious infection present then my body would let me know, like you said, with fever.
I recently did a course of Flagyl for C Diff and all my other GI symptoms went away for about a month!!!
I have another 3 week prescription on hand of Flagyl. Would it be a mistake to take it without going to the doc for this now that the pain has passed?
I had zero issues or herx on the Flagyl last time and was on it for 10 days.
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Catgirl
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I am not a doc, so I don't know for sure. How is your inflammation (CRP)? Dairy & gluten cause inflammation. Inflammation can't be good for diverticulitis. Maybe the inflammation is making your tissue thin and allowing the diverticulitis to occur easier.
Diverticulitis is the body's way of telling you that you can't continue eating what you're eating. It's angry and is telling you to change. I'm not trying to scare you but my friend almost died from diverticulitis. You can't take a pill for this. Once you have the out pouchings, you have them forever. You have to change your diet.
When I had my first attack, my doctor gave me flexeril. Unfortunately, it didn't even come close to working on my next attack. My doc asked me what I ate prior to my attacks. That was when she told me to stop eating things that aggravate diverticulitis.
If the pain has subsided, you are probably okay, but if you have another attack, go to the doc or ER during the attack.
I am speculating here, but perhaps diverticulitis is more common with middle aged people because middle aged people's lyme eventually rears its ugly head. My lyme grew undetected for decades. Middle age & lyme--that's when everything we've ever been exposed to shows up all at once.
Lyme attacks the gut. So the inflammation has to be addressed. Eventually, none of us can ignore our diet. It's the one thing we can control.
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tickled1
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Thank you so much for all your help!!!
I'm not sure how I should be eating b/c I think additonal fiber that is recommended for diverticulosis would probably cause more problems for me with the delayed gastric emptying and reduced motility. Gluten and dairy free is a start and you may be onto something with the inflammation since food allergies cause inflammation.
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Razzle
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Kidney stones?
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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tickled1
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Nope
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A: So the question arises if the little researched food nightshades could have health problems. The potato and tomato are our leading vegetables today and they along with peppers and maybe eggplant are in many of our daily meals.
I was made wise to the problem back in the 1950s when my doctor told me hot peppers may have irritated my intestines and caused a three-phase colostomy operation for diverticulitis. Being an horticulturist, I had researched and knew the members of the Solanaceae family and so eliminated the food members and tobacco from my diet. My health problems disappeared, including arthritis.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
My husband just got out of the hospital with this. He had perforated his colon and needed to be on IV antibiotics for a few days in hospital.
His healed itself but he will likely need surgery in the future. Surgery with infection means temporary colostomy and a second surgery to reconnect things. Surgery when not infected can be done thru a scope and about 1/12the recovery time as the 2 surgeries open incision.
I'd suggest going to see a GI doc as soon as you can even if pain has passed. My husband had frequent issues of what he thought was food poisoning but likely it was prior attacks that were not diagnosed correctly.
Getting speptis is serious outcome if you have perforated. He had a colonoscopy about a year before noted some issues but it wasn't inflamed at the time.
Pain is normally in front near pubic bone and his was centered but usually they are on one side.
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posted
My husband went home from hospital on Flagyl and Cipro.
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tickled1
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Thanks so much trimom! I need to go get this checked out I guess but are you saying his colonoscopy didn't show anything?
That is where my pain is but on the sides and inside also radiating to back.
Sorry your husband had to go through this. Hope he is better soon!
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Kudzuslipper
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tickled, definitely get it checked out. couple of things, though, a sign of diverticulitis besides the pain is ribbon shaped or pencil thin stools.
In terms of diet-- while inflamed and painful it is best to eat a low residue diet. lean protein, white rice, and very cooked vegetables. Pretty much the things you would normally not think are healthy... the whiter and more cooked the better.
but once you are feeling good again--- that is when you want to follow Catgirls advice.
I have a hard time with fiber supps because of allergies-- but methylcellulose (citracel)or soluble fiber is better for Div than insoluble fiber like psyllium.
but you should get checked out. it may not even be diverticulosis. Muscle pain can be very painful and feel like pain from inside-- and not sure if you are female or male but if the first it could also be an ovarian cyst or fibroids... which are not necessarily dangerous but can be uncomfortable.
I hope you find that it is nothing at all.
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TF
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To find out if you have diverticulosis, get a colonoscopy. If the doctor sees the diverts in the colon, then you have diverticulosis.
Then, he can advise you regarding how to avoid attacks and can treat you if you get an attack.
But, first, find out if you have diverts in your colon. If you don't, then your pain is from a totally different cause.
During the colonoscopy, the doctor may notice other things that will be clues to theproper diagnosis.
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tickled1
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I've had 2 colonoscopies the last one being a couple of years ago. The colon pain didn't start until after that. I had other GI problems though before that. Should I request yet another colonoscopy? I am so aprehensive about seeing the GI again b/c I have been so mistreated by more than one of them. The last one I saw said just to take Prilosec for life and he didn't do any testing and that was the end of it.
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TF
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If you had a normal colon 2 years ago (meaning, doctor saw no diverts), then you most likely still have a normal colon now.
You have to have diverts (pockets in the intestines) and one or more has to become infected (like with trapped stool) to end up with an attack of diverticulitis.
So, if your colonoscopy 2 years ago was totally normal, the chance that you now have diverticulitis is very, very small. I would look elsewhere for a cause.
I had a colonoscopy due to terrible abdominal pains when I had undiagnosed lyme, babs, and bart. Then, 6 months later, I had a sigmoidoscopy (looks only at the last 1/3 of colon) because of excruciating abdominal pain. My gastro thought that surely something must be there for me to be suffering so.
All of these looks into the colon by the gastro showed a normal colon. It turned out that once I got diagnosed with lyme and cos and got treated for them, all of my abdominal pain went away. Imagine that!
That's why I tell people that nearly all of their symptoms are likely from lyme and cos. You can go to a lot of specialists and spend a lot of money on tests that all turn up nothing because lyme and cos are causing all of the pains and other symptoms you are having.
Another experience of mine while treating lyme: After 10 days of lying at home taking narcotic pain killers (and after a gyn exam and a sonogram of my uterus), I finally went to the ER for excruciating abdominal pain. They did a full body scan expecting to see appendicitis. They found nothing and sent me home.
Once you do these things a few times, you finally decide to just quit doing them and chalk it all up to lyme and cos.
Of course, if you have bleeding or blood in the stool or can't have a bowel movement, that is an entirely different case. But abdominal pains are so frequently part of having lyme/bart, that you have to finally just decide to treat your diseases and then see if any symptoms remain after you have finished treatment.
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posted
My husband felt like he needed to have a bowel movement with urgency but he only passed mucous
His colonscopy 10 months prior to his perforation showed he had diverticula which is common in 50% of people over 50 in US. Not all that have diverticula end up having an infection that is diverticultis.
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I had a scope and was told I had diverticula's. Didn't think much of it, as they didn't make much of it.
A year ago though, I had this pain in the lower left area. It didn't go away and each day got worse. Finally was so painful I took a day off from work to lay down. I never run a normal temp, but somehow felt warm, so I took my temperature. I was right at 100... which shocked me that I could actually run a temp!
I drove myself to the ER... and after a cat scan was told it was a good thing I came in when I did, as it looked like my little pocket was ready to pop and was full of infection.
Nothing to play around with! Fever is a key ... but that means the infection is advanced. My llmd has said to never let it get 'backed' up in there ever again! Nothing to mess around with.
-------------------- Lyme, Babs, Fry Bug..... Whatever it is, may a treatment be discovered to make us all whole again! Posts: 941 | From AZ-MT | Registered: Oct 2004
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Catgirl
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tickled1
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trimom, that's interesting b/c that's exactly what happened to me w/the urgency but only passing mucus when they told me I had C Diff and I had a fever.
I had a recurrence of this a few wks. after finishing treatment (just a couple wks ago) so retested C Diff but it was negative. No return of fever though.
So does everyone here agree that fever would be the big indicator? I'm assuming fever would always occur when infected? Like we've all said the diverticula aren't a problem unless they get infected so I should watch out for fever?
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TF
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I think you should schedule a sigmoidoscopy. The diverts are generally in the last 1/3 of the colon, so this test would tell you if you have them.
If you don't have them, then you won't have this worry. It is worth it to get rid of this worry that you have.
You don't have to be put to sleep for a sigmoid, so you just get up and drive home when it is over. It doesn't take long at all. No big deal. Also, you can watch the scope inside your intestines, so you will see for yourself if there are diverts or not. You know right then and there if your colon is normal or if you have diverticulosis.
The reason you give for asking for the test is unexplained abdominal pain. (Go to a different gastro if you want.)
Peace of mind is worth a lot.
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tickled1
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Thanks for this info. Yes, it is time to do something and time for a new GI. I'm just so tired of doctors' lack of willingness to help or listen.
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