Welp, I’m off to the doc today. A couple of days ago I awoke with a pain in my left lower-ish abdomen, which pain sometimes extended down the left side and central area. It has subsided to tenderness, but won’t go away. No fever, nausea or vomiting, though.
I’ll see the doc, but in the meantime consulted Dr. Google. All kinds of things cause abdominal pain, but the ailment which checks off almost every box is diverticular disease. Looks really common for folks over 60 (that’s me).
Does anyone else have it? Is the pain similar to what I’ve described above? What sort of tests did your doctor have you do, if any?
I don’t need this. We’re about to do one week road trip for an isolated vacation in the country.
I had it, and then eventually had to have surgery to stop it. I had a colonoscopy to try to diagnose, but the inflammation and eventual scarring over several years had gotten so bad the colonoscope could not go past the strictures.
The surgeon removed about 20 cm of my sigmoid colon.
The pain that you describe is what I had, too. Antibiotics were prescribed over many episodes. Had several CT scans and a barium study to help diagnose.
I had an attack that put me in the hospital for a few days. Pain similar to yours, but on the other side which was unusual. They did a CT scan(?) with dye to diagnose it, and after that it was IV antibiotics in a hospital bed for a couple of days. On the plus side, morphine really works!
Hope you have something lesser that standard antibiotics work on. Afterwards, regular colonoscopies and more fiber in the diet. Interestingly, seeds and nuts have nothing to do with diverticulitis.
That’s a good link. I’m starting a clear liquid diet as of this morning in case that’s what my doctor will advise. I also hope that this is something that antibiotics, rest, and the liquid diet will remedy, as it’s not a good time to schedule a battery of tests.
Reading more, it seems to hit men more than women, probably due to more meat and less veg in their diets. Unfortunately, I eat more red meat than I ought to, and might have to do things a lot differently from here on.
I’ve had it. The pain can vary from a dull ache to pretty extreme. You learn to identify it early after a few times. My doctor said my presentation was little unusual, but given the lower left location of the pain, “there’s nothing else it could be.” (Probably a bit of an overstatement.) Anyway, confirmed by colonoscopy, and treated, when necessary, by antibiotics.
On a Saturday 10-15 years ago.
I had sharp pains in the stomach (I can’t remember where). I went to the ER. They did tests (I don’t know which ones). He gave me prescriptions for something and said to see my regular doctor on Monday. He said based on the location it wouldn’t be serious. At this point I still didn’t know what it was. On Monday I went to my regular doctor and gave the symptoms. She asked if I had popcorn or similar foods about 24 hours before. Friday was free popcorn day at work and the symptoms started about 24 hours after that. That was the last time I had popcorn.
My father, who not only had diverticulitis but also was a gastroenterologist was a big fan of psyllium fiber for people with gut issues. You can buy it in Metamucil, Siblin, and lots of other brands of supplemental fiber.
My father also ultimately died of complications related to his diverticulitis, but he had a very bad case which first manifested quite young, and he made it past 80yo. In fact, he had “stomach aches” all his life, from boyhood, and that probably influenced his career choice.
I do already do the Metamucil thing daily, due to vaguely IBS-like symptoms that I’ve had for a few years.
I’ll see my GP at 2 p.m. today, and also have a call in to my gastroenterologist for his first available appointment, in case my GP wants to send me to one.
I stopped drinking carbonated beverages(I was drinking roughly 24 cans a week) and a lot of my intestinal pain stopped. it wouldn’t surprise me if getting bloated from trapped gas would make diverticulitis worse(or at least the pain). So you might want to avoid gas producing foods and beverages if you aren’t already.
I had one acute bout when an infected diverticulum broke and I had bright red blood when I went to the toilet for what felt like a bit of diarrhea. If you ever want a male human to go the doctor ASAP, make blood come out of an orifice not usually associated therewith. I did a course of CIpro and have not had another severe flare up. I’ve learned to avoid the combination of capsicum and hard seed-like food (crushed red pepper is right out.)
Please know that to have diverticulitis, you need to have diverticulosis first. From Up-To-Date:
Diverticulosis is the condition of having diverticuli, which are pouch-like structures that can form through points of weakness in the muscular wall of the colon (ie, at points where blood vessels pass through the wall). A person with diverticulosis may have diverticulitis, or they may also have diverticular bleeding, or both.
Inflammation of a diverticulum (diverticulitis) occurs when there is thinning and breakdown of the diverticular wall. This may be caused by increased pressure within the colon or by hardened particles of stool, which can become lodged within the diverticulum.
The symptoms of diverticulitis depend upon the degree of inflammation present. The most common symptom is pain in the left lower abdomen. Other symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, and urinary symptoms such as pain or burning when urinating or the frequent need to urinate. Diverticulitis can frequently be life-threatening.
Seeds and nuts — Patients with diverticular disease have historically been advised to avoid whole pieces of fiber (such as seeds, corn, and nuts) because of concern that these foods could cause an episode of diverticulitis. However, this belief is completely unproven. We do not suggest that patients with diverticulosis avoid seeds, corn, or nuts.
Back from the doc. He can’t decide if it’s a kidney stone or diverticulitis. I’m advised to drink a buttload of water, and was also given a scrip for antibiotics in case it’s diverticulitis.
I did have a major spasm of pain at the lower front of my abdomen while walking around on Monday morning. It only lasted for twenty seconds or so and then went away. That kind of sounds kidney stone-like, so I think he has something there. I’m also bad about drinking enough water, so that also makes sense.
Well, I guess I’ll be up all night peeing tonight.
Did a urinalysis show any blood in the urine? While not 100% reliable, absence of blood makes a stone less likely.
I generally reserve urgent imaging (like CT or US) for stable situations that don’t resolve in a timely fashion with conservative therapy. Intractable pain or continuing diagnostic uncertainly would be reasons to get imaging sooner.
The doctor did indeed ask for a urine sample, but unfortunately I had just peed before entering the exam room and I hadn’t a drop of pee to offer him. He did ask about blood in my urine, but I have seen no evidence of blood or oddly-colored urine, for what that’s worth.
The kidney stone diagnosis seems more and more likely. I’m still feeling a bit of pain, but not where it originally was. Now it’s toward the front and lower part of the abdomen. If that’s what it is, then I guess I get to look forward to peeing it out at some point. I’m drinking enough water to extinguish the California wildfires, so I’m hoping that happens soon ::shudder::.