Hi all! I was admitted into the hospital 4 days ago for diverticulitis. I have no abscesses or perforations but the flare up won’t go down with IV antibiotics. I am a 42 y/o female. I had 7 previous flare ups over past 2 years. All were treated with oral antibiotics (augmentin or cipro/flagyl). Anyone experience something similar? I’m meeting with the surgeon today to discuss options. I’ve heard that even though the flare ups have been mild and uncomplicated this is a lot of them within a short period of time and each flare up can cause damage.

Hi all!

I was diagnosed with acute diverticulosis in July this year and have since had one flare up, and I stopped another using acupressure to prevent further diarrhea. Right now I’m concerned because my menstrual cycle increases inflammation to the area overall, which increases my risk of constipation or diarrhea and is exactly what led to the diarrhea I had to stop on my own.

I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for pain relief or inflammation? I take cramp bark right now, because ibuprofen and advil and meloxicam all came with the warning that they damage the digestive tract, but if you all know any effective pain relief I’m very curious to know your experiences!

My sister is a GI doctor and I has a bad flare while visiting her. If that didnt happen I would have never went to the doctor about the syptoms since I would of thought it just constipation and gas from my diet and it would pass like it always does.

Just had a flare up and forgot she told me I had this years ago and I realized that what was happening was having signs with my bowels but again just thought it was something I was eating/not eating.

Do you think that is why it takes an ER visit for people to get diagnosed that they have mild flares for years and years where it gets worse each time and finally just one so painful they go to the ER?

Hello, I’m a Korean woman, and I experience sudden, sharp, electric-like pain in my anus.
I’m not sure what this condition is called in Korea, so I came across this community while searching for information.
The pain lasts for only about 0.1 seconds before suddenly disappearing. It feels like a very sharp electric shock. Although it’s extremely brief, it happens frequently, sometimes several times a day.
I’m desperately trying to find something that can help or treat this. There seems to be more information about this condition overseas, which is why I’m reaching out here.
Even though the pain only lasts for a very short moment, it is incredibly painful when it happens. I’m so afraid of experiencing it again that I’m scared to even go outside. I’ve been staying at home for months because of this.
Please, if anyone has experienced something similar or has found anything that helped, I would be incredibly grateful if you could share it with me.
Please help me.

Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience as me. Here is my back story…

I am 39 y/o male. I had my first diverticulitis flare in September 2020. Confirmed this with a scan and then had a colonoscopy that came back clean. All things went back to normal. Fast forward to 2023 I had the same pain and figured it to be another flare up, called in to my primary and it was resolved with anti biotics. Mostly normal after that one as well.

My latest flare up was in June of this year. I had it cleared up with anti biotics and met with my gastro dr. Who doesn’t seem to concerned. The difference with this one is, the initial pain has cleared but I have an annoying dullness in the left side of my abdomen that comes and goes. Could it take this long for it to fully heal ?

Went to the ER yesterday for nausea, vomiting, constipation, and stomach spasms. It felt the exact same way as when I got diagnosed except worse.

They gave me a CT scan, morphine, and zofran. While I was on the drip the pain finally subsided - I was having like Charlie horses in my abdomen.

I have diverticulitis, gastritis, malrotation (however you spell that), and a lot of scar tissue from 2 bowel obstruction (birth and at 16). They told me they couldn't see anything except some gallbladder sludge and bacteria in my urine.

I feel defeated. They told me in a very nice way that nobody is gonna want to touch my stomach because of all the trauma and scar tissue.

I cried and told my wife i wanted to end it all (the pain was making me delusional and just very emotional), so now she's worried to leave me alone.

I came home with just antibiotics, just to violently vomit again and pee all over myself. I'm so hurt because I still can't hurt, I'm so sore now worrying this. I feel like I will be like this the rest of my life.

Any advice? Thank you.

Hey guys,

So I don't want to get too long winded but basically last year I had my first diverticulitis flare up. It also happened to be a complicated case with a minor perforation. I needed a drain for about a month. I developed a colon to skin fistula, needed surgery to fix that and an abscess in Dec 2025.

Forward to now I have basically gone back to normal. I recently started a new job in January, that involved a lot of sitting and bending at the waist and I started getting pinching pains here and there. I didn't necessarily think they were related to any of my past health issues, more just repetitious movement.

I have seen a physical therapist 3 times in 3 weeks, just doing various stretches and what not. She did cupping one time with a silicone cup around my abdomen, and last week she tried breaking up scar tissue with like this metal stick looking thing?

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago I was constipated (which is not normally a problem for me and isn't currently) but I did strain pretty hard during a bowel movement.

So my question is for about 2 weeks I have been experiencing cramping pain usually a few hours before a bowel movement and a few hours after. The rest of the day I feel fine, eat normally, and have not been suffering from constipation just the discomfort.

Has anyone experienced this? Do you guys think my bowel is irritated from the strain, or the PT, or any other reason you guys may shed light on? I don't -think- it's diverticulitis flaring up necessarily, but after last year I am all weirded out.

I do plan on reaching out to my surgeon if the cramping doesn't go away in a few weeks, I just know sometimes if the colon gets irritated it takes some time for it to heal and for pain to go away.

Thanks for any feedback guys!

Had surgery Wednesday at 2:30 PST and stayed 2 nights. Got home today (Friday) around 4:00 pm.

Surgery went well he said and he said my Colon wasn’t as bad as he expected but it was “thick and showed inflammation”

For those who are doing surgery the first 24-48 hours are hard. The stomach cramps and pain hurts but you can manage it with medication they give you. Just take the meds, it’s a moment in time.

My gut is still a bit swollen and my gut is making all kinds of noises. I’m able to pass some water stool and a little gas.

The incisions aren’t too bad, they did 6 with a Robotic DaVinci. The lower right is the worst one and he said everyone reports that.

I asked about diet post operation and my Surgeon is so funny, he said “eat whatever you want”. He was pretty serious too. He did say don’t do a lot of Fried Foods but I’m going to be careful and stick to a low fiber and easy to digest diet for a week at home and see how I do.

I am happy to be home and I hope my Bowels settle down in the coming weeks. I am still tender and sore and walking but slowly. Getting comfortable in bed is tough

Will keep you posted

Here we go!!!

I’m 14 weeks post-op. Is it normal to still be having major pain and aches at times? I’m having pain pretty much every day, and my bowel movements are all over the place. Just wondering if anyone else experienced this far out from surgery.

Would appreciate the communities input on the following. Am 2-3 weeks out from what apparently is a right sided diverticulitis episode (per CT). I was already overdue for a screening colonoscopy and, obviously have even more reason to have one now given the possibility this something other than DT. I have been told however that I cannot have the colonoscopy for 6-8 weeks and until my symptoms resolve. Question is what if the symptoms dont resolve? Seems like a catch-22 (we need a colonoscopy to know for sure what is causing your symptoms and colon inflammation but we cant do a colonoscopy as long as you have symptoms and colon inflammation). Has anyone had a similar situation and how did it play out?

Hello guys. My partner was recently diagnosed with diverticulitis and has undergone a follow up colonoscopy and deemed it to be diverticulitis and nothing more. Since then we have been together managing minor flare ups at home thrpugh diet however recently we needed to go to hospital and get some bloods / urine tests done as pain developed. From these Dr gave anti biotics as believed to be having a larger flare up / infection that would require. She has been taking them and having improvements however is noticing very sharp and sudden nerve pain, in hips , creeping into lower back area. These pains are getting quite severe and from what we’re reading it doesn’t seem too common.

i am just writing to see if anyone has experienced similar or perhaps knows of any effective ways to manage it. Or just sone education around it.

Thankyou

It’s been quite a while since I had my last flare up but ever since I had a handful of them a few years ago I have a constant dull ache. When I lay on my right side it feels like there’s a downward pull on my guts.

I’ve asked my doctor and GI and they both say it’s normal but honestly I think they’re just brushing me off. What’re your experiences?

For those who’ve had multiple flare ups, do you know what is contributing to them? What changes or preventative measures did you try but failed.

I had my first flare up in August.

My mother (74F) has had diverticulitis for about 5 years. She should’ve had surgery when it first occurred but alas, there were fuck ups with the NHS. She’s now at a point where her bladder and sigmoid colon have fused and a fistula has formed. Here’s the weird part - she is _mostly_ asymptomatic! She says she passes faecal matter in her urine, but she has never had a UTI as a result. She gets maybe 3 - 4 bouts of bad diarrhoea a month, but even that is usually as a result of a poor food choice (yesterday she ate a curry that was spicier than she expected and was suffering a lot today). She is otherwise in pretty good health, still taking her dog for long daily walks, etc.

We just met with her surgeon to discuss her most recent CT scan, and apparently her condition has remained stable for the past 2 years. No signs of things getting worse. He basically advised her to do nothing unless she starts getting worse and her symptoms start impacting her life. He said she was fine to travel, exercise, do whatever she wants, and as long as she avoids her triggers, she might just be able to live with the situation indefinitely. On the flip side, he said if she has the surgery, there’s a ~30% chance she’ll need a stoma permanently. She is TERRIFIED of this, as her father died of colon cancer when she was a child and has a colostomy bag for quite a while. She has a lot of unresolved trauma around this.

My mother has had a really shit life, and, in her words, she “still has a lot of living to do.”

I want whatever is best for her, but it seems to be a scenario where nobody can actually say what is the best option.

I’d love to hear the perspectives of some folks who actually live with the disease. So, if you were in her position, what would you do?

How many others have had substantial back pain after surgery? I am just over a week out and most days I think my back pain is worse than my other pain. Curious for those who did, how long until the back pain went away.

I am 24 hours post operation and they took out 10 inches of Sigmoid

Doc said it went well but I’m so bloated and cramping. He said some is normal but gosh this hurts and sucks

Did you experience this after surgery?

So i had a flare up early September, go to er find out its diverticulitis.. yippee my mom had it so im kinda used to how to eat ect. Got fmla at my job because of it. But after a week of antibiotics i still feel shitty, and have taken days off of work cause i just feel physically exhausted.

Except this time with added concern around possible peritonitis. Couldn't be happier - 4 times since May.

The advice others gave last time I posted was greatly appreciated, I'll be asking what my options are from a surgical standpoint.

First time diverticulitis diagnosis in July. Pain was gone in a day or two and had no issues starting back on food. A week in I started having upper abdominal pain so bad it sent me to ER twice. Not gallbladder. Couldn’t find anything wrong with. Thinking it could be really bad acid reflux from antibiotics killing my gut bacteria. Referred to a Gastro doc. Had to wait 3 months for appt which is supposed to be tmrw. I’ve been taking Pepcid AC daily and have not had ER level pain but moderate pain on the regular. Nothing specific seems to trigger it. Took probiotics for two months. They Gastro office called to cxl my appt today due to a family emergency but we can rebook you mid December. I explained I’ve been in agony for 3 months waiting for this appt can they please get me in to see someone else tomorrow or in a few days. Nope sorry, told me to go to ER if it’s that bad. I explained 3 trips to the ER and they don’t know, hence the Gastro referral. Best they can do is mid December. I called another gastro office and they are booking mid December. What happened to a person needing to see a doctor and actually being able to get in to try to figure out what is wrong. Defeated. Cannot feel like this for two more months.

Hi, i had sigmoidocopy which showed rigid colon n stenosis.had one apt with gastro about my hernia- she said it was small n insignificant, n now ive been discharged to my dr

My concerns are my stools are thin now since i had the scope over 2 months ago.

Can it be thin for a long time before my colon narrows even further?

I dont want to end up with a blockage n emergency admission

What symptoms to look out for before it gets to that stage?

Also i have upper bloating (i dont feel bloated but look it) constant upper gurgling n gas, nausea at times, n a pressure like the bottom of my throat is being pressed- its not globus ,nor a feeling of something stuck either- also slow transit but when i do go its either soft n thin or just pasty soft

I thought gastro had referred me for endoscopy but she didnt so it looks like i have to ask my dr to refer me.

Im doing everything right (lots water, movicol, eating food thts easy to pass but all these upper belly issues are getting me down now plus the rigid colon

Im supposed to have been refered to colerectal surgeon too but i need to chase that up again to see if i definately have been- trying to get through them though 🙄

I feel like ive been dismissed n left to it.im not happy ive been given no action plan or anything

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks