Possible Diverticulitis? Advice Needed Please? - Bowel Disorders Message Board

ho1979 · 05-23-2009, 06:56 AM

Hi, I', 30yo male. 9 days ago I started getting pains in my lower abdomen, just left of centre. It started mild, felt like a urinary infection, but over about 5 days got worse and worse until by days 4&5 it was excrutiating stabbing pain and unbareable if any pressure at all was put on my tummy.

By day 3 I was completely off food and bowel movements had stopped and I felt nauseas all the time. I started drinking lots of prune juice as thought it might be constipation (which i never ever get) and that gave me diarrhoea. I kept on drinking that until day 8 (yesterday). Now my BM seem to be pretty normal, although there seems to be a lot of mucus.

Day 4 and 5 I went to the doc twice as it was so painful and he thought I had faecal impaction. But as pretty normal BM now, I don't think it is that.

It's day 9 now and I've barely eaten for 7 days, don't even feel like drinking. The pain has subsided a lot, but my tummy still isn't right, my bowels feel really swollen inside and I've still got a constant mild burning type pain.

Does anyone know what I should do? It's a holiday weekend here in the UK so no regular doctors available for next 3 days. I'm just worried because I've read how serious it can be if untreated especially if it perforates. Should I go to hospital, even though the pain has got much better (maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 1-10, down from a 9 or 10 last week)?

I've got a 10 day supply of Flagyl here at home, should I take this just in case? (i know that sounds stupid!)

If the pain is much better, does that mean it's healing on it's own? Can it heal on it's own? Does it even sound like Diverticulitis?

What should I do?

Also, the funny thing is, I'm ill at the moment with another condition, I've been checked by neurology and endocrinolgy, but nobody knows what it is, where I get exactly the same symptoms of hypoglycaemia, but my glucose levels are fine and as soon as i eat i'm fine again (I have to eat like 6 big meals a day just to stay alive!). None of the doctors I've seen so far know what it is. But since I've had this bowel thing all of these symptoms have stopped completely.

Does this ring any bells with anyone???

nancyco14 · 05-23-2009, 09:27 AM

Ho, sure sounds like diverticulitis to me; your symptoms are like mine were last fall. I spent 10 days in the hospital, nothing to eat or drink for 8 days, just IV fluids, flagyl and another antibiotic--then just clear liquids to start. It took weeks before I had solid foods.

Now, 8 months later, I still have discomfort, but the bms are what is normal for me.

Keep a close eye so that you don't get dehydrated, and see a doctor asap.

Nancy

ho1979 · 05-23-2009, 10:13 AM

thank, do you mean it's serious and go asap as in go to hospital now (as all local doctors are on holiday) or go asap as in 1st Tuesday when regular doctors are back at work?

Would i know about it if i already had a perforation?

Thanks again.

nancyco14 · 05-23-2009, 03:05 PM

Ho, it all depends on how severe the pain is. I'm no doctor, just a sufferer of diverticulitis, but it seems to me that if you're able to be up and around and can hold down liquids you could probably wait until Tuesday.

But, if you're running a temp, have severe pain, and can't keep anything down, you should consider going to the ER. That's what I did and it was the right thing to do.

You seem awfully young to have this disease; it usually is a disease of the elderly, like me.

I sure hope you get checked out very soon.

Nancy

ho1979 · 05-23-2009, 03:49 PM

Thanks Nancy.

I managed to find an out of hours doc in the end. He gave me a really thorough check over, abdominal exam, pulse, blood pressure, temp, a couple of urine tests etc.

He couldn't find anything. Everything completely normal, except keytones in my urine but just because i haven't eaten.

My temperature was very slighty low so he said no chance of an infection of any kind as after 9 days he said i would definately be running hot.

Pain is vergeing on ok now, still not gone, but okish. And i'm starting to get very very hungry!

He did consider sending me to hospital as a bit concerned it hadn't cleared up yet, but said as no sign of infection they'd just send me home anyway. So he said just to keep an eye on it the next few days and go straight to hospital if i'm running hot at all or if pain becomes bad again.

So i'll just have to wait and see. I'm going to go back next week regardless and get referred to a gastroenterologist to get checked over just to make sure, especially as it seems to relate to my other condition somehow.

Ho