Symptoms of diverticulitis are more severe and often start suddenly, but they may become worse over a few days. They include: Tenderness, usually in the left lower part of the abdomen.
In about 95 out of 100 people, uncomplicated diverticulitis goes away on its own within a week. In about 5 out of 100 people, the symptoms stay and treatment is needed. Surgery is only rarely necessary.
STAGES OF DIVERTICULITIS
Stage I: A pericolic abscess confined by the mesentery of the colon. Stage II: A pelvic abscess resulting from local perforation of a pericolic abscess. This abscess may be walled off by colon, mesocolon, omentum, small bowel, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, and/or pelvic peritoneum.
Diet and lifestyle
Not eating enough fibre is thought to be linked to developing diverticular disease and diverticulitis. Fibre helps to make your stools softer and larger so they put less pressure on the walls of your intestines. Some other things that seem to increase your risk include: smoking.
Blood in your stools. Fever above 100.4°F (38°C) that does not go away. Nausea, vomiting, or chills. Sudden belly or back pain that gets worse or is very severe.
Diverticulitis. The most common symptom of diverticulitis is belly or abdominal pain. The most common sign that you have it is feeling sore or sensitive on the left side of your lower belly. If infection is the cause, then you may have fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation.
For most people, diverticulitis won't affect their life span.
Mild cases of diverticulitis are usually treated with antibiotics and a low-fiber diet, or treatment may start with a period of rest where you eat nothing by mouth, then start with clear liquids and then move to a low-fiber diet until your condition improves. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
Diverticulitis is an intestinal disease that can cause fatigue in some people. The fatigue may be caused by infection, inflammation, or sleep disruption due to pain. It could also be related to nutritional deficiencies such as anemia, dehydration, medication side effects, or surgery.
When stress is added to the overall picture, the problem of diverticulitis becomes an issue. This is due to the body impulses that will immediately address stressful situations by shifting the oxygen and blood from the digestive tract to the brain and muscles.
In most patients, the pain is sharp and severe, but some patients report only mild discomfort. People may also experience fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If left untreated, diverticulitis can lead to perforation, peritonitis, stricture and rectal bleeding.
Other long-term symptoms of diverticular disease include: a change in your normal bowel habits, such as constipation or diarrhoea, or episodes of constipation that are followed by diarrhoea. bloating.
While early studies suggested that diverticulitis is a recurrent disease of a progressive nature, more recent studies in the era of improved medical treatment and more reliable diagnostic imaging suggest the natural history is more benign.
Diverticulitis shouldn't affect your overall life expectancy. Only in the unlikely event of a bowel perforation or a ruptured abscess would you be at risk of life-threatening complications.
Diverticulosis: You can have it for years and never know — if you take care of yourself. About one or two percent of patients under 30 experience diverticulosis while people age 60 and older have some degree of the condition.
Your colon is shortened and therefore stool may pass at a faster rate. Give it time, approximately 6-8 weeks, and your colon should start to function more normally.
Diverticulitis shares most of the symptoms of diverticular disease (see above). However, the pain associated with diverticulitis is constant and severe, rather than intermittent. It is most likely to occur if you have previously had symptoms of diverticular disease, and develops over a day or 2.
Actually, no specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. In the past, people with small pouches (diverticula) in the lining of the colon were told to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn.
Stay with liquids or a bland diet (plain rice, bananas, dry toast or crackers, applesauce) until you are feeling better.
Laterally, minimally invasive surgery has been utilized in the management of this disease and recent data suggests that localized colonic perforation may be managed by laparoscopic peritoneal lavage, without resection.
You may have heard advice that people with diverticular disease should avoid small, sharp and hard foods such as nuts, seeds and corn. The thinking is that there is a risk of undigested remnants of these foods lodging in the diverticula and causing inflammation.
In most cases of surgery for diverticulitis, a colostomy is not required.
If you've had two or three episodes of diverticulitis, your doctor may recommend an elective procedure called sigmoidectomy, in which the affected part of the colon—called the sigmoid colon—is removed to help prevent a recurrence. Before choosing elective surgery, you and your doctor discuss the benefits and risks.