A diverticulosis flare-up, known as diverticulitis, typically feels like sharp, cramp-like pain, usually in the lower-left abdomen, that can last for hours or days, often accompanied by bloating, nausea, fever, chills, and changes in bowel habits (constipation or diarrhea). The pain can be constant, worsen with movement, and sometimes radiate to your back, feeling like a persistent ache that can be intense.
Symptoms of diverticulitis
The current understanding emphasizes a high-fiber diet for long-term management and prevention of diverticulitis, and a temporary low-fiber or clear liquid diet during an acute (severe) flare-up to allow your colon to heal. You may need antibiotics or other treatment to prevent complications.
Signs that diverticulitis has become more serious include severe abdominal pain, chills, shaking rigors, weakness, headaches and dizziness. If you feel any of these symptoms, contact your doctor or call 911, as it may be a medical emergency.
An acute attack may come on more suddenly, while a chronic flare-up may build up over a few days. You should be able to locate it in the precise spot where your diverticulum has become inflamed. It may feel sharp and penetrating or have a burning quality. The pain is usually moderate to severe.
The duration of a diverticulitis flare-up can vary. A mild flare-up can last from a few days to a week, while more severe cases may take longer to subside. The duration can also depend on your overall health, any underlying conditions and timing of treatment.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if: there is blood or slime (mucus) in your poo. you have tummy pain that's getting worse or does not go away. you have a high temperature, or you feel hot, cold or shivery.
It may be accompanied by fever if the pouches become infected, and by a feeling of being generally unwell. Diverticular disease is the term given to the chronic (long-term), troublesome symptoms which may accompany the presence of diverticula.
The main symptom of an abdominal migraine episode is abdominal (belly) pain. The pain is usually in the middle of your belly around your belly button. It may feel like a dull ache or soreness and can be moderate or severe. The episodes usually start suddenly and end abruptly.
Stages of Diverticulitis
Stage III: Abscesses have burst, and pus has been discharged into the abdomen. Stage IV: Abscesses have burst into the peritoneal cavity (a fluid-filled area that houses many of the abdominal organs), resulting in the presence of feces and, subsequently, infection.
A high-fibre diet can often ease symptoms of diverticular disease, and paracetamol can be used to relieve pain – other painkillers such as aspirin or ibuprofen are not recommended for regular use, as they can cause stomach upsets. Speak to your GP if paracetamol alone is not working.
Diverticulitis perforation is a medical emergency with symptoms like sudden, severe abdominal pain (often lower left), high fever, chills, rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and a rigid, tender abdomen, as bowel contents leak into the abdominal cavity (peritonitis). It requires immediate medical attention, with signs of worsening infection like difficulty breathing or confusion signaling sepsis.
They found that the optimal time for elective resection was after the third attack of uncomplicated diverticulitis and that the probability of surgery after the first hospitalized attack was the same after three attacks.
When these pouches become inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. Inflammation is immune system activity that increases blood flow and fluids to a site in the body and delivers disease-fighting cells. Inflammation of diverticula can cause severe pain, fever, nausea and changes in your stool habits.
But whether it's mild or severe, you can take some steps to ease the joint pain and swelling by resting it, applying an ice or heat pack and taking an over-the-counter analgesic, like acetaminophen (Tylenol), or NSAID, like ibuprofen or naproxen.
Common alternative conditions that can clinically mimic diverticulitis include small bowel obstruction, primary epiploic appendagitis, acute cholecystitis, appendicitis, ileitis, ovarian cystic disease, and ureteral stone disease.
The three main red flags for abdominal pain needing urgent care are severe, unrelenting pain (especially with fever/rigidity), vomiting blood or black material, and blood in the stool (bright red or tarry black), all signaling potential serious issues like appendicitis, obstruction, or bleeding that require immediate medical evaluation. Other major flags include inability to pass gas/stool, jaundice, significant weight loss, or pain radiating to the back.
Fatigue, headache, and upset stomach could be seen in viral syndrome, indigestion, hangover, lack of sleep, or migraine headache.
Key points about gastritis
Symptoms may include stomach pain, belching, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bleeding, feeling full, and blood in vomit or stool. In most cases, you will be given antacids and other medicines to reduce your stomach acid. Don't have foods or drinks that irritate your stomach lining. Stop smoking.
Fybogel may help people with diverticular disease (the long-term condition, not an acute flare-up) by increasing fibre intake and maintaining regular bowel movements. However, it should not be used during acute diverticulitis attacks when the bowel is inflamed.
Some people with diverticulitis wonder how a digestive issue can cause so much fatigue. While the reasons for a patient's tiredness can vary, dehydration is a common culprit. Diverticulitis symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and fever can lead to dehydration that can easily make a person feel exhausted.
The nationwide population-based, nested case-control study did not reveal that use of PPI significantly increased the risk of colon diverticulitis after adjustment for possible confounding factors. Factors such as constipation and NSAIDs have been associated with an increased risk of colonic diverticulitis.
For patients with severe and complicated diverticulitis, ampicillin, gentamicin, metronidazole, piperacillin and tazobactam are the antibiotics successfully used in clinical practice, whereas ciprofloxacin, metronidazole and more recently, rifaximin, have been successfully used in the treatment of uncomplicated ...
During your trip to the emergency room, your doctor will administer a blood test to identify any infections. They may also conduct other tests to help diagnose diverticulitis — including CT scans, ultrasounds of the abdomen, and x-rays of the abdomen.
Diverticulitis can usually be treated effectively. In straightforward (uncomplicated) cases, antibiotics often aren't needed. Surgery is only necessary if the inflammation is so severe that it could lead to complications.