Diverticulitis Symptoms

Do You Suffer From Any Of These Diverticulitis Symptoms.....

By the time the virtually symptom-free condition of diverticulosis becomes the acute inflammatory condition of diverticulitis, very specific and often quite painful diverticulitis symptoms have presented themselves.

Probably the most obvious of the numerous diverticulitis symptoms that can occur is acute abdominal pain.

This abdominal pain is almost always located on the left side of the abdomen especially in the western population.  Interestingly this diverticulitis symptom is more common on the right side of the abdomen in African and Asian populations.

Of course this is not hard and fast rule with abdominal pain on the left or right side being possible.

Diverticulitis symptoms are very similar to appendicitis. In fact the condition is often  referred to as " left-sided appendicitis" in those countries where the left-sided abdominal pain is more the norm.

Abdominal distension and bloating is also part of the diverticulitis symptom profile. With this abdominal swelling comes tenderness and an instinctive guarding response on the affected side upon physical examination.

If an abscess (one of several possible complications of diverticulitis) is present there will be a palpable mass present in the lower left abdominal area.

Additional diverticulitis symptoms are nausea and vomiting; constipation and diarrhoea or alternating constipation and diarrhoea; fever with or without chills and lethargy.

It is also important to be aware of the symptoms of possible complications of an acute diverticulitis attack.

These complications can include abscess formation, peritonitis, haemorrhage, development of fistula, bloody stools and painful urination.

As you can see the diverticulitis symptoms associated with an acute attack are quite serious and in the case of peritonitis potentially fatal. So they need to be diagnosed and treated very quickly.

In the active acute stage of diverticulitis it is important that the bowel be protected from any further irritation. Usually no food is given to the patient with nutrition being supplied intravenously.

Antibiotics at this stage are often given to combat the infection, as well as anti-spasmodics and analgesics 
to help deal with the pain.

Once food can be easy and again a low residue/fibre diet is usually prescribed in order to allow a maximum healing time for the bowel while stool softeners and antispasmodics are prescribed on an as needed basis.

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