If symptoms are severe and not treated, problems such as an abscess or fistula may happen. Surgery often is needed to treat these. It is common to have lower belly pain after recovering from an attack of diverticulitis.
However, when pain is present, it may last for several days after treatment starts. For complicated cases of diverticulitis, the pain may last longer. If the pain doesn't improve after treatment starts, is severe, or lasts for more than several days, it's important to be examined by a healthcare provider.
This occurs when diverticula (pouches) become inflamed and infected causing significant lower abdominal pain. It is thought an infection develops when a hard piece of stool or undigested food gets trapped in one of the pouches. This gives bacteria in the stool the chance to multiply and spread, triggering an infection.
Diverticulitis Recovery Time
This can take as long as two weeks. But, you'll begin to feel better in as short as 24-hours. If you experience any complications or must receive surgery, your recovery time will take longer.
After you go home, you may have diarrhea on and off during the first month. It takes about three months for the bowels to learn their “new normal.” You'll need to avoid heavy lifting for six to eight weeks to prevent a hernia.
After having acute diverticulitis, about 14% of people might develop a fistula. 2 Usually, the fistula runs between the colon and the urinary bladder, the small intestine, or the uterus. Perforation: A perforation is a hole in the intestine. It may cause severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting.
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.
Dealing with diverticulosis
Once the sacs develop, they don't heal on their own, and they don't go away. We can cure diverticulosis by performing surgery to remove the sacs. But if you don't have symptoms and an infection doesn't develop, there's no reason to treat the condition at all, much less undergo surgery.
Common symptoms of diverticulitis include: Constant abdominal pain that lasts for days, typically on the lower left side of the abdomen (although some people experience it on the lower right side)
Home remedies for diverticulitis that may be recommended include following a liquid diet, increasing your intake of fiber and anti-inflammatory foods, avoiding red meat and high-fat foods, cutting back on alcohol, exercising, and trying certain supplements.
This typically causes severe tummy pain, a hard abdominal wall, fever, nausea, a rapid heartbeat and general weakness. It is important to recognize these peritonitis symptoms and quickly seek medical help. In some people, diverticula keep becoming inflamed despite having been treated successfully in the past.
However, you should seek immediate medical attention if your symptoms are not going away or you are feeling worse, such as having increasing pain, fever, bloody stools, or abdominal bloating with vomiting. Treatment depends on whether you have uncomplicated or complicated diverticulitis.
As the name implies, chronic diverticulitis is a variant of diverticulitis in which symptoms can persist for 6 months to 1 year or longer [8]. In our study, the mean duration of symptoms at the time of presentation was 11 months, and one patient had symptoms for as long as 3 years.
Diverticulitis (flare-up) occurs when the diverticula become inflamed and/or infected. There might be an increase in diarrhea, cramping, and bowel irritability, and symptoms can include intense pain, abdominal cramping, bleeding, bloating, and fever.
“Generally speaking, inflammation from diverticulitis can cause scar tissue formation and breakdown of the colon wall, and if the colon wall develops a hole, then an abscess will form,” warns Will Bulsiewicz, MD, a gastroenterologist and gut health expert in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Diverticular disease is regarded as a chronic condition, which requires lifelong management. Flare-up attacks may or may not occur following the first experience, which largely depends on a person's state of health and how well measures to prevent complications are maintained.
“Then, as their colon is recovering and symptoms abate, the patients are allowed to slowly advance their diet to more solid foods as the colon regains its function and health.” Eating a normal diet doesn't directly cause a flare, says Bethany Doerfler, M.S., R.D., a clinical dietitian at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
However, the evidence on the effectiveness of probiotics for diverticulitis is still limited. Some studies have shown that certain probiotic strains may help reduce inflammation and improve symptoms of diverticulitis, while others have shown no benefit.
During flare ups of diverticulitis, follow a clear liquid diet. Your doctor will let you know when to progress from clear liquids to low fiber solids and then back to your normal diet. A clear liquid diet means no solid foods.
Lifestyle remains the major culprit behind diverticulitis flare-ups, such as a high-fat, low-fiber diet commonly found in Western countries.
Diverticulitis can affect bowel movements. Stool may become hard, loose, thin, or pellet-shaped. Stool may contain blood and/or mucus. Diarrhea and/or constipation can occur.
In most cases, diverticulitis is not considered to be a life-threatening or life-limiting condition. However, symptoms of diverticulitis, such as abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea, and lower-digestive-tract bleeding, can cause complications that can raise the risk of mortality.