New problem

[Pam Alexson]

Hi everyone,
Sorry I am not available to respond to posts and offer input or support at this time. As I am taken with sudden, horrible bouts of nausea , pain, and weakness I will TRY and keep this brief.

They believe ( the doctors ) that I have diverticulosis and that it became diverticulitis.( some diverticulum became infected).

I had been feeling nauseus and generally flu like for about a week plus when I was suddenly gripped by acute abdominal pain ,fever and chills. At the hospital they did a lot of abdominal x-rays and gave me IV antibiotics. At home I am on several versions of antibiotics by mouth.

The pain and general discomfort continue so I am mostly in resting/ sleeping mode. Don't worry I will fight my way out of this one soon.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all and I look forward to posting on the board regularly soon.

Pam

[Reenie]

Re: New problem

Pam, I really hope that you get over this quickly. Take care and rest as much as you can.

Reenie

[Glen Beamish]

Re: New problem

Pam, fight I am sure you will, good luck and get well quickly, we would miss your postings.

[LynnS]

Re: New problem

Hi Pam,

I am sorry to hear that you are having such difficulties w/ diverticulitis. My mother and 2 close friends have diverticulosis which have went into diverticulitis many times (particularly my mom has it happen when it kicks into the infection). I hope soon this 'flare up' soon settles for you and that you find the combination of things that will help you when you are having problems. (My mother has learned over the years what combination of meds, fluids and foods help her out and when she is in the hospital (not w/ diverticulitis but with other issues and it's just been a tag-along problem) the doctors will come to her and say, "what works? what do you need?".)

Take it easy we're thinking of you!
Lynn

[Burton Borrok]

Re: New problem

Hi Pam,
Been there, done that, didn’t like it either – but pushed on through it. I still get a touch of it from time to time, but it has become fairly rare of late.

Most people, when they reach a certain age develop Diverticulosis. It’s as common as dirt. Basically it’s little pockets or holes in the lining of the large intestines that causes no harm. The problem comes in when it traps food and becomes infected – becoming Diverticulitis. Then you will get pain, bleeding and generally will be feeling lousy. If left unattended the infection can even puncture your intestine and cause major problems. If treated however, it generally clears up fairly quickly and you get back to your old self again. Antibiotics are wonderful things – but take the full dose.

The doctor will tell you which foods (like seeds and nuts) are irritants and should be avoided – but after awhile I found if things are functioning well, I can do some cheating with no ill effects. (Mostly they will say to eat bland foods – but how long can you stand bland foods?) If you will pardon the pun, I hope you get you’re ‘A’ in gear and feel better real soon.
Burt

[Lisa Salberg]

Re: New problem

Hi Pam,
My brother has had some 'experience' with the same thing - it takes a while to get this under control.
Take your time, get rest, drink lots of fluids and visit us when you can.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
Lisa

[shirleymahoney]

Re: New problem

Pam

Your son filled me in on you yesterday, saying you were in the hospital i sent my love and get wells with him, but i will say it again rest up we need you around here, but take your time as Lisa says this takes time to get over

Shirley

[angall]

Re: New problem

Hi Pam
I'm sorry to hear that you're ill.

We will miss your knowledge here, but you need to rest and get fully recovered.

Take care,

[Eileen2345]

Re: New problem

Hi Pam,

My husband has this condition too. UGH, he is sick when it flares up. BUT -- it does get better, believe me it does not keep him down for long. He said that it does wipe him out for a while, because the flare ups drain one's energy. But when the infection clears up, he is back to normal.

He never eats any seeds, nuts, OR POPCORN -- He said popcorn is the worst. He also uses Metamucil pretty regularly, that helps to keep the flare ups at bay. He said that he feels for you, he knows how painful and uncomfortable it is.

I hope you feel better very very soon

(((((Hugs)))))

Eileen

[mtlieb]

Re: New problem

Pam,

Sending happy thoughts and prayers your way. I hope you get to feeling much better very soon. Please take care of yourself first, and don't worry about the board. We'll be okay for a while without ya.

Jim

[Linda]

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Pam, Take care of yourself, sending prayers and get-well wishes your way. Linda

[Rene' Koenig]

Re: New problem

Pam,

Sorry to hear that you were in the hospital. Hope you're feeling much better soon!

Rene'

[Laoshur]

Re: New problem

Pam,

I am so sorry you are suffering so with this. Like many others, I know what it means as I average a bout of diverticulitis about twice a year. My gastroenterologist gave me Flagyl and Keflex to bring with me to China so I could dose myself whenever it hit. (My sister had a ruptured colon and nearly died twice from this, so I try to be very careful.)

Well, two weeks ago was one of those bouts. I had been thinking about writing about my experience with it because of a totally unexpected change that occured. I started taking antibiotics two weeks ago today. For at least two months I had battled severe fluid retention and the usual accompanying chf problems. To my amazement 24 hours after starting antibiotics, all the fluid came off and has stayed off until today. I stopped antibiotics after ten days, but yesterday it became apparent that the infection is still not entirely gone, so I am back on antibiotics again.

Today I did something really stupid and got myself caught on top of a mountain and had to walk down, so I am pretty swollen tonight. But it will be interesting to see if the chf goes away quickly.

I have given a lot of thought as to why this would be and all I can guess is that I had had a smoldering infection (I had had diarrhea for weeks which I credited to dietary changes, but now think was not) and that the infection was straining my heart somehow and that led to the increased problems with chf. So, I am writing to offer you some hope. Maybe you will find that when you get better from the diverticulitis, you will find that some of the heart problems are relieved. I hope so!!!

Rhoda

[Pam Alexson]

Re: New problem

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for the well wishes , prayers, thoughts and support and shared information regarding the diverticulitis. I can not believe how many have had to endure this nasty stuff. Today the pain is less I feel more comfortable up and around a bit more and the biggest problem is increased nausea and the dreaded diarrhea . I strongly suspect that it is the flagyl doing this. It tastes real yukky and even getting it down real fast leaves the essence of bitters behind.

I think back that I have had similar occurences of this diverticulitis and it was thought to be a bladder infection each time and determined via a phone call to the docs on call. I feel I was lucky that the antibiotics they used covered the bases on these occasions. I am a little stumped by why I had blood in my urine prior to the determination that it was diverticulitis and I am fearfull to think I may have been in dangerous risk of a worse outcome had it not been caught in time. The fever was over 102. Several friends have reported knowing individuals who had to have surgery , colostomies and near death experiences. Like you report of you sister Rhoda. I count myself very lucky to this point and hope I continue to heal up.

Interesting about the fluid thing Rhoda. I will have to read more on it. I have remembered in the past while on antibiotics and presently that there does seem to be a marked decrease in general systemic fluid retention. Actually this AM I looked at my legs and said, " well I have not seen you guys looking so svelt in awhile." . So there does seem to be something factoring in. There must be a vasoconstriction vs vasodilator property there. It just does not pop into my brain today.

Again , thanks to you all, you do keep me going .

Blessings , Pam

[Laoshur]

Re: New problem

Pam,

As I understand it, the reason for the bladder symptoms and blood is that diverticula often protrude into the bladder. Because they are swollen the wall is stretched (sort of like an aneurism), so bacteria can leak into the wall of the bladder, which is also stretchable. So, almost everyone I know gets a bladder infection at the same time as the diverticulitis.

About the flagyl's side effects: halfway between the doses eat a container of active yoghurt or take an acidophilis pill. This helps a LOT. The acidophilis pill is more effective than the yoghurt, but I don't have any here, so use the yoghurt. It won't help the taste, but will help the even worse diarrhea. Also, you should know that diarrhea, constipation, or alternating the two can also be a sign that you still have an infection down there. It is hard to separate the two, so taking the yoghurt or acidophilis will help separate the causes.

Along that line, you need to understand that diverticulitis is HARD to cure. I nearly always need a second round of antibiotics to get the job done. Every time I would go to the gp back home he would give me 7 days on keflex. It would help, but not a lot. So finally he would give me a referral to a gastroenterologist, who would shake his head in despair, roll his eyes, and add flagly and increase the dose of keflex. Even with that, I sometimes had to go through two rounds to get it. Biologically your digestive system is in some respects outside your body (remember the tube in a tube body plan from 10th grade biology) so it is hard to get antibiotics to do their work there. So, if you still feel like things are not right when you go off the antibiotics, don't be afraid to get another check or another opinion. This is not something to play with.

BTW I highly concur on the popcorn. It was my favorite of all snacks, but now is sadly gone from my diet. I could guarantee a bout of diverticulitis if I ate it.

I hope this helps.

Rhoda