My Bout with Diverticulitis

I had vaguely heard of diverticulitis before December 18, but I am quite familiar with it now. On that date, I finally went to see my doctor after suffering through a solid week of stomach cramps, diarrhea and constipation, which are classic diverticulitis symptoms. My physician ordered a CT scan of my lower abdomen, which revealed that I had diverticulitis along with an abscess, which developed because of an accompanying infection.

According to the Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com), diverticulitis comes on when small, outward bulging pouches develop in the digestive tract, the result of weak areas in the colon wall being pushed outward as you strain to go to the bathroom. In time, these pouches can become infected as waste matter gets trapped in them and irritates them. If the pouch becomes infected, it can cause an abscess to form, as in my case. My abscess developed in such a way that I was soon unable to have a bowel movement, since the tissue in my colon became so inflamed that it virtually blocked the passageway. My diverticulitis occurred in my sigmoid; this is the part of the colon close to the rectum, but diverticulitis can come about in other parts of your large intestine as well.

The signs of diverticulitis include nausea and loss of appetite, which I did indeed experience, along with abdominal pain, usually on the left side. Mine was on the right side of my lower abdomen, since that is where the abscess developed. Chills and fever can accompany diverticulitis, but they did not in my case. You may also feel bloated, have rectal bleeding, and have a hard time urinating or pain when urinating.