How do I overcome the stomach pain and other associated symptoms of diverticulitis in me?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have been diagnosed with diverticulitis, but the symptoms are not gone. My stomach hurts every day. All they have given me is an anti-inflammatory that helped after ten days. I had a recent ER visit as my blood pressure reached 60/40 mm Hg, but no diverticulitis problems showed up. My PCP and ER referred me to a GI, but I could not get in until this year. I take Tramadol, Clonazepam, and Gabapentin for restless leg syndrome. Please help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

Diverticulitis is a large bowel disease, and it has nothing to do with your stomach pain. I will answer your issues one by one.

1) For diverticulitis, we suggest antibiotics, not anti-inflammatory drugs.

2) Which anti-inflammatory drugs have you used? If they are NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like Ibuprofen, Diclofenac sodium, Diclofenac potassium, etc., this causes drug-induced gastritis, which can explain your stomach pain.

3) During recent ER (emergency room) visit, your blood pressure was very low. Unfortunately, with these blood pressure readings, we cannot send the patient back home until we find out the cause and treat it.

4) One relevant question will be, is there any history of blood in stools or black-colored stools if you used anti-inflammatory drugs for diverticulitis?

5) That is great you do not have diverticulitis right now, but I am more concerned regarding your blood pressure.

6) Your current medications are fine; they usually do not cause such issues.

7) If you have any reports, blood workups, or abdominal radiology like ultrasound or CT (computed tomography) scan, that will be helpful for better understanding.

I hope you find it helpful.

Kind regards.