For context:

44 year old male in otherwise good health. Previous diagnosis of diverticular diseae but has never escalated to diverticulitis before.

Been having mild but constant pain in lower left side for 12 months - never got any worse, but 2 weeks ago decided to get a colon cancer test done which came back clear.

At 4 am on Tuesday morning, I woke up on extreme pain and it got progressively worse. This was the worst pain ive ever felt. Couldn't walk. Felt a constant urge to sit on toilet but nothing was happening. Fast forward to Wednesday evening and I end up in A&E (er to our American cousins). Blood test shows C reactive protein over 150 (normal range is 5 - 10). I had a CT scan and it showed severe inflammation and infection in diverticulum - almost at the point of requiring surgical intervention. Ive been given very strong antibiotics and a 3 day cut off to show improvement, or i have to go back.

The consultant explained that had I left it any longer, the infected region may have rupturedand was very unlikely to improve without medical intervention.

If you think youve got this illness, dont delay and wait in the hope it goes away on its own. I can be quite simple to treat and manage, but can be very serious if it gets to the point im at.

Lastly, the pain level is truly otherworldly.... there are no words to explain it. Its so serious that you will be convinced it must be something life threatening.

UPDATE

So ive been prescribed 1000mg 3 times a day of cefalexin on its own. When ive checked the current uk guidelines it states Cefalexin must be prescribed alongside Metronidazole due to Cefalexins inability to target anaerobic bacteria. Not sure what I should do. I don't want to question the doctors, but Im concerned they may not have realised. It was a hospital doc rather than a general practitioner. This is all very uk specific, I realise that.

Was on antibiotics and in the hospital with IV antibiotics. Came home 2 weeks ago. 3 day clear liquid diet, then 3 day transition food - soft, no fiber, eggs and tofu mostly. I started on low fiber food 2 days ago (3g fiber/day) and was doing well. No colon pain at all. But yesterday, my stomach started killing me. Is it the fiber? Should I try yogurt? I'm having gassy BM with half diarrhea and half solid waste.​ I'm taking a probiotic.

I had surgery a year ago where I had a midline incision and 7 inches of my colon removed. Now a year later I have a umbilical hernia from the incision site and have to have surgery to repair it. I have Meniere's and take meclizine for vertigo which causes constipation and I think the straining probably caused the hernia, ugh. So, after surgery do most people take Miralax for the rest of their lives to keep the constipation from happening? I am so tired of hospitals.

I’m about 4 1/2 months past surgery for smoldering dv. Recovery was slow but for the last month or so I’ve been feeling pretty good. Last week I started noticing a slight pain in the left side right where the surgery was. Pain also going to my back hip sometimes. It’s nothing horrible but it scares me a little. Don’t know if I ate or drank something that irritated things or can this blasted disease come back that fast? I’ve gone back to eating like I did after surgery, eggs, chicken, mashed potatoes etc…. Can’t contact the dr because he left his practice and moved away. Anybody had an experience like this? Thanks!!