Diverticulitis Support Group
Diverticulitis is a common disease of the bowel, in particular the large intestine. Diverticulitis develops from diverticulosis, which involves the formation of pouches on the outside of the colon. Diverticulitis results if one of these diverticula becomes inflamed. Diverticulitis most often affects middle-aged and elderly persons, though it can strike younger patients as...
How long do you take medications for? I am always given the medicine for one week. Sometimes I think a longer time may be necessary.
By "medications" I am assuming you are probably referring to antibiotic medications for an acute diverticulitis attack.
When I have had acute diverticulitis attacks (I've had many), my doctors have prescribed them for 7 to 10 days.
The way it has been explained to me by them, is that some attacks are not as severe as others and the antibiotics overpower the infection quickly. Other attacks are more severe and those infections are more persistent (the patient does not improve quickly upon starting the antibiotics or there is pain still many days after starting the antibiotics, etc.).
But usually I have been given them for 10 days. But sometimes the doctor starts me on them for 7 days, then on the 6th day he decides to add 3 more days.
I urge you to ask your doctor about this 7 days question.
My doctors have told me, it is certainly better to be on them a little longer than needed than to not be on them long enough for them to completely eliminate your infection.
I hope you feel better soon.
FL
I am the real newbie here, I know nothing!
For me and all my flare ups... Yes, 7 - 10 days of the combined antibiotic medications.
So typically my doctor will give me 2 different antibiotics to take during days 1 though 10 of my flare up. During my last flare up my doctor prescribed both Cipro and Flagyl for me concurrently for 10 days.
Are you taking 2 different antibiotics now?
I believe 2 antibiotics given concurrently is the norm. This is my understanding based mainly on my own experience. I have had 5 or 6 different doctors always prescribe 2 antibiotics concurrently for a diverticulitis flare up.
Though I have always been given 2 antibiotics concurrently to take, I have been told that sometimes a doctor may prescribe 1 only. I do not know how common that is. And I do not know what decision-making or thinking goes into on deciding on only 1. If others reading this discussion have been prescribed only 1 antibiotic for a flare up, hopefully they can reply and offer some information about this.
FL