Has your doctor given you a colonoscopy test yet? How did the ER doctor make this determination? Through a catscan?

Hi...from what I have read...24 is very Young, but not unheard of...they told me I was Young to have it, and I am twice your age !!

So ya went to the ER...did they do a CT Scan ? how did they diagnose you ? did they draw Blood as well ?

They told you to go home and eat a HIGH Fiber Diet ? No...If You are Having an Attack Stay AWAY From Fiber for Now. Clear Liquids ONLY til the Pain subsides..then you can go to a Soft BLAND Diet (Mashed potatoes, eggs, Fish, that kind of stuff) for several Weeks, THEN Once the Meds are Gone, You ARE on Meds right ? Once they are Gone and you have been Cleared by your Primary Then you can SLOWLY Start adding in Fiber Foods...Like Raw Veggies...Fruit.

I will start with this, wait for you to answer...

Faithfully77...they won't do a Scope til they have determined that she has healed from the Attack...and they wait a Good 6-8 Weeks.

I am 31 now, but I was diagnosed when I was 29. I had been to several er's trying to get them to figure it out, and finally they figured it out, and sent me to a gastro-intestinal specialist. They ended up putting me on flagyl and cipro, but I continued to have symptoms shortly after finishing medication. They did a colonoscopy as well, and removed a benign polyp.My doc told me that having had 3 or more episodes within 6 months made me a good candidate for surgery if I chose to go that route. I met with the surgeon, just to get the information, and ended up scheduling surgery. I had a laproscopic colectomy, and they ended up removing 6 inches of my colon, and I was told that I was now clear. For the most part, now its just about trying to not eat things that can possibly aggrivate my condition. Every once in a while I still get pains in my side, but they usually are short lived. Hot compresses help, and I recently discovered that icy hot patches also work very good. I personally dont take pills, but I know that tylenol seems to help some people, but in small doses. High fiber diets are only good once you are healed completely, otherwise you will only irritate things more, but they do help when you get to that point. Its a long road, but you will be okay.

Maybe the ER doctor said no to your questions about surgery and fatality, because you're newly diagnosed. Diverticulitis is a painful, scary disease. It is a serious illness, no doubt about it. BUT - if you've had the right tests, you know for sure if you've had it. And that helps you manage the illness safely, so you don't need emergency surgery or become critically ill. I've done tons of online research, too, and that can be frightening. Count on the people in this forum - you'll see pretty much everyone has accurate info. Even more, they UNDERSTAND, and can give calming support. Best wishes.

Hi!

I was diagnosed through a CT scan when I was 29 years old, before, I never had intestinal issues. I had a round of two antibiotics, stayed home from work for over a week, and it went away for a few years.

List of no-nos: Seeds, nuts, corn, popcorn, basically when it comes out, if it's recognizable, then its something to avoid. When you do have a flare up, eat a low fiber diet. When you're healthy, eat a high fiber diet. I love Fiber 1 bread!

You are young for this disease but I'm learning quickly disease and age don't always go together. I've done so much research on this disease and have not found anything that I feel is exceptional information.
I was 33 when I had my first bout with it, went to the doctor. He thought it was either a kidney stone or a cyst on my ovary. After a CT scan he said he felt I had diverticulitis which I had never in my life heard of. Went to a Gastro and they scheduled my colonoscopy (I was 34 by this time). I was horrified at the fact I was having the colonoscopy, I was too young for this! The procedure was nothing! The worst part was the day before prep and not eating. After the colonoscopy I was told I had diverticuli and that was the reason for the diverticulitis. My Gastro told me I was mighty young for it but I could eat what EVER I wanted in moderation and to just make sure I did fiber daily. Within 3 mnths I had another bout, confirmed through CT it was the diverticiulitis and I decided then to change my diet after doing research. I then also found out that drinking water is very important to keep your intestines properly hydrated...no doctor told me this I had to find it on my own!
I've had a total of 8 bouts with this, the last being in November at which time I decided I would rather have surgery than have the diverticulitis every 3 months!
I had my surgery December 28th and am feeling GREAT and am now 36yo! It was totally worth it and I am thankful I had it done. They did discover during surgery that I had a preforated bowel during the last episode that did not show up on the CT scan and they had to unfuse my small intestines from my large intestines. That rattled my cage to say the least - the docs had no idea I had a hole?? Seriously? I had 10 inches of my colon removed as well.
When you look up statistics please remember to look at age factors, (the mortality rate for young people having the surgery is very different that for older people). The chances that someone diagnosed young needing surgery are higher because you deal with it longer.
This disease is difficult to deal with and even if you change your diet you may still have issues (I know I did). BUT it's worth trying to change the diet (no seeds or nuts) and making sure you stay hydrated and doing your fiber every day. I have seen people say that seeds and nuts to do no affect it and I personally had popcorn in May of 2010 and within 7 days was at an emergency room - so I am a beliver in avoiding nuts and seeds,

Hi! I am a 22 year old female diagnosed with this too. I was diagnosed after a CT scan too. I had a long battle so far with lots of pain and blood. It is suspected that I have IBD as well and I am doing a colonoscopy soon. I am very scared too because I've had such a rough time dealing with sudden illness, pain, and bleeding. I just wanted to reply to say you are not alone and it is rare for us to have this at our age. I hope we can get our proper treatments so we can live comfortably again.

Hi, I am 30 now but I was diagnosed with it when I was 15 years old after I too went to urgent care. I became a vegitarian at the age of 20 and now I am a vegan so just taking in the right vegetables will help. I haven't been in the er since hope this helps:)

I'm 18 years old, and I got diagnosed 2 years ago. After I had been diagnosed my primary doctor had told me to just include a lot of fruit into my diet, and I haven't had any problems since then, and most fruits are really good tasting too!

Your not alone, I am a healthy 23 year old and I got diagnosed after a trip to the ER and a cat scan. I thought it was my appendix, doctors thought so too. Thank god they decided to do a cat scan before opening me up. The same thing happened to my uncle in his 20's they opened him up to remove his appendix and discovered he was in fact was having a flare up. I'm really glad I told them about my family history of gastrointestinal issues before hand or I would be in the same boat. Anyway I'm online looking for answers/tips on living with this condition. I eat healthy fiber rich foods to begin with. Heck I don't even drink soda. I love eating fruit and im bummed I can't have anything with seeds anymore. I'm worried that I will end up in surgery or have my colon removed! I'm doing everything I can to eat the diet they suggested but I still have flare ups.

I was diagnosed young too, i went to the ER for the first time at last year at 21. I went in for abdominal pain on my left side and they diagnosed me after a CT scan. The ER doctor suggested i get a colonoscopy but my primary care doctor told me not too. I missed of week of college and was bed ridden in pain, it was awful!! i had three episodes within 6 months, then finally learned the kind of diet that was right for me. High fiber of course, and avoiding the seeds, for me it was especially avoiding corn and popcorn. I also take a fiber therapy pill every day and a stool softener, which helps move things through. Something else that i will swear by is Kombucha! I drink a bottle everyday, and it has helped so much. Having diverticulitis is scary and it seriously sucks, but it is manageable!!

I was was diagnosed at 17, I am now 19! I have never met or heard of anyone close to my age having this, but I have experienced many complications with diverticulosis and am currently trying to learn how to manage it!

I was diagnosed at 22, I am now 41. I think it more common than we think in young people. I know when I found out I had had a few bouts with pain before I went in. Maybe young people are just less likely to go in and seek treatment unless forced to.

Hi guys, i was recently diagnosed 3 days ago with mild diverticulosis at the ER after going for eating some expired pork(only the 3rd time waying pork in my life). I was already feeling weird tenderness/soreness on both sides of my abdomen before I ate it. I have always lived a pretty healthy lifestyle with drinking at least a gallon of water a day and eating potatoes and brown rice with whole grains in my meals, eating only clean meats like chicken breast, fish, and turkey with occasional steak; never drinking any soda, and drink alcohol maybe 3-4 times a year. I have lived just about as healthy of a lifestyle a 20 year old can in today's society and i workout regularly while also walking 3 miles a day.  I dont suffer any pain however since diagnosed I have been almost basically been starving myself with eating only rice, beans, chicken, oatmeal, eggs, and bread in fear of advancing my mild diverticulosis into diverticulitis. I have probably visited just about every website for this disease. I have no family history of any gastrointestinal issues, how did i end up with this disease and how can i make it livable. Will i need surgery to be able to live a normal life again