Diverticular disease and diverticulitis are related digestive conditions that affect the large intestine (colon).
In diverticular disease, small bulges or pockets (diverticula) develop in the lining of the intestine. Diverticulitis is when these pockets become inflamed or infected.
Symptoms of diverticular disease include:
The majority of people with diverticula will not have any symptoms; this is known as diverticulosis.
Symptoms of diverticulitis tend to be more serious and include:
Symptoms of diverticular disease and diverticulitis include abdominal pain, bloating and a change in normal bowel habits.
If diverticula have been discovered during a camera test for another reason (colonoscopy) or during a CT scan, you may be worried about what this means.
However, if you have never had abdominal pain or bouts of diarrhoea, there is a 70-80% chance that you will never have any symptoms from them.
Diverticula are extremely common over the age of 70 and they do not increase your risk of cancer. It’s thought that a high-fibre diet is likely to reduce the risk of any symptoms developing.
The most common symptom of diverticular disease is intermittent (stop-start) pain in your lower abdomen (stomach), usually on the lower left-hand side.
The pain is often worse when you are eating, or shortly afterwards. Passing stools and breaking wind (flatulence) may help relieve the pain.
Other long-term symptoms of diverticular disease include: a change in your normal bowel habits, such as constipation or diarrhoea, or episodes of constipation that are followed by diarrhoea – a classic pattern is multiple trips to the toilet in the morning to pass stools like “rabbit pellets”
Another possible symptom of diverticular disease is bleeding dark purple blood from your rectum (back passage). This usually occurs after diarrhoea-like cramping pain and often leads to hospital admission, but fortunately, this is an uncommon complication.
Diverticular disease does not cause weight loss, so if you are losing weight, seeing blood in your stools or experiencing frequent bowel changes, see your GP.
Diverticulitis shares most of the symptoms of diverticular disease (see above). However, the pain associated with diverticulitis is constant and severe, rather than intermittent. It is most likely to occur if you have previously had symptoms of diverticular disease, and develop over a day or
Other symptoms of diverticulitis can include:
The pain usually starts below your belly button, before moving to the lower left-hand side of your abdomen.
If you have to drink more than one capsule a day, spread them throughout the day, never more than two capsules at a time. Spreading the capsules throughout the day assists the body with proper absorption. Always good to have a very small snack/fruit before drinking capsules.