blood loss from diverticulitis??

  My Mom is 59 and we recently found that she had at some point lost a lot of blood. Her count (?)
  is at 6.2. They transufesed her and she seems to be stable. They did a colonoscopy today and said that
  she has diverticulitis, but that it was not likly the cause of the blood loss. From
  what I have been reading on the internet, blood loss is the second most common problem
  involved with this disease. She has also had an endoscopy and abdominal x-ray, which showed nothing.
  She does not recall having bloody or dark stools. Can the diverticulitis be the cause of her blood loss,
  or should we keep looking for something else?? She is getting very frustrated with the
  testing.
Dear Concerned Daughter,
Diverticula are pouches or sacs that form on the outside of the intestine. Diverticular disease can be classified as diverticulosis (the presence of pouches that may lead to symptoms of pain and change in bowel habits) or diverticulitis (an infected pouch/sac with the presence of  inflammation and microperforation). In diverticulosis rectal bleeding is a common clinical presentation. Rectal bleeding does not usually occur in diverticulitis. If in fact, your mother had a documented attack of diverticulitis, I would suggest that you consider an alternative source of bleeding to explain her low blood count (anemia).
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.
If you would like to be seen at our institution please call 1-800-653-6568 our Referring Physicians' Office and make an appointment to see Dr. Muszkat, one of our experts in Gastroenterology.
HFHSM.D.-ym
*Keywords: diverticular disease, diverticulosis, diverticulitis