41 and diagnosed with diverticulitis

About 3 weeks ago I had a sudden onset of pain in my stomach between my ribcage and my hip, left side, halfway between my naval and side. Pain got worse over the next few hours. Called doctor on call (it was evening) and he suggested I go in to ER to have it checked out, could be kidney stone. Urinalysis came back ok so they wanted to do CT with contrast instead of no contrast to check for diverticulitis. In the meantime my white blood count came back a little high. Had CT and results were: "-There is reticulation of the fat in the anterior retroperitoneum with thickening of the lateroconal and anterior renal fascia posterior to the descending colon indicating and inflammatory process, probably diverticulitis. Duplicated inferior vena cava as a variant. Otherwise unremarkable scan." I was sent home with a prescription for Flagyl and Cipro. I followed up with my primary doctor who basically just told me what the disease was, that I need to eat more fiber, stay away from seeds and to come back if I have another flair-up. I'm 41, male, 5'10" 159lbs and in good shape. I've had a ton of fiber in my diet the last 5 years or so, high fiber cereal every morning, whole wheat breads, and I have a healthy dose of Metamucil each night at bedtime (3-4 heaping tablespoons). My mom has diverticulitis but I was told it was not hereditary. I wanted to ask what the radiologists report above says in laymen's terms. What is duplicated inferior vena cava? I also wanted to ask if it would be advisable to have a colonoscopy. I asked my primary dr and she said not until age 50. Are there any other conditions that could mimic diverticulitis? I guess I just feel a little left out there with the radiologists comment "probably diverticulitis". So it probably is but it might not be? If there is a chance it isn't what else could it be, who should I see and what tests should I have done? Thanks for the help.

[CalGal]

There's a brief overview of a duplicated inferior vena cava at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/18/e17  It's nice you found it because it can be mistaken for other things - keep it in mind if anything should ever be 'found' in the future.

IMO having a colonoscopy done would be something I believe you should insist on. You want to make sure that the problem is diverticulitis. There is another condition in which the fatty protrusions around the colon become inflamed, and the condition can look very much like diverticulitis when it may not be - epiploic appendagitis.

[gkr]

Thanks for the great info. Should I seek out a gastroenterologist or a colon/rectal surgeon? I've seen the latter for an umbilical hernia surgury.

[CalGal]

GI person.