still having pain on the left side

[chrisd16]

I had a colonoscopy lately and they found that I had diversticulitis, (not looking at spelling), I have taken the antibiotics for a week and I still have the pain. What is the next step? What should I expect the doctor to do?

[Banned1]

Once again, I'm in total agreement with CalGal.  For my husband, Metamucil has been the key to keeping his diverticulitis in check.  He uses the drink but there are cookies, drink and pill versions.  Drink as much fluid as you can.  If you won't drink plain water, try juices or Kool-Aid.  Once you get cleaned out and regular, hopefully the pain in your left-hand-side will lessen and finally disappear.

There is a fantastic research resource that I've found very helpful called "The First Principles of Gastroenterology": http://gastroresource.com/GITextbook/en/Default.htm.   Chapter 11 deals with Specific Colonic Diseases including Diverticulitis.

As far as your wife is concerned, there are many articles about menopause and many ways to treat it.  Now that she has a diagnosis, if she can regulate her hormones, hopefully those horrible symptoms will be largely a thing of the past.  YOU might want to do some research to learn as much as you can: http://www.medicinenet.com/menopause/article.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menopause or http://www.menopause.org/.  

The most important thing is to support her.  I know that's not easy given your own health difficulties.  For her, it's like waking up in someone elses' body and feeling totally uncomfortable in your own skin.  She's grumpy, irritable and just not herself and she doesn't know why or how to fix it.  

Take care of yourselves and each other.  Good luck and Godspeed!

All the best,

Sam

[chrisd16]

My wife and I are 40  years old with 3 children. She just called me from the doctors office to tell me she has mentapause. This might answer a lot of questions for me. She has been a totally different person, bad moods, etc... for the last 9-10 months. Can anyone tell me what to expect and is there medicine for this problem?

[CalGal]

The next step is to check back with the doc and find out if you need to continue antibiotic usage. He's probably got you on a liquid or soft diet. Once the infection starts to clear, the doc will probably tell you to change your diet to one that is high in fiber.