Diverticulitis in splenic flexure

[Amentut]

I am a 39 (pushing 40) year old female that was diagnosed in May 09 with diverticulitis via colonoscopy. Had another attack in July 09 and just got back from the general surgeon who explained to me that the colonoscopy showed diverticulosis thru out the entire colon but the diverticulitis attack was from the splenic flexure region. He said this is rare but not extremely rare. Then he proceeds to tell me that if he did surgery he would have to remove my colon from the splenic flexure all the way down to the sigmoid colon then reattach to rectum. That is a third of my bowel! OK then he says but you might not have another attack ever again in your life. SO he didnt recommend I have the surgery. If you are following me, is anyone else confused? I am just now 40(ALMOST) have diverticulitis in places that most people dont, have had two attacks in less than 6 months and can't eat without looking 9 months pregnant! Now I don't want surgery unless I have to but....should I or should'nt I?!?!?!?


This discussion is related to Vague Constant Pain Left Side Abdomen.

[rumie]

Did you get the surgery? I have just been told the same thing.

[Morecambe]

Hi - I picked up on your request for a reply from me and I sent a note to you.  But I might have messed up the transmission of my reply and cannot find it now.  Did you receive my reply a few days ago?

regards
Morecambe

[CalGal]

No one can make this decision for you  and it sounds like your surgeon is giving you the facts and is waiting for you to say yes or no. You may have no choice in the matter. If the pockets are at the inflammatory stage and you've already had two attacks, you may have to consider having the surgery to prevent a leak into the abdominal cavity. I know it's a strange and frightening thing to contemplate, but the good part about it is that he's talking about reattaching to the rectum, which is a blessing. This surgery will change a few things, however, such as the frequency and consistency of your bowel movements, and that may be something you need to think about. There's an individual on the board, Morecambe, who had surgery for a colon condition and has an extremely good plan for reducing the number of bathroom trips that will have to be made after colon surgery. You may want to read some of Morecambe's posts, which will give you a true picture of  what goes on after colon surgery.

I know you're probably thinking that you're too young to have diverticulitis - that's it's something only older people experience. But that's no longer true. More and more people in their late 20's and 30's are being diagnosed with diverticulosis unfortunately. No one knows why, but some docs are chalking it up to our poor choices in diet throughout our lives - but who knows.