Is A Colonoscopy Required After The Recurrence Of Diverticulitis?

Posted on Thu, 7 Jan 2016

Question: Hi,

I had a colectomy in 2015 s/p 2 bouts of diverticulitis.
I was just diagnosed with another occurrence ("mild" per CT scan), but I think I have had a low grade infection for a month.
My GI put me on Levaquin and Flagyl for 5 days - I started to feel better but after the medication was stopped, the infection came back.
I'm now on 14 days of Avelox (started this past Monday) and have started to feel better - still a bit of pain but definitely has gotten better.
I'm only 55 y/o and very, very concerned that I will have to have a colostomy
My GI, however, told me he does not even think I need another colonoscopy (last one two years ago - all good except for diverticulosis)
Do you think that more conservation measures can be taken just as long as I consume/drink a lot of fiber and take my amitiza

I'm so scared - please help.

Thanks,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Conservative methods should suffice

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

I have very carefully gone through your query. Based on the provided details it does not appear that you would need any surgical intervention like colostomy. In other words, I feel that conservative management should be enough for you. You definitely need to maintain good fiber intake along with medication. You can talk to your doctor about the consideration of Rifagut (rifaximin - a gut specific antibiotic) 550 mg thrice daily for 5 days.

Let me know if you have any further queries and I would be glad to help.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar