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Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

Digestive Health

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Common signs and symptoms of diverticulitis include:

  • Pain that's often sudden, severe and located in the lower left side of the abdomen
  • Less commonly, abdominal pain that may be mild at first and become worse over several days, possibly fluctuating in intensity
  • Change in bowel habits
  • Abdominal tenderness
  • Fever
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Bloating
  • Bleeding from your rectum (less common)
References
  1. Diverticulosis and diverticulitis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/diverticulosis/diverticulosis.pdf. Accessed March 24, 2011.
  2. Touzios JG, et al. Diverticulosis and acute diverticulitis. Gastroenterology Clinic of North America. 2009;38:513.
  3. Jacobs DO. Clinical practice: Diverticulitis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2007;357:2057.
  4. Strate LL, et al. Nut, corn, and popcorn consumption and the incidence of diverticular disease. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008;300:907.
  5. Diverticulitis. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/print/sec02/ch019/ch019c.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.
  6. Narula N, et al. Role of probiotics in management of diverticular disease. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2010;25:1827.
DS00070 May 21, 2011

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