I had an all over abdominal discomfort, but not actual pain. Frankly, I thought I had a bad case of gas. But the things I normally do to relieve gas (obviously) didn't help. I could not isolate the pain to one area. I was just bloated. I took some Alka seltzer and had a small amount of relief - not enough that the discomfort went away totally, just enough to fool me into thinking I was right about the gas. And then the rupture. The pain became VERY localized - it was like someone was stabbing me in one spot (lower left) with a very hot knife. It was excruciating! Worst pain EVER - made delivering my son naturally seem like a stubbed toe. And because I was young - only 36 - they went "exploring" my abdomen. I had NO history of any trouble at all. I lost nearly 3 inches of my sigmoid and had a colostomy due to the peritonitis. Fortunately for me, 6 weeks later I was able to be "put back together." I haven't had any recurring problems, but I am pretty good about taking fiber twice a day and trying not to strain to go to the bathroom. I also avoid white breads and try to get plenty of whole grains. It's been 8 years (wow - that is so hard to believe!) and I am fine.

My symptoms started with mild discomfort below my navel. Over a period of several hours the discomfort became increasingly worse with severe cramping (every two minutes or so) just above my navel, combined with a bloated feeling and extreme sensitivity all around my stomach. This was followed by nausea, hot/cold spells, a rise in my pulse (up to 122 bpm) and a rise in blood pressure. It was a truly miserable experience. I was treated with Dicyclomine 10mg capsules (for cramping) and Metronidazole 500 mg tablets (antibiotic). The combination of both medications have thus far worked well in the 4 days since onset. The medication made the cramping, nausea and bloating dissipate over a period of 24 hours although I felt weak and shaky through day three. Today (day 4) I'm feeling fairly well. Right now I'm conscious of every little gurgle and twinge in my stomach, so I may actually be feeling better than I think.

I had a dull pain in my lower left abdomen for a couple of days, then I started to get chills (hot then cold). I began to run a fever. This lasted a couple of hours, then it was over. The next day when I went to see the doctor, most of the prior nights symptoms where gone except the pain in my lower left abdomen. After consult my family doctor, I had an MRI done and it was confirmed that I had Diverticulosis with a perforation.

I'm 25 and just one day I woke up feeling pain right above my waist. I thought I had to pass gas really bad but could not. I bought some Gas-X and it did not do anything I thought maybe it was really bad bloating. I gave it a couple of days but by the second day the pain was like needles going into my lower abdomen. I really didn't want to go to the hospital as I have no medical insurance but I forced myself. That did CT scans, ran blood tests, and unfortunately had to do a rectal exam and a few hours later diagnosed me with diverticulitis saying it was abnormal for my age.

I had symptoms about two years ago. I had bloating, gas, several bouts of cramping diarrhea. I took over the counter medications and just passed it off as "oh, getting older (early 50's) can't eat that anymore." I had one episode about a year earlier that woke me out of a sound sleep with cramping, pain in the lower abdomen, sweating, rapid pulse, and chills. I really thought I was having a heart attack. Once again I passed it off as "something I ate." Come to find out that was a small tear in the colon, but we didn't find that out until 6 months later when I was at work and was overcome by this searing sharp, burning pain all across my lower abdomen.

I am 24 and was diagnosed at 21. I had horrible pain in my left bottom side of my lower abdomen. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong, I went from one doctor to the next for about a month. All the signs pointed to diverticulitis but it wasn't a possibility because of my age. I lost around 25 pounds or so because I couldn't eat or drink. Finally after the barium enema the doctors concluded it had to be diverticulitis.

Severe stomach cramps are my worst symptom as a result of diverticulitis.