miserable left side pain

I'm afraid there's quite a few people on this board with constant gut problems, pain and general suckiness. Hopefully some of the diverticulitis people can give you some hints for avoiding flares and clearing them up afterwards (my stepfather finds he can't eat seeds--like on bread or in certain fruit--because the seeds have a tendency to lodge in his little pocket and cause a flare). I'm not saying that doctors are never wrong, but I think you can be resonably confident that your tests were indeed clear of cancer. IBS and diverticulitis can certainly cause the pain and problems that you are having all by theirselves without any help from something worse. And weight loss isn't that uncommon when people get sick like that; there are a number of people here who have lost weight and who have trouble maintaining a healthy weight because they get sick so often when they eat, so they don't eat and poop too much out to boot. I hate to say "join the club" but... here we are.

I had a colonoscopy in May and was told IBS and "some diviticulous". I will admit that I am anxious because of the Div but it seems that the whole situation is running my life. I get L side pain ( always did even before the div showed up) I'm not constipated to the extent that I don't GO. I just go often in small amts ususally, sometimes hard , sometimes not. Every once in a while I get D but not every day. I take Bentyl every day . That and gas x are always with me. I keep hearing about stress causing the problem but it seems that the problem causes the stress. My trouble started when I got my Gall Bladder out. I have seen the gastro dr twice since the colonoscopy and he says IBS and looks sympathetic! It's hard not to think something else is wrong and I feel myself becoming more and more homebound. Do you guys ever wake up with gas in the morning? That's when my routine starts . It's reassuring to read the rest of the postings or I would think I'm the only one.