### instruction:
If you are a doctor, please answer the medical questions based on the patient's description.

### input:
Hi, I am a 54 year old female who underwent chemo and radiation thereapy for the treatment of stage 3 Vulvar and stage 1b cervical cancer 1.3 years ago. Recently I have started have severe abdominal cramping, some vomiting when the pain is at it s peak, some diarreah and constipation. This is the second time this has occurred in the last 4 months. My boyfriend has been diagnosed within the past year with severe ulcerative colitis. I have tried some of his meds, but nothing really works except the sterroids. They provide me with a great deal of relief from the pain ( i do not think I could handle it without them), but my condition is not improving and it has been two full weeks, with 9 days on prednisone. 1-3 tablets per day depending on the pain I am experiencing. During my Pet Scan for the cancer my doctor said that he saw evidence of diverticulae. Could this be Diverticulitis instead of Colitis? Would the prednisone help if it were Diverticulitis. p.s. I have seen a doc in the box but have not scheduled with a gastro specialist as they will say I need a colonoscopy which I cannot afford with my lousey insurance policy. I have also recently been experiencing chills and pretty significant weight loss. I am down to 102 lbs and can t really afford to lose anymore. My boyfiend with the colitis has been on several medications for a year and nothing has helped. He doesn t not really experience any pain he only has a feeling of pressure and must go up to 10 or more times a day. We are both at our wits end and do not understand how we both could be experiencing the same type of illness and the same time.

### output:

Hi, Thanks for your query. If I see such a patient in my clinic, the first thing I will recommend is that you stop taking prednisone, since steroid abuse is associated with many undesirable side effects. The abdominal cramping, pain & diarrhea/constipation may be related to your diverticular disease. So it is better if you take antibiotics like rifaximin 200 mg thrice daily, antispasmodics and probiotics 5 to 7 days.  In case you symptoms do not get resolved, and you continue to lose weight then I suggest you to consult a physician and get detailed medical examination and colonoscopy done.  Hope this answers your query.