FIL's family Dr. said he had diverticulitis. His neighbor, a Dr. told him go to a specialist. He said you have to have diverticulosis to have diverticulitis so why wasn't he ever diagnosed for that first? The specialist told my FIL very few per cent of people with diverticulosis have it turn to diverticulitis. The treatment of each is different so I would say get a specialist to determine exactly which one you may have. FIl had neither. His bowel/stomach bacteria was out of whack causing all the distress. He would have been fighting with foods not to eat for diverticulitis and still have bad bacteria causing the symptoms. He was fine after a few weeks of taking digestion supplements. Family Drs are great but not specialist in any one field.