[CatUK]

My abdominal pain has been constant day and night (very occasionally waking me in the night) for months now (I'd say at least 5 months). No let up, pain is pretty much there all the time. I'm peeing a lot more than usual and feel sick all the time (that's getting to me as much as the pain). I've also got bad lower back pain which painkillers don't touch. My bowels have changed during these last few months from going once every 4 days or so quite formed to going most days very loose or with mucus (I amtaking digestive enzymes to make me go more). I also keep getting hot flushes even in this cold weather. I'm also tired all the time but again that could be the anxiety. I have GAD and health anxiety. I also have the worst gas continulously popping from the top of my stomach to right down above my pubic bone, really violent popping. It keeps me awake at night sometimes as I can feel it so bad around my sides.My symptoms tell me Ovarian Cancer but whenever I go to the Dr's I get told the pain is IBS and that the nausea and fatigue is the anxiety. I had full blood tests about the time all this started (kidney function, liver function, full blood count, thyroid etc) and all came back normal apart from my ESR levels being raised which means I could have had an inflammation or infection somewhere in my body. My Dr sent me for a chest X-Ray which came back normal. Something else had abnormal written on the screen of my test results as well but my Dr didn't say what and didn't send me for any other tests.I just feel like my health has gone downhill recently, I'm breathless doing the slightest thing and just fed up of the pain and nausea. I also don't want to go to the Dr's because I'm scared of being told it is Ovarian Cancer. I just can't stop worrying and constantly stressing out about my health.Sorry for moaning and thanks for listening.

 

[Kathleen M.]

With the stressing out and anxiety it is hard to know how much of the pain and tired is from the anxiety vs from something new.Usually most of what they say for Ovarian cancer is bloat that never lets up rather than pain and noisy guts. They refused to test for that when they did all the other blood tests? Or are you too afraid to ask because somehow the not knowing and the anxiety over the unknown is preferable (in a strange way) to actually knowing. Because sometimes we'd rather worry something is wrong rather than find out it is not, or deal with it effectively if it is.IBS can cause problems during sleep, that is not specific to anything else, just less common in IBS than in other GI illnessess like GERD.One problem is as we try to go to sleep the brain has fewer things to concentrate on so if you start to focus on every noise and pain in the body they will intensify as you will put more and more of your brain to the task of listening for it. Have you ever learned anything like progressive muscle relaxation or ever gotten a relaxation tape of nature sounds or something else you can give your brain to do while you are falling asleep?Everything you describe all happens to IBSers so isn't some sure sign it has to be something else.

 

[CatUK]

Thanks so much Kathleen. I wasn't have the problems for long when I had my blood test so didn't metion the Ovarian Cancer worry. My Dr doesn't seem to think it's anything serious seeing as my blood results were ok.I am going to make an appointment, just putting it off till January so I am not worrying about possible test results etc over Xmas.I only awake now and again with the pain last time was a couple of weeks ago and that was my own fault as I'd had pie and chips for tea. I think I get pain in the night as well because I wake often and always have a drink of water or pop so my stomach is never truly empty.Thanks again for your help, you really do help to reassure us on here Kathleen and just want you to know we appreciate it