[Willowing]

Hi guys, I am new and have been suffering with certain symptoms for a while. Maybe if I list them someone could maybe let me know if they suffer anything similar? I am going for a colonoscopy in a week and a half- 9 days before my wedding!!So here goes. It started with seeing bright red tiny spots of blood on toilet paper on and off over the space of a year. I assumed it was hemaroids or a fissure, But went to doc to make sure- that was last november- she referred me to a consultant. at this time the only symptom I had was the occasional bright red blood. So he referred for for my upcoming colonoscopy. That was last February and since then I seem to be getting multiple things wrong with me. Now my young mother was diagnosed with Lung cancer in late January so I have been under a lot of stress with that and with the upcoming wedding so maybe that brought this on but basically a few times a big glob of white/clear jellylike mucus has come out of me even with no BM. Only happened a few times but very scary. I also started getting a gnawing pain just under my left rib, It wasn't bad by any means but just there on and off over the last couple of months. Then I got constipation so bad that I went to the doc as I was worried , he said that he wasn't worried about the mucus or the constipation as at my age cancer is almost unheard of, so he just recommended flaxseed and oranges! I did do this and tried to increase my fibre intake and my bowel movements were relatively normal for a while. Then last week I started having to almost run to the toilet, I would pass strain to pass the BM but then would get up wash my hands and straight away would need to go again- this was happening a few times in a row , I passed 11 BMs in one day. I was also getting burning sensation around down there when I went. A few days after that I started passing tiny bits of BM. and straining to get them out. I am at a loss now. I have convinced myself it could be cancer. I don't understand how it can change so much and I have found myself analysing my bowel motions and becoming paranoid. I have never had blood in with the stoll that I can see anyway. I don't get abdominal pain much and when I do it isn't bad. Sorry it is so long. I am just so upset that I can't enjoy the run up to the wedding worrying what this could be. I am hoping the stress of my mother- who has had a successful operation since and will be at the wedding thank god- is what made this happen. If anyone knows if this sounds like maybe it is IBS I would appreciate any comments. Thanks so much.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Colon Cancer is very rare in people under 50.Colon Cancer generally causes subtle symptoms if it causes symptoms at all. One of the reasons for screening everyone over 50 is the polyps that come before the cancer (not all polyps become cancer but a small percentage will and you want them out before they do) and even the dangerous tumors are usually not doing anything to let people know they are there. Usually the blood that comes with this is hidden in the stool and not bright red. Often you need a medical test to detect it at all.IBS often acts up a lot during stressful periods and causes lots of obvious and distressing symptoms including every variety of stool you can imagine, and a few you can't as well as increases in mucus. Sudden changes from diarrhea to constipation is quite common in IBS.What you describe sounds very typical of IBS, with maybe a hemorrhoid or fissure to explain the blood.

 

[Willowing]

Thanks so much for the quick reply Kathleen, It is a relief to hear that what I have been experiencing is common in IBS, that is what I was hoping. I was so so confused at the variety of my BMS that I thought it must be something serious. My maternal aunt had 2 polyps removed at 50. My grandad had his bowel removed at 71 due to ulcerative colitis. So I son;t think that counts as a family history as such. Never thought I would have spent so much time thinking and worrying about my bowel movements at 27!

 

[Bonzi]

Your not alone Willowing. Im 29 and spent the better part of a month examining every one of my bowel movements. I too had the same fears as you, and just like yours, my issues seem to come and go with stress. Which happens to be a very common symptom with IBS. Colon Cancer is its own lifeform, so it could care less when your stressed or not! Also, pain on the left side is very common for IBS'ersKeep us updated on the colonoscopy, but in the meantime, dont let it stress you out.

 

[Willowing]

Thanks Bonzi, Had no idea that left sided pain was common with IBS. It seemed to be present at times when my BMs were actually normal strangely enough. I will try not to think abot it too much until the colonoscopy. No point assuming the worst case scenario. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Bonzi]

I think IBS is strange enough on its own! I actually have had on and off left side pain for almost 2 months now, without having one single BM issue. I have not had one episode of Diarrhea, and have not missed a single day without a BM(Meaning 0 episodes of Constipation) As well as no other symptoms like blood, mucas,etc. Yet, every now and then, usually during stress, I get some dull annoying pains. like a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-10, yet their there.

 

[Kathleen M.]

It isn't the loose or hard stool that makes the pain, so you may be able to regulate the stool consistency and not completely get rid of pain from improper movement of gas or pain from colon activity.I usually think the stool issues are more the result of all the other things going funny rather than the one thing that generates all the other symptoms. Depending on the stooling issues diet or changing how you eat or taking fiber may fix that, but not do anything for the rest of the syndrome (the nerves that over-react to things or report pain when they shouldn't be).

 

[Willowing]

I don't think I mentioned in my post that when I went to the doctor initially she did a check for hemaroids- very quick but didn't feel anything? I had some blood a day or two before so is it a cause for concern? Then when I went back to the other doc- she was on hols, he actually really prodded around my abdomen area and said he couldn't feel any mass or blockage of any kind. So that is good I guess. I asked him at that should I try to get an earlier colonoscopy and he said he really thought there was no need and he said that at my age lots of people have bowel complaints. I suppose I am still anxious. I couldn't sleep last night and people are asking me all about the wedding and I can't think about it and I wish I could be rationale in my head about the liklehood of it being cancer. Are they any statistics of haw many people around my age would actually get this cancer per year?

 

[Bonzi]

Here are some statistics I put together when I had the same fears....Roughly, 520 men and 520 women our age are diagnosed with Colon Cancer each year. Thats diagnosis, not deaths. Deaths are at about 50% of those, so even less.What are those odds wise? 1 in every 39,000 men, and 1 in ever 39,000 women get colon cancer at our age each year. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning.Hope those stats and odds make you feel a little better.As for the blood and the doc not finding any hemmies, you couldve also had an anal fissure that caused the blood. They can heal surprisingly fast, where a doctor would not be able to see them. This could very well be the case. Also, the blood that is most dangerous, is the kind you cant see.(Hidden occult blood) You can have your doctor do a FOBT and check for this.Try not to worry so much. Enjoy your wedding and everything leading up to it!

 

[BQ]

10.8 cases per 100,000 in a study done between 2002-2005. Rare enough for ya?

http://healthfieldmedicare.suite101.com/ar...in_young_adultsSlight increase in younger folks that they are not totally sure why, but it is still rare. After reading a bit could be from loads of hamburger eating as well as some STD's apparently... etc... But really in the grand scheme it IS rare for someone your age.SO>>>>>>>>>>>>>STOP worrying and start enjoying your wedding preparations! And if you find you cannot do this.. please, please speak to your Dr. It is not worth getting this upset about.There is nothing in your stated symptoms that is out of the realm of possibilities for some with IBS or just someone under stress. (Which you are contributing to by allowing this to run wild in your thoughts)So do you think ....maybe... if you control your anxiety about it all... your gut will calm down?I think it will help you tremendously.All the best

 

[Willowing]

Thanks so much Bonzi. When you put it that way it seems almost impossible that I have cancer. I think I am overanalzing everything and the worry now is probably not helping. My diet wasn't great as a child. Would have included a lot of fatty foods and some red meat. I have a healthy BMI though and my diet now while isn't perfect isn't the worst either. Anyway your statistics are exactly what I have been looking for to put my mind at rest. That is probably why the doctor wasn't hugely worried. Thanks again.

 

[Willowing]

BQ I will try my best to stop worrying about this. At least in 9 days I will have my mind put at rest. It's the internet that has me so freaked out I hadn't even thought of colon cancer until I started googling symptoms!!Thanks for your reply. Deep down I know I am being irrational

 

[BQ]

Walk away from the computer and go look at your seating plan or something... Better yet.. get outside and have a walk with your Ipod .......

 

[Bonzi]

Willowing, I made the same mistake. I googled "abdominal pain" when I first had symptoms and Oh, My!!!What you have to understand, is that sites try to be as accurate as possible, so by doing so, they will put anything and everything that can be pertained to colon cancer. The issue is, everyone, EVERY single human being can have colon cancer symptoms. The difficulty is that Colon Cancer have all the symptoms that you have read about online, and in the same breath, they will say that you can have no symptoms and have colon cancer. So when you get symptoms, you worry you have it, but in reality, you never worried when you didnt have symptoms, and just as many, if not more people have colon cancer and no symptoms!

 

[Kathleen M.]

Sounds like you may be suffering from a variant of med-schoolitis.It is pretty common with the amount of medical info on the internet.When med students go through learning all the symptoms of all the diseases the anxiety that they must be dying of something can be overwhelming and every little glitch healthy bodies have trigger all sorts of worry.Avoid medical sites and find something else to do with your mind, it can be your worst enemy. Especially since the more anxious you get about the symptoms the more it will try to be helpful by noticing every little ache or itch. Which then sets off another round of finding out what they heck that means. The best way to stop that vicious cycle is keep the mind busy with something else and avoid looking things up to find the worst case scenario.Med students have to learn all that stuff, but the rest of us can avoid med-schoolitis by staying away from the medical sites for awhile.

 

[Bojacks1]

I figured I'd chime in since I had a similar scare recently where I was convinced that I had colon cancer at a young age because of various IBS like issues with bright red blood (from fissures) on my TP for an extended period of time. But when I finally went in to visit a GI after receiving a referral he didn't find any hemorrhoids/fissures when doing an anoscopy. He said that he was still pretty sure that my problem was fissures though since they can heal/close up pretty rapidly and re-open if you remain constipated.So he gave me fissure cream and told me to start taking Miralax and I haven't seen any blood since I started using those. So it's possible that the blood is coming from something very common/a superficial area even if it's not immediately apparent.