Abdominal/digestive issues

I too was worried sick about pancreatic cancer, even after i had all the tests including EUS cone back negative, i was still convinced i had it. but i cant have it, I'd be dead a long time ago if i did, this has been going on for 3 years for me and even though i still have all the symptoms and they have progressively got worse, I'm still here trying to figure out what is wrong.

hi Jamie,

you said it all above. if it would have been Pancreatic cancer you would be dead by now. I have exactly the same symptoms like you. My problem started 10 years ago. I had this horrible condition already 3 times. The 1st time it lasted almost 4 years, I then recovered 120% for 2 years I was perfect. then the 2nd Episode lasted fir 9 months., recovered 90% for 1 1/2 years and then it came back with a vengeance in October last year. like you I had all sorts of tests. As I am medical myself (my specialty was NOT gastrointestinal) ... however I have enough knowledge to be able to analyse whats happening.... What you were told by your doctor(s) is a very outdated view i e 'everything is in your mind' ..... who told you this .... obviously hasnt kept up to date with latest medical GI knowledge. Since more than 10 years we know that your and my condition which sounds similar .... is caused physically .. but we still dont know yet what causes it and therefore cant cure it. if youre in the UK : 2 Professors who are highly specialised in this area, one in Cambridge Univ (now retired) , the other in Manchester Univ have written books about our condition. They say again and again that - this condition DOES NOT START IN YOUR MIND BUT IN YOUR BODY !!!- They are horrified that other doctors say this to patients !!! and that - even though not sinister - this condition can serious destroy peoples' quality of life. Of course, once this horrible pain and nausea starts.... it causes via the Gut-Brain Axis .... also anxiety. Even people who are never anxious by nature ..... notice that the Irritated Gut then - as a consequence ..also 'irritates your brain'.....Then .... if there is other additional stress going on in your life - that will make it, of course, even worse !! It is - in many people caused my several factors = multi-factorial .....various possible causes .... e g it can start as a consequence after an infection .... or hypersensitive enteric nerves in your guts .........caused by some previous other physical irritation. etc etc ... in some people food can be another contributing factor. Its a highly complex condition and everybody is different.

As doctors still dont understand this condition and therefore can't cure it ......all we can do is 1) try to exclude that there are not any additional sinister things going on .... you seem to have done this. ... 2) then we can only look at the symptoms .... then analyse which factors might contribute .... food ? or bacteria ?? hypersensitive nerves etc etc ... and then .... whilst it cant be cured .... we can try to 'calm down' the symptoms by addressing the contributing factors ... e g food by eating differently etc etc etc.

dont give up .....youre not alone !! millions of people worldwide suffer from this ...

are you able to eat ??

Thank you for your message. I don't have any nausea and my appetite is great, though certain foods that didn't used to upset me, now do, things like spicy curry, whole cloves of garlic and rare steak

I love garlic... but garlic can sadly be a big problem. If you want .... look at the low FODMAP diet developed by Monash University, Australia, they did a clinical study : 75% of patients were food was a contributor to their symptoms got considerably better after the FODMAP Diet!! The top 2 worst offenders were Garlic and Onion.

I can relate to this so, so much. Although my pain is mainly upper left abdomen. its spread across my upper abdomen. I am convinced i have pancreatic cancer too. Ive had a MRCP too. All came back clear. i had my second CT scan on Wednesday and am awaiting results.

The Drs keep telling me no, but Ive married up all the symptoms and i have so many. there doesnt seem an alternative explanation. but nothing is found.

Ive had these symptoms for a year now. Drs have said that it would be showing up by now. Surely for all the tests we've all had something would have shown up. Cancer cant be that hard to find. Surely.

Its so scary, i cant eat, cant sleep. Im in bits and am so depressed. cant look forward to the future and get excited about anything.

I totally understand what you are going through.

I had my MRCP last week which came back fine. i then bad an MR Enterography to check for small bowel crohns disease which i don't yet have results for.

I actually had a really good week last week pretty much no pain and bowel movements were the best they'd been in 8 months.

Then i had a fast food meal (first time in 2 weeks) and everything went bad again. I think fatty foods are sending my digestive system haywire. The smallest amount of fat will give me instant floating,loose and yellow/orange bowel movements. I'm going to spend the next 2 weeks eating as best i can to test my theory.

Im starting to think (hope) this might be a stuffed gallbladder. I see my GI next week for results on my mr enterography, if it comes back clear im going to suggest a HIDA scan to see what my gallbladder efficiency is. I have absolutely none of the classic symptoms of a gallbladder (my pain is not intense by any means and i have no stones showing on CT,US and MRCP) however i have been doing some digging and gallbladders don't always cause the classic symptoms.

im glad it came back clear, mine did too. Are you in the UK? Are your private or NHS?

What a ride this is.

I'm in Australia. My GI is private but thankfully my scans have been covered by medicare (our version of NHS i think).

Certainly is a ride. even after all these scans part of me is still terrified i'm dying of cancer. I'm trying so hard to tell myself it can't be.

Im exactly the same. I keep telling myself that the amount of tests and specialists cannot miss cancer- it would be so negligent. I have a lot of trouble trusting and always feel like im being fobbed off. Its terrifying.