IBS or something else... Ovarian Cancer?

I should also state I don't want the CT scan as I'm worried about bowel perforation!

Sounds so like Irritable bowel, it's not a nice condition to have.

Try not to worry, fingers crossed for your CT scan.

yes it sounds like IBS but IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion so once all other causes excluded then its IBS..The worst thing about scans like colonoscopy is the prepraration though even that it only as bad as the diaherroa you can get with IBS. The incidence of bowel perforation is increadibly low about 1 in a thousand, have all the tests and if they say its IBS look at things you can do to manage it, reduce stress try thre FODMAP dies where you exclude loads of foods and then reintroduce them a  few at a time to see what triggers problems

 

Hi..

Being a Male I can only comment on my experiences of IBS.

i have had it off and on now for 12 months.

Ive had a blood test and an  Ultra-sound can which both came back o.k.

Like you I was convinced it was something sinister going on which in the early stages did my head in and at one stage begged to be admitted to Hospital.

My Dr first of of all treated me for anxiety which at first helped a lot..however I was still having pains just above my navel..at times feeling very bloated and very painful to the point that two weeks ago the pains were that severe I had to request a 999 call out.

After an hour of 10/10 pain my abdomen like popped and the pain eased away.

The Paremedic advised me to see my Dr ASAP which I did and my Dr is still convinced it's IBS..his words were that when the bowel is expanded by gas the pain will knock you over.

I am now refining my diet and keeping a record to see what might be triggering these spasms and trying to keep extra calm.

Hope these words might ease your worry a little.

Hi there

It does sound as though you are getting worked up about it all and have some current stress issues which of course won't help, and that will probably will have more of an effect than the food will. Having said that I can empathise with you for feeling the way you do as I have been there myself! I was told I had IBS and had lots of gastro related tests and it ended up being Gynae and I didn't have any gastro or IBS at all. I was also terrified about OC, but the only thing they found was a small ovarian cyst. This is extremely common and much more likely to be the problem you have than OC.

If you are concerned about OC then get your doc to do a CA125 blood test, it's a marker test for OC (though a high read can mean other things too like endometriosis). Join the ovarian cyst forum on this website and you may be surprised to see the symptoms people have are very similar to yours (including the bowel irritation symptoms!) If your pains are pretty much constant and not only occurring after eating then personally I would say forget the IBS it's not that! Good luck with it and please try not to worry it won't be anything too bad I'm sure Louise xx

ovarian cancer is very rare so its unlikely, especially if theres no history in your family.

ibs can be triggered by stress and you said yourself youve had a crappy year. also salad is very bad for ibs so no wonder you have a bad time after it!

try an antispasmodic for the cramps and learning some relaxation techniques

As a person with IBS that is impacted often by stress, the key thing you stated that I focused on was the challenges in your life. Obviously, you have high stress levels and those directly affect your bowels whether you have a troubled background or not. Stress is the most likely and obvious sign of what you describe.

Obviously, caffeine causes nervous aggravation and potentially spastic colon, so the result you get from it is quite common. Bread, as well, causes many people's bodies to react, sometimes because of gluten but often because of the complicated nature of today's flour used by the bakery. We have GMO wheat with additives and chemicals added to the flour after milling to keep it separated and even etc. If you have any gluten intolerance, it could be a perfect storm to have coffee and bread.

A high fibre cereal to start the day should help you along with regular water intake. Substitute coffee with tea (seems to react differently in the body in my case) and don't have bread more than once a day. 

Thanks guys, I had a terrible episode this morning and nearly didn't make it to a toilet!

I'm really over it - my stress level is above and beyond what it should be!

Will try eliminate and see if that works - again.

My stomach won't stop rumbling today and I haven't eaten a thing!