Irritable Bowel Syndrome........NOT!!!
Posted , 8 users are following.
I genuinly don't wish to scare anyone but if you've had an irritable bowel syndrome 'diagnosis' I'd like you to read my story.
Our son, age 35 had tummy troubles for a few years, at first we all thought stress related maybe. He went to GP a few times & was advised most likely stress, to take Buscopan & pain relief. After a while GP & a few return visits GP finally reckoned it was Irritable Bowel Syndrome & suggested our son monitor his diet.
Stoic young man that he was he just went with the painful times which came & went, granted probably in the pattern of IBS. 2014 gained quite a lot of weight, not just belly area but more evenly all over. Mid 2015 he lost it all quite suddenly, we thought he looked 'better', back to his old weight though he said he'd been ill. Had been in/out of the GP's most of that year, constantly told IBS, use Buscopan.
In Sept 2015 GP suggested a dietician might help with the IBS so our son sourced a private one & she recommended he be checked that it was not Coeliac Disease as her diet suggestions would be different if from IBS. Our son returned to GP & had blood test. 2 weeks later he was told it was NORMAL & he should go ahead with the IBS diet treatment.
As always through this whole sorry saga of IBS, improvement was intermittent. Early Dec he was quite ill one weekend, pain, vomiting etc, but once again improved a day or two later. 7th December he was bad again & asked us to take him to A&E.
8th December we are told he has Bowel Cancer, the bowel has perforated & the cancer has spread to lymph glands & liver. It is terminal. I'll leave out the intervening bits, suffice to say 7 WEEKS later our son died.
A completely NON proactive GP, fobbing our son off for years, not looking for anything other than IBS because our son was considered by him to be "too young for bowel cancer". Presumably he wanted to save the NHS money testing him for anything else his 'IBS' symptoms MIGHT have been.
My message to ANYONE of any age out there, who has been told they have IBS & is managing those symptoms, is to be warned. If you have not had bowel cancer ruled out with a colonoscopy then YOU MUST INSIST on one......NOW!!!
We must live with 'if only' & 'what if'. If only we had realised this could be more serious, what if our son had a proactive GP who would not jump to the easy conclusion but CHECK properly with the proper tests. Ruling OUT more serious things which present with similar symptoms instead of ruling in IBS & never varying from that 'diagnosis'.
We must live the rest of our lives without our son now. Don't let that be you by being complacent, by being stoic & just getting on with things. Our son, & us his parents, have paid the most tragic price.
1 like, 7 replies
lungs70111 jeannette54
Posted
emily_92420 jeannette54
Posted
This is HORRIBLE!!! So many GPS use the IBS diagnosis to save on other tests when actually doctors can only really diagnose you with IBS unless a list of tests have been listed as normal. This is what saves lives and its terrible to hear your son was not given those tests like so many other people out there. I myself am currently going through tests which i had to DEMAND as the doctors said nothing would come out of it (how do they know). And i have reccommended so many other people get tests done to just to make sure for peace of mind if anything else. Hopefully your story will be shared and people will go back to their GPs and get tests done. You may of just saved somebody else's life..
Im very sorry for your loss.
Carolb13 jeannette54
Posted
Am so very sorry for your loss Jeannette, I can't begin to imagine what you must have gone through and still going through, so many doctors pass so many conditions off as IBS because they really don't have a clue, it's about time they gave people every test they can to get the correct diagnosis as quick as possible, then if it is something more serious treatment can be started quickly, I just hope everyone on this group read your post, and make sure they aren't just fobbed off, my thoughts are with you x
janet1090 jeannette54
Posted
janet1090 jeannette54
Posted
We all need to be afraid, because if you don't follow up on every possibility, the doctors won't do it for you. God bless the person that does bot have an advocate
gillian231 jeannette54
Posted
So sorry that you lost your precious son, Jeannette. Thank you for sharing your story - it may save someone's life.
Kwazii jeannette54
Posted
Hi Jeannette,
I am so sorry for you loss. I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through. Thank you so much for sharing this information with us, that is very kind of you given what you've been through. Again I am so sorry for you and your family, what a terrible tragedy.