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Symptoms for a few months...worried sick

Posted , 9 users are following.

worried22
worried22

Hi all,

I have been experiencing certain symptoms for a few months and doctors suspect IBS but I suspect something else. I have been passing very greasy, floating stools that are light brown for about 4 months now and I am seeing some undigested food in my stool such as rice, nuts, etc. I have lost very minimal weight and it has remained relatively stable but I eat a lot so that might mask it. I have abdominal pain sometimes and back pain sometimes for about a month, but no jaundice. Blood tests and abdominal ultrasounds have come back normal, my Lipase level is 109 and 

2 likes, 28 replies

28 Replies

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  • worried22
    worried22

    Posted

    Hi, quick update.

    I got a CEA and CA 19-9 blood test. Both were normal with my CEA being 0.9 with reference range 0.0-3.0, and my CA 19-9 was 7.2 with reference range 

    • worried22
      worried22

      Posted

      Of 2.0-37.0 U/ml. However, my floating stools have not stopped but they don’t always happen, and when they do I can see bubbles on the water. I am continuing to lose weight pretty rapidly. Any thoughts on this?
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 worried22

      Posted

      The CA 19-9 is a test to detect markers for pancreatic cancer.  Yours came back normal which is very good news and should prove to you that your pancreas is fine.  Your doctor has also reassured you that this type of cancer is very rare at your age and your CT is also showing a normal pancreas.  You have been given many reasons why you should not worry about your pancreas and your tests back this up.  Once again, please listen to your doctor and trust and believe what he tells you.  You will feel so much better when you start to accept what you are being told.  Your doctor can do no more than this to help you to calm down.

      The extent of your anxiety will cause weight loss and can upset your stomach and bowel.  The gut and the brain are linked and this is why worry can affect your intestines.  Floating stools can happen with IBS which can be triggered by stress. My IBS and reflux was set off because of stress and anxiety.  I can lose half a stone in weight in s week through worry.    If your doctor suspects IBS, ask your doctor if he can give you a firm diagnosis of Irritable bowel or if he thinks you need other tests.

      You also said you thought you had yellowness in your eyes? Is this still the case?   Also stop examining your bowel movements; you will make your anxiety so much worse. 

    • worried22
      worried22 pippa58442

      Posted

      I see traces of yellow when I take a flash photo of my eye with my camera. But it’s not clearly noticeable just by looking at my eye. And yeah, lately I have been examining my bowel movements every time I have one. Sometimes sort of pale, sometimes steatorrhea, it’s driving me crazy. Maybe if I stop doing that they will stop.
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 worried22

      Posted

      Maybe the camera light is causing a yellow reflection in your eyes.  If you had jaundice, you would clearly see it without taking a photo of it.  My mum had temporary jaundice from medication and it could be seen with the naked eye without a photo. If you had jaundice, I think your doctor would have seen it and commented on it.  In any case, your pancreas tests are showing up normal; concentrate on that.

      Try avoiding greasy foods and avoid looking at your stools because it is causing you anxiety

  • Ibs2018
    Ibs2018 worried22

    Posted

    Hi 

    I just want to reassure you like the rest that pancreatic cancer is very rare for your age. Furthermore, it is a very deadly form of cancer and if god forbid you had it you would have most likely been gone by now. Your symptoms would have worsened dramatically fairly rapidly. I friend's mother was diagnosed with it last week and she has been given weeks to live and she had no symptoms and over the course of less than  a week she is now in severe pain and on treatment for palliative care (ie. morphine etc). I hope this reassures you.

    Regarding the yellowing in your eyes, if you suspect jaundice this can be easily confirmed through a blood test (a  liver function test).

    I hope this helps 

     

  • sezza978
    sezza978 worried22

    Posted

    Wow I could haven't written this myself. I'm going through exactly the same thing. I have lighter coloured stools and bright yellow stools. I have diarrhoea 2 to 5 times a day. When you Google it its not pretty so it makes you more anxious. I've not had the tests like you have had , only bloods which all came back normal. I'm wanting to go back to the as the diarrhoea is making me weak. I had stomach pains but then after what the doctor said was a big painful spasm the pain eased . I now get no pain which scares me as when I need to go I have no warning and need to be within seconds of the toilet. I have undigested food in my stool. I had a stool test which cane back normal. For me I wake up fine then within a minute i need the loo. So I'm not sure if it's psychological and I'm almost making it happen. Crazy I know but for the first minute in waking I'm fine then I think about the loo and that's it, it starts! Also I was reading about pancreatic cancer and it said about pain on the left side. I didn't have this but the next day I did! It's like I made the pain happen! Your mind is very powerful. Not saying at all you're making the pain happen or it's not real but for me I know my anxiety takes over and plays tricks on me. I would love the reassurance of the scans so try and take some comfort in the test results. They say it's a silent killer so even if your symptoms started a few weeks after the scans it would be picked up as you only get symptoms when it's progressing. Don't get my wrong I'm stressing about my bowel movements but I know if I had the scans it would help me. Have you tried immodium? I'm going to give that a go I think and let my bowels rest.

    Take care

  • gareth47391
    gareth47391 worried22

    Posted

    I’ve been experiencing pain under my left rib cage a few times a day that comes and goes allso goes round my back to kidney area and sometimes in the right rib cage my stools have allways been very inconsistent due to poor diet but I’m really worried it could be colon cancer I’m waiting for blood results next week can blood show a lot ?
  • Averagejoe01
    Averagejoe01 worried22

    Posted

    Hi Joey,

    Did you ever get resolution ? I am having the exact same symptoms. Pain in back and under left rib cage, yellow/oily floating stools, loose stools.  I have yet to be able to get an answer from my Gastro as to what is going on and am scared to death it’s PC. 

    • worried22
      worried22 Averagejoe01

      Posted

      How old are you? I got a CT scan and it was clear. I was diagnosed with IBS and when I stopped stressing my symptoms nearly cleared up.
    • Averagejoe01
      Averagejoe01 worried22

      Posted

      I am 33 years old. I use to be a heavy drinker so PC is a fear of mine.   Did you have visible oil in your stool? I also have this weird yellow, yellow/brown stuff that comes out of it and clouds the bottom of the toilet water.   Where was your abdominal pain located, and did anything bring it on or did it happen suddenly? 
    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 worried22

      Posted

      My symptoms cleared up after my IBS diagnosis.  Avoiding stress is the key to feeling better.
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