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Worried about bowel cancer, please help :(

Posted , 5 users are following.

samantha38849
samantha38849

Hi everyone, 

I'm a 15 year old female with no health problems, relatively healthy eating and exercise usually, don't smoke or drink.

So a couple of months ago, I began to feel ill to the point where I had to sit down and later on that night I threw up around 3 times and had a little bit of diarrhoea. The next few days I still had this stomach ache and eventually went to the GP where I met with an advanced nurse practicioner, did a quick urine sample and was told I had a UTI then was sent home with some tablets (can't remember what they were called) which I had to take for 3 days. I took them for 3 days as stated and no signs of improvement. All while this was going on, I lessened what I was eating due to a loss of appetite so thats what I'm presuming was causing my constipation. Got booked another doctor's appointment, this time with an official GP (not knocking the nurse of course) and waited a good 17 days or so for my appointment. During the waiting time, I was having a whole range of symptoms which was pains just generally anywhere (put down to anxiety as I suffer extremely badly with health anxiety, which of course doesn't ever help!), stomach aches which were made better with food and just a fluxuation between constipation and looser stools, never properly diarrhea though. I found a small amount of blood, less than enough to cover a fingernail and it was bright red and obviously I panicked and told my dad who told me it was probably due to all the straining I was doing. I brushed this off as hemorrhoids and went to the doctor's appointment that finally arrived! So I told the doctor all the problems I'd been having and she put it down to an inflammation in my stomach due to my ongoing use of nurofen/ibuprofen for my terrible period pains and due to braces pain as well. She gave me omeprazole and said I could have a blood test as well so I agreed just to be on the safer side. Right now, I've just finished the four week course of omeprazole and I am feeling a lot better however my bowels are still all over the place. For example, one day I had a large orange ish coloured stool (which I read can be caused by antacids so I accepted this) and then another day it was slightly darker brown constipation. More recently, yesterday I was constipated and went twice in the day but however today (which has caused me significant worry) I had looser stools which were easy to pass so I'm not quite sure if they were normal or loose as they did keep their form but one "part" had a smear of blood on it! This has been the first time in ages so I will keep an eye on it because I have been straining a lot recently. I have been crying a lot because I am just so terrified as I've never been "unwell" for months and the blood has completely just knocked any resistance to the anxiety I was having. As well as this, I've been having quite a bit of wind, excessive stomach growling and I passed clear mucus from my bottom. Also, before having a bowel movement in the mornings I get a really nauseous feeling in my stomach that usually passes after I've gone. Despite previously feeling better after food, now usually if I eat something particularly "fatty" like I had takeaway pizza a few nights ago, I feel so ill and bloated.

Obviously, you never truly have something until you're diagnosed but honestly I'm terrified that I have bowel cancer. Now I know I'm young and I don't have a history of it (to my knowledge) but can anyone give me some peace of mind about what this sounds like? I've been trying to tell myself that I've probably gotten IBS due to the stomach inflammation and my stress triggering it. Furthermore, I think my nan might of had something wrong with her gut as I remember distinctly asking why she couldn't have something and she said she couldn't eat certain foods and she drank probiotics daily. I also remember my mum having troubles with bowel movements etc. Now obviously, that's not very useful as it could just be a food intolerance but any info helps I suppose. My mum passed away from heart complications in late April which has just inflated my anxiety about my heart and just my general health (like the symptoms I've been having)as she was only 46, 47 in May. Any help or advice would be appreciated (other than my dad being typical and saying just ignore it) and I wish you all well.

EDIT: the blood test was taken on the 30th July and it has been almost a month and I still haven't received the results. Me and my dad are going to the doctor's on Wednesday morning to ask about these results as it's been a while and I'll update this post after I've received the results. It was tests like CBC, liver function, kidney function etc

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • sam18386
    sam18386 samantha38849

    Posted

    I don't know quite where to start really to help you, except to say no wonder you're so scared, I'm not really that surprised you're scared and worried you've felt I'll for a while and can't explain why. Was it something stressful that set your 1st set of symptoms off? I think you've also been sent from pillar to post, I actually doubt you have cancer, it probably is straining your bowel that's doing you no good. If there is a family history they should be helping you out by putting your mind at ease. Be honest with your doctor and your dad, tell the doctor absolute truth and bluntly ask questions even if you throw your dad out of the room. Being female makes the problems worse if you understand me. Take it as read from a 45 year old female, with an IBS query something else a miss that doctors have recently discovered but not told me what it is yet, IBS is more common in females, can occur in young people, is mainly down to stress, is often sparked by extreme stress and treatable. Good luck you'll be fine I'm sure, tell us the results. At 45 I think I may have a right to wonder about xxxxxx as it runs down my family.🙂

    • samantha38849
      samantha38849 sam18386

      Posted

      Well on the night before and morning of the day I got ill, I took some nurofen/ibuprofen to help with my bad period pain and I do this regularly every month as my period pain can get extremely pain, making me faint and vomit. So it’s possible this has what’s started it. Also with my mums death in April I’ve been under a lot of stress and upset trying to cope with that as I’m more of a deal with it and continue life person rather than a take weeks off which is fine since everyone deals with loss differently but I think that’s taken a toll on me.

      I went to the doctors and expressed my concerns about cancer and my doctor just said it was highly unlikely to be that, even with the little bit of bleeding initially. I told her that bowel habits are literally one day constipation one day diarrhoea and the blood tests are testing for IBDs but I’ll probably get told I have IBS if I go back, which could very well be the case since I’m honestly a nervous wreck sometimes about my health. I’ve been told by others to ask for a colonoscopy to soothe my worries however this can be quite difficult to get at such a young age as it’s just not very likely. Thank you for your reply though as it’s helped me not to feel so scared 

    • sam18386
      sam18386 samantha38849

      Posted

      Aw bless you the worst thing I've read is your mum died. That would set off ibs quite easily. I hope you get an appointment with a decent doctor who will help you not just belittle your symptoms. My doctor has learnt that I now write things down and let her know that way that I am trying to explain things I find hard. I hope all this waffle helps!

  • luis99297
    luis99297 samantha38849

    Posted

    You are young and are most likely going through stressful episodes in your life. Stress will do this to you and worst actually. I dealt with symptoms for years without knowing the root cause, now i know what to watch for and act quickly. So if you had a stressful event triggered your symptoms try watching funny movies laughter is medicine for the body, also drink peppermint and chamomile teas they do wonders for your digestive system. And PLEASE DO NOT eat pizza, spaghetti and foods that are acidic ..... for a while anyway until you get better.

    also my co worker had me try a health drink that helped me a lot you can try it if you like along with the teas that i mentioned ... you can get it at her website 

    read up on it, it actually has a lot of good nutrients for your body, including stress. well hope you feel better soon and try not to stress out that only makes your symptoms worst.    

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  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 samantha38849

    Posted

    If your tests are negative, you may well have IBS.  Try lots of fruit or a stool softener to ease the constipation.  This will help to reduce straining which can cause fissures and haemorrhoids.  Stress can trigger IBS and anxiety makes IBS worse. Health anxiety and IBS iften go together.
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