Maybe someone can relate

I am writing because I have blood loose diarrhea for months am set for a scope on the 27 of next month . Were any of you afriad you hadn’t colorectal cancer before you were diagnosed

I’m 39 I went to the gi he said I need cardiac clearance still I guess you’re right I don’t know why it’s taking so long

I was 39 at diagnosis last year. I had been bleeding for months and stupidly was too afraid to go to the doctor. By the time I did go, I was just passing blood alone. I asked if he thought it would be cancer, and he told me if it had been cancer and I’d been bleeding for months, I’d probably have much more serious problems at that point.

Stress exacerbates symptoms. Try to meditate, pray, relax, read a book, listen to music - do whatever you can to take the stress off until you’ve got a diagnosis. Easier said than done, I know ;)

it Started 5 months ago maybe ,., ,.starter with bleeding that’s like hemmoroids I’ve had watery diarhea fever rectal itching blood that’s mostly watery ....I don’t know I’m mentally preparing myself .....I went to the er they did a ct abd pelvis showed no obstruction no thinking no lymph node enlargement that lulled me into a 1month period of self denial bleeding came back booked a GI appt, In Manhattan . The GI hands me a date of the 27, asked him if it could be something serious he said could be . That’s the vaguest answer ever .

I am a hypochondriac--the kind that calls the 24-hour nurse line at 3 AM because I'm feeling twitchy (4 cans of soda will do that, duh) or figures that any incidence of diarrhea means c-diff. But it sounds like what you've got is healthy concern, not hypochondria.

When I started passing blood--and I pass tiny amounts maybe once a week--the first thing I asked my primary was about cancer. She told me it was extremely unlikely, because of my age (I'm in the low 40s) and the fact that I had a colonoscopy two years ago. Sure enough, everything was fine on the one I had last week (other than the UC, but that's different).

It's no guarantee, but you're more than likely going to be okay as far as cancer goes. Doctors are never going to say "Yep, you're fine" because they're terrified you'll sue them if you're not. You're getting checked, though, and that's the most important part. Whatever you do have--UC, hemmoroids, fissures--you'll be able to get treatment for. Trust me, as a guy who had to wait two months for my colonscopy, I know a bit what you're going through.

But Fletch is right: stress makes it worse, so try and find something to get your mind off of it. It's not easy. I spent an hour today in a panic attack. But after I vented online and laid down for awhile, I felt much better. You're gonna get through this.

Yes with my first flare I had no idea what was wrong with me, so before I was diagnosed I ended up convinced I was dying. I was diagnosed in January so in December I had no energy for any Christmas celebrations but went through the motions in case it was my last Christmas ever. How's that for melodromatic??

I finally expressed my concerns to my doctor and she said "Oh no you don't have cancer" based on symptoms and tests I'd had up to that point. Finally she told me what she thought I had. She listed off a number of things including UC, so when I had my c-scope and was officially diagnosed she said "See?? I told you it was UC!" I internally rolled my eyes because she had pretty much covered the bases with her list of possibilities, but whatever, LOL.

Serenity Now said...
Yes with my first flare I had no idea what was wrong with me, so before I was diagnosed I ended up convinced I was dying. I was diagnosed in January so in December I had no energy for any Christmas celebrations but went through the motions in case it was my last Christmas ever. How's that for melodromatic??

I finally expressed my concerns to my doctor and she said "Oh no you don't have cancer" based on symptoms and tests I'd had up to that point. Finally she told me what she thought I had. She listed off a number of things including UC, so when I had my c-scope and was officially diagnosed she said "See?? I told you it was UC!" I internally rolled my eyes because she had pretty much covered the bases with her list of possibilities, but whatever, LOL.

Lol! I diagnosed myself with UC via the internet before any doctor ever mentioned it to me. I was right, unfortunately.

Sara....mostly right since it's considered to possibly be CD....

q

I did not think I had cancer -- I had recently started working with a nutritionist and was losing weight, but had added a lot of new foods and fiber to my diet. I thought the D (before it got bloody) was part of that. Then it got a little bloody and thought it was my hemmies (long history of constiption). Then the blood got more frequent, as did mucus and then passing just blood an mucus. After a bunch of internet research I was pretty convinced I had IBD or a c. diff infection. I wasn't ready to face the possible IBD diagnosis until I couldn't make it from my living room to bathroom and ended up pooping bloody diarrhea on the carpet outside the bathroom and the bathroom floor. E-mailed the MD that day.

I was 52 when diagnosed, but had symptoms of UC since childhood. When a child, I had constipation problems. There was a time when I would only go once a week and had to strain for that! My mom just took me to our family doctor and he said it was "normal" for some people. So, I practically lived on Castoria….YUM! I liked the stuff.

Fast forward to 1998, age 52. I was on that goofy Adkins Diet, only one week. BOOM...diarrhea, with mucus at first, then came the blood, pain, cramping, etc. I was convinced it was the big C because my paternal grandmother died from rectal cancer. My husband took me over to Philly (he worked at Temple Univ) and some quack gave me a sigmoidoscopy. OMG...I almost jumped off the table! He said, "Nope, everything looks fine". That same evening, my husband had to take me to the ER of our local hospital and that is where they diagnosed me with UC. Actually, it was UP. Proctitis and it never traveled further into the colon during the twelve years I suffered with it. My GI doctor had me on everything...you name it, I probably took it. I finally bit the bullet and insisted he send me to a surgeon. He wouldn't, so I found my surgeon online. Had my surgery in 2010 and am doing fine at almost 72.

Don't get upset before being diagnosed. Most likely it is NOT cancer, but be checked out to make sure. Good luck!