Jeeeezzz I am so freaked out right now..........I have my colonoscopy on Friday afternoon at 2.30pm and seriously freaking out.....
I am seriously convinced I have colon cancer, weight loss, on off loose stools but been taking anti-diarrhea med (1 day) plus colofac, so since yesterday I cannot go but did this morning and noticed clear jelly like substance in the toilet bowl (sorry to be so descriptive) & the stool was narrow and small, I am SERIOUSLY loosing the plot here, please help me, ANYONE!
Kay - weight loss depends on how much and for how long and can be explained by a lot of things. If you are going to the loo a lot or not eating properly you will often lose weight. The other symptoms sound very like your bowel is in spasm which occurs with many, many bowel conditions. When I used to get IBS badly (30 years ago) I always had those symptoms. If you are stressed about the test that also causes the bowel to go into spasm. That's why you sometimes can't go and you sometimes go too much. And why it comes out in that pencil looking way. I honestly wouldn't get too worried by this: anyone with IBS would report very similar symptoms from time to time. But obviously, get it checked out to be safe.
I know it's scary but try and relax. Worrying will not help.
Do you have any bleeding? It's unlikely you have cancer. But they are doing the colonoscopy to rule it out and to rule out inflammatory bowel disease.
The jelly is mucous - it's common if you have IBD or even with IBS. Most bowel movements have it but it's visible mainly when your bowels are irritated. It doesn't mean you have cancer.
Im so scared, thanks for replying to me.
Well about 3 weeks ago i weighed 18.8 stone, now im 18.3!!! I have started to eat less but really so much in 3 weeks!!! Im going insane, im developing a fear towards food and the loo too scared to eat as im too scared to go to the loo! Im really frightenend!!
Please dont think im crazy!
Thanks for replying.
Go did a stool sample for infection and was normal, does this look for blood?? I am on warfain so im a bleeder.
hello kay sorry to hear about your symptoms,
ist of all let me tell you some thing don,t search on google because dr google will poop out cancer every time-----few weeks back i am in the same boat in which you are now so please stop searching on dr google..
one year back i pass green stool and there is complete white water on that which make me afraid i go to docs they give me antibiotic i use it for few days it become normal but some time i pass stool like jelly then i go to gastro doc he give me colofac after using colofac my stool is not like a jelly but some time its pencil thin some time soft some time normal some time un digested vegetable in my stool----i have done endoscopy like 2 months ago which was clear but dr google poop out cancer and i am convinced that i may have a cancer even i spend more then a year with that kind of thinking may b i have colon cancer may be i have stomach cancer may be i have esophagus cancer every time i search cancer symptoms on google------my life was a hell 2 weeks ago finally i do colonscopy which has been completely normal so so worry is finished i don,t care now if there is un digested food some time in stool or its pencil thin i don,t even now see my poop what colour poop i am passing believe me there are million of people who pass that kind of things in stool but they don,t mind that but some people are very sensitive like me and you who think alot--------as you say that u didnot eat to much and stress will cause also weight loss don,t think to much----you are completely normal if you really wanna do some thing i suggest to take colofac tablet for 6 months------you are nomral so don,t search symptom on google u will b fine soon and if u think alot and can,t stop thinking go for colonscopy and there will b a good news that your colonscopy is normal
Hi Kay,
I shouldn't worry over much about that degree of weight loss. What matters is sustained and unexplained weight loss. Yours is likely caused by eating less, going to the loo a lot and just natural variations. I go up and down that much in a short time. You are NOT going insane. You are just getting yourself exhausted and stressed out. It's highly unlikely there is anything seriously wrong with you. as I said. The pencil stools and some mucous are very normal symptoms encountered in all sorts of bowel conditions including IBS. IBS used to be called "mucous colitis" when I was little. If there is something wrong then they will know and most things can be treated. It is leaving things that causes the problem. The gut responds very strongly to stress. That's why it is even in our language, like "a feeling in my gut" or "a gut instinct". The more you stress out, the worse the symptoms will get. I know it's hard to be calm when a thought takes hold, but don't let your brain get too active. I had substantial bleeding once for three days running and convinced myself and my doctor that it had to be the big C. It was in the year 2000 and it turned out to be a small burst blood vessel in my colon after eating something that disagreed with me. I felt very silly. I even made a Will. There is nothing so bad as fear itself...
I feel lucky. Other than a traumatic brain injury which has caused my problems with memory loss, my health is great.
I remember a time almost forty years ago when I camped out for over six months while on a very long bicycle trip in the US, Canada and Mexico. I bicycled in many places with a high population of bears.
And I distinctly one night setting up camp within half an hour after seeing a bear. I didn't sleep much that night, concerned that the bear I saw would smell my foo (that was hoisted high up a tree), and tear my tent apart with me in it. I realized the next day that all my worries would not prevent any bear from doing what bears do. And I also realized how tired I was from all that worrying and not sleeping. Now, whenever I think of the word "worry," I am reminded of that bear, and the fact that worrying would not help whatsoever, and in fact, worry would only make it more difficult to do the things I can do within my control. Bears are not within my area of control, but sleeping is more within my sense of control.
Hope all goes well. And breath slowly and deeply, as that is within your control.
Hello
Thank you for your email.
I have had a SERIOUS talk with myself last night and decided that I need to calm the hell down and just go with the flow...the colonoscopy was going to be private costing me £1600, I have decided to cancel the procedure and go to my GP next week. I have also made a will.
Weird thing is my BM's are all over the place, soft, too much now I am struggling and cant go and when I do its hard (sorry TMI)!
Thanks for replying
That is very typical of IBS. It is because your gut is going into spasm. For me it was a dietary cause. I had an issue with two things: one was wheat (nowadays I can eat some but not a lot) and the other was legumes (broad beans, baked beans etc). These I cannot eat at all. The last time I tried (baked beans) was when I had the blood vessel saga. Remember that if it is food the culprit meal will be around 24 hours before NOT the last meal you had. During acute attacks you may also have intolerances to other foods which you can tolerate in normal times. I was paralysed with IBS at university and as a young lawyer. After getting the food right I have it badly about once every three years. Colofac is helpful to bring the rhythm back to normal and be careful not to overdo fibre as in some people it can irritate the gut too much. Cashew nuts also affect me a bit although to be honest I put up with it as I like them. Get checked out by your GP and if a colonoscopy is recommended, then do have it. The clear out is a bit of a nuisance (although oddly it seems to help my symptoms after about a week), the procedure for most people isn't too bad and, apart from a few days of jumpy bowels (understandably) it goes back to normal. I think your gut sounds out of sync and has lost its proper rhythm (very common problem). Stress doesn't cause the problem on my view but it can certainly aggravate it badly. So, see your GP, have a plan, try some tests yourself to see whether cutting back on certain foods (particularly wheat, legumes etc) helps and become the master of your gut and not let it become the master of you. If you do have to have the test, don't worry. It's generally fine. And good luck!
Hi there
Thank you for the advice its helpful.
I will see my GP but just on your point about Colofac, I have taken it twice on Monday and since then I am struggling to go.....I thought it should have the opposite effect... but I did take it with anti diarrhea tablets but only on Monday, surely it should have not had an effect until now?
I have booked the next appointment to see my GP on Aug 24th and see what he suggests...
Colofac has a definite constipation effect. It is its one drawback. So you need to eat some fibre with it and plenty of water/liquids. It is because it slows the gut's movement down a bit to calm it. I find anti diarrhoea drugs cause more trouble than they solve except in emergencies. They often cause rebound constipation and then you try and move yourself and then get too loose and so it becomes a vicious circle. I would just use the colofac exactly as it says on the packet and eat normally with plenty of liquids. I only use colofac for a couple of days myself just to calm things down.
Colofac has a definite constipation effect. It is its one drawback. So you need to eat some fibre with it and plenty of water/liquids. It is because it slows the gut's movement down a bit to calm it. I find anti diarrhoea drugs cause more trouble than they solve except in emergencies. They often cause rebound constipation and then you try and move yourself and then get too loose and so it becomes a vicious circle. I would just use the colofac exactly as it says on the packet and eat normally with plenty of liquids. I only use colofac for a couple of days myself just to calm things down.
Hello
Thank you for your advice once again, pleased to read that colofac can cause constipation....PHEW.....
You seem to be quite experienced in this field, may I ask another question? About 1 month ago I did a full blood count at home with one of those home kits just because this stomach issue started and it tested 4 elements of a full blood count being HB, Platlet, White cell count and MCV (size of red blood cell) all was in the normal range EXCEPT for the MCV it is at 112 where the range is normall 89 (I think), I have researched and it leans towards a condition called macrocytosis with or without anemia which could be B12 or folate deficiency, as I research all the time and ponder...it seems that the condition can cause GI problems and weight loss due to malabsorption, have you heard of this before?
Thanks again
Hi Kay! I don't know so much about this although I think the upper reference limit is 100 not 89 so yours looks mildly elevated. You would need to check that. I don't know that it causes gastric intestinal issues but I think it is connected with malabsorption and potential vitamin b12 serum deficiency so it could be the other way round: that your gut issues are causing the slightly elevated reading. But big word of caution: you need your bloods checked properly at a lab. So I would mention it to your doctor and see if he will take your bloods to have a look at the whole thing.
Hi Kay! I don't know so much about this although I think the upper reference limit is 100 not 89 so yours looks mildly elevated. You would need to check that. I don't know that it causes gastric intestinal issues but I think it is connected with malabsorption and potential vitamin b12 serum deficiency so it could be the other way round: that your gut issues are causing the slightly elevated reading. But big word of caution: you need your bloods checked properly at a lab. So I would mention it to your doctor and see if he will take your bloods to have a look at the whole thing.
Hi there
OK good advice, I will mention this wehn I see my Dr on Wednesday next week
Last question then I will stop bugging you....I had a stool sample tested close to 3 weeks ago for infection, do you think they look for blood too or does the dr need to order a FOBT test for this seperately?
That I don't know Kay, but as blood can be present when there is an infection I would have thought they would. Testing for blood in the stool is very simple for them to test.
Don't despair! I can't tell you the mess I got into with IBS all those years ago. The pain on occasions was really really bad. I was always having bouts of diarrhoea at work and in places that were not convenient. One of the worst attacks was when I was on a school project in Liechtenstein and being shown round a factory in the middle of nowhere. I had to hold it off for two hours whilst everyone thought I'd gone mad. I also had bouts the other way and sometimes it changed from day to day and all it was was food intolerances. One big tip if it is IBS. Don't let your stomach get empty for too long by skipping meals because this builds up gas and it is the gas that sets off the IBS. Try and have regular meals and make sure the system has something there to act upon. When I don't do that sometimes even now I can provoke a brief attack of it. It is miserable if that is what it is, but it IS controllable with patience. You do get your life back.