I think I have colon cancer, I am an huge Hypochondriac

[Suzymasr]

Hello everyone for the past two months I am scared to death. Actually all started in August when I started bleeding and I completely went nuts. I went to the doctor and after Digital Rectal exam, anoscopy ( they inserted a big metal tube in my rectum) I was diagnosed with a fissure. All went ok and I was doing big Stoll and suddenly I got a diarrhea and started o freak out ( I was earning a lot of weight till this point) and eating very well besides the pressure in the left side that suddenly disappeared after the CT Scan .

Then I started to have one day soft stools and then small hard stools, then spasms, then I will have a smelly stool, after changed to first normal Stool followed by normal stool. Now I go every day to the bathroom, I am straining they are small and hard and I still have spasms.

Went to the doctor made CBC, CEA Tumor Marker, Occult blood in stool, Ultrasound, CT Scan ( All normal). Went to ER cause of pain from gas that I was thinking I will explode and I was having a bowel obstruction, they told me IBS. I freak out every day with any small pain and I even tried to kill myself.

My mind does not stop, I Google every symptom I can not relax. I am 37 years old.

Thanks

Suzy

[defmunel]

Suzy, stop googling. I know it's so hard to quit but you have to.

If the doctors have done every test available to check for colon cancer then you need to trust them. They would have seen something.

[Suzymasr]

Suzy, stop googling. I know it's so hard to quit but you have to.

If the doctors have done every test available to check for colon cancer then you need to trust them. They would have seen something.

Thank you so much for your support. you are completely right and when I am rational I say to myself - With so much symptoms will be for sure in late stages and if there is no anemia, no blood and nothing on CT scan its impossible a small tumor give so much pain and besides colon is very sensitive it will bleed eventually.

The problem is telling that to my brain- I think i need therapy

[trinidiva]

I agree with the previous advice. With all those tests, they definitely would of seen something if there was something to find.
Google is the worse place for people like us with health anxiety.
You have to, as hard as it is to do, let it go. Find things to keep you busy so you don't concentrate on the phobia you have. Avoid programs or reading material that focus on anything that will cause your panic to trigger. Eventually and hopefully, the fear will start to subside.

[joshhiboii]

I can relate to you Suzy I'm going thought the exactly th same phobia n I'm only 20! Doctors have put it down to ibs after stool test bloodworms n ultrasound but I still sit there n think just maybe they missed something but no there the doctors they know what there doing i Spode i get abdominal pain all over often eased by wind lol try changing your diet : ) and exercise : )

[anthonyjbro760]

My health anxiety became a reality have fatty liver and going to see a gi doctor so scared i have liver desease been feeling weak hard to eat three up a couple times, zoloft n ativan barley workin I'm starting to think I'm met to die young :( I hate when that thought Comes up also feelin like as much water as I drank it ain't enough :(

[majored]

I know how you feel when you home in on a condition or a problem. I wasmy around the same age as you when i started to have my bowel problems in dec 2011 and because i had anxiety the doc has said that all the pain and symptoms were caused by IBS but i was convinced it was something else. You have had a few tests and if there was anything bad they would of found it by now.
Its quite easily detected by a stool sample. In the Uk people over the age of 60 are sent a home testing kit, which they send the sample back through the post. This test can also be brought online.

Ive also had bleeding, mine was caused by piles. Ibs will cause your stools to change from one to another as well as bloating and cramps. It can all be made worse by stressing, please do not google. Write down all your questions, worries and wait until your at the docs to get them answered. Looking online will make things worse.....i have done this so many times and it has my anxiety 10 x worse. The doc can give you something to help settle problems with IBS. Also learn what foods to avoid coffee, chocolate, bread, cheese, fried food can make IBS worse, exercise can help.

take care

[PanicCured]

Let's be logical about this. You have symptoms so you did the right thing and went to the doctor and took tests. If you did all the proper tests and they all came out negative, then this is good. IBS translates to- not a real medical condition and we do not know why you have these problems so we will group it into a category that doesn't mean anything called IBS. And what the doctor should then tell you is, "Seek out natural cures be it diet or behavior changes or herbal remedies because we can't cure you wit our drugs." But I don;'t think he told you that.

I do know many people have digestive problems with anxiety. and this is a great example of what I constantly say on this site that telling someone they are ok or coddling them does not help. How many of you still feel like crap after the doctor officially tells you that you have anxiety and not a disease? How many times have you come on this site begging to be told you are ok or normal just to come back the next day? Everyone needs to realize this if they want to get better. Healing anxiety comes from within. You must heal it alone, wit the elp of supplements, therapies, techniques, etc. But you have to dig deep and use your WILL to conquer your FEAR.

And if someone ad colon cancer, they would need to do their very best to heal it. Panicking never helped anyone. And one day, we will all die. And it's best to die calmly and not freaking out. You'll just wake up in a new dream. If anyone ever got a real serious disease you don't just give up. You try to do your best to get rid of it and there would be no time to freak out. But one day, the Grim Reaper will get all of us, and ten we will die and go somewhere else. You've died lots of times before. But panicking does not do any benefit for anyone.

[laurandisorder]

Let's be logical about this. You have symptoms so you did the right thing and went to the doctor and took tests. If you did all the proper tests and they all came out negative, then this is good. IBS translates to- not a real medical condition and we do not know why you have these problems so we will group it into a category that doesn't mean anything called IBS. And what the doctor should then tell you is, "Seek out natural cures be it diet or behavior changes or herbal remedies because we can't cure you wit our drugs." But I don;'t think he told you that...

I don't know how much I agree with IBS not being a real medical condition, it's more like stomach and bowel problems with no other diagnosis. My partner has had IBS the entire time we have been together and it has done a number on his health. He went from 100kg to 69kg at his lowest. He has developed some food phobias due to this as well. And boy, does stress make it worse!? (rhetorical questions may not work as well online, but yes it really does!!)

He does have some real medication to help with the spasms - it's called colese and he takes it with dinner.

I would also recommend you get a RAST bloodwork done to ensure you don't have any of the big food allergies. I only found out this year that you can spontaneously develop allergies at any age!!

Good luck

[joshhiboii]

Hi thanks for the RAST afvice I will ho and get this done brilliant advice I neither knew ypu can delvelope things at any age my ibs seems alot worse with take away probly like a lot of people lol ibs is a serious problem for me at thr minute and stressing out does not work slowly coming around my anxiety I will get there :)

[Suzymasr]

I know how you feel when you home in on a condition or a problem. I wasmy around the same age as you when i started to have my bowel problems in dec 2011 and because i had anxiety the doc has said that all the pain and symptoms were caused by IBS but i was convinced it was something else. You have had a few tests and if there was anything bad they would of found it by now.
Its quite easily detected by a stool sample. In the Uk people over the age of 60 are sent a home testing kit, which they send the sample back through the post. This test can also be brought online.

Ive also had bleeding, mine was caused by piles. Ibs will cause your stools to change from one to another as well as bloating and cramps. It can all be made worse by stressing, please do not google. Write down all your questions, worries and wait until your at the docs to get them answered. Looking online will make things worse.....i have done this so many times and it has my anxiety 10 x worse. The doc can give you something to help settle problems with IBS. Also learn what foods to avoid coffee, chocolate, bread, cheese, fried food can make IBS worse, exercise can help.

take care

Well went to the doctor today and after 1 hour of screening all exams, the doctor told me again that I have IBS. I was fine for 10 minutes..........then i started to think if the Cysts they found 8 years ago in my left breast could actually spread to my colon. I have made several mammograms, ultrasounds, have seen a lot of doctors and they told me not to worry. Today I have checked my breast million of times and i can not find the lump..........................my mind is travelling...........

[joshhiboii]

Sounds like you need a break learn to breath and relax all is good is a visious mind trick

[Suzymasr]

Sounds like you need a break learn to breath and relax all is good is a visious mind trick

You are completely right, I must relax. I think i will start Yoga classes, I am really tired from myself.

[joshhiboii]

I am to tired of myself lol

[PanicCured]

I don't know how much I agree with IBS not being a real medical condition, it's more like stomach and bowel problems with no other diagnosis.
That's not what I meant. People with IBS have REAL problems. What I mean is it is not an official diagnosis. It is a diagnosis given when no proper diagnosis can be found. It's a default diagnosis. The problem is there are only so much medical tests can measure and you can't categorize everything so neat and perfectly. So when they can't provide a proper reason or diagnosis for the problems that someone has with their bowels, they call it IBS. Someone with IBS should look into natural remedies such as herbs or even stress management and maybe diet changes to help their problem, since there isn't much or a cure doctors can give you.

[PanicCured]

Well went to the doctor today and after 1 hour of screening all exams, the doctor told me again that I have IBS. I was fine for 10 minutes..........then i started to think if the Cysts they found 8 years ago in my left breast could actually spread to my colon. I have made several mammograms, ultrasounds, have seen a lot of doctors and they told me not to worry. Today I have checked my breast million of times and i can not find the lump..........................my mind is travelling...........

Did you read what I wrote to you or are you just going to blow it off? I gave you sound advice. No doctor's comfort will help you! You have anxiety and you need to help yourself. Unless you want to spend more money and take more tests and then have the doctor tell you once again you are ok. So the doctor tells you that you are ok and it's not good enough. So you come on this site and people here tell you that you are ok, and that is not good enough. Can you please see the real problem here? No amount of coddling and telling you that everything is ok will help you because you will just come up with a new thought that something is wrong. This is anxiety that you need to address regardless if you have a real disease or not.

[Suzymasr]

Did you read what I wrote to you or are you just going to blow it off? I gave you sound advice. No doctor's comfort will help you! You have anxiety and you need to help yourself. Unless you want to spend more money and take more tests and then have the doctor tell you once again you are ok. So the doctor tells you that you are ok and it's not good enough. So you come on this site and people here tell you that you are ok, and that is not good enough. Can you please see the real problem here? No amount of coddling and telling you that everything is ok will help you because you will just come up with a new thought that something is wrong. This is anxiety that you need to address regardless if you have a real disease or not.

I really aprreciate your support and everyone that took time to answer me. Yes its true no diagnose will confort me due to my anxiety and I can not continue like this. I do not like perscription drugs, I already experienced Prozac and Xanax and the side effects were crazy, I am going to therapy, start Yoga classes and meditation. I will see if this works......................

Thanks everyone , you are really a great support.

[majored]

Well went to the doctor today and after 1 hour of screening all exams, the doctor told me again that I have IBS. I was fine for 10 minutes..........then i started to think if the Cysts they found 8 years ago in my left breast could actually spread to my colon. I have made several mammograms, ultrasounds, have seen a lot of doctors and they told me not to worry. Today I have checked my breast million of times and i can not find the lump..........................my mind is travelling...........

Hi you have to try and believe what the doctor has told you. Ive had at least 5 doctors informed me that the lump i have on the inside of my belly is not anything bad. I will have times of thinking that they are right then 10 minutes later thinking they could be wrong. Ive been told not to Google or check myself ie:- pushing, squeezing, checking, comparing, examining myself. If i have a pain or sensation, just to leave it alone and not to check on it and think about something else. There are many times and i often say to my partner.......im sure its spreading. Yet the doctors have told me theres nothing wrong. I will have a pain upper stomach then its moved to under the ribs. The next day its in my chest and then i start to panic as the feeling is moving around my body. However its only a feeling and yet i will believe what ever i have is spreading around my body.

If your doctors have told you not to worry so try not to! Anxiety is a horrible thing but it wont kill you! We have to learn to try and take control over it instead of it controlling us. As you have IBS worrying about it WILL make it worse and the symptoms will seem like they are spreading and never going away. Some days will be better than others relaxing or taking your mind off of it will help but you do have to help yourself!